Christmas She Wrote
Reviewed By Lisa Sue
So with a title like Christmas She Wrote, what things do you
expect? I’m thinking Cabot Cove, Jessica Fletcher, and at least a few dead
bodies. Seeing as this movie is fronted by Danica and Dylan, who each helm
their own mystery series (Matchmaker Mysteries & Gourmet Detective
respectively) they are certainly more than capable of solving a murder, or two.
Imagine my disappointment when the trailer clearly tells me there will be no
murder, even though murders CAN be festive. See Murder, She Baked Plum Pudding
Mystery. Strike one that there is no death, already not off to a great start. But
undeterred, I forge ahead with the movie. Like a moth to a flame.
Having established that this movie isn’t a mystery that
involves solving a murder, what exactly then is the movie going to be about?
Well, Danica plays therapist turned writer Kaleigh who has a very popular self
help column “Your Best Self”. All isn’t well at the paper, the new editor Tripp is
making waves, forcing the old editor to retire and then has the nerve to fire Kaleigh.
AT CHRISTMAS TIME. Now for anyone out there having been laid off and harboring
some revenge fantasies, the next bit is intriguing. Kaleigh goes home to
Pineberry to be with her sister and niece, where she ignores the new editor’s
calls. What could Tripp possibly want, after firing her? Turns out her fans
were very vocal, and Tripp needs to hire her back, and is offering Kaleigh her
old job! If he can’t get her back, he’s losing his job. Isn’t that what
every laid off person wants? The ability to say “you can take your job offer
and suck it!” Which Kaleigh is too well adjusted and nice to actually come out
with those words, but she doesn’t say yes to the job offer. Even though Tripp goes
cross country to make the pitch in person, not knowing that to pay for her
salary Tripp reduces her best friend’s daily column to only once a week. Oops,
this is what happens when you start making personnel decisions as just a pure
numbers game, and don’t actually get to know the employees as people. And no, this ruining of besties life isn’t
the break up part of the movie, although it totally could have been.
In the meantime, a writer like Kaleigh isn’t unemployed for
long, and she pitches to the local Pineberry newspaper to do a 12 days of
Christmas self help column. Day 1, stop and smell the Christmas trees. Queue
the town, including Kaleigh and Tripp smelling the pines in the forest, before
murdering a tree. I’m sorry, I mean Christmas tree shopping. Day 2 is break the
ice, done where else? But at a skating rink! Managed to find on social media this
spoiler- Danica isn’t doing her own skating. I don’t know if that sways anyone
out there, just felt it should be noted. Queue the Christmas music as Kaleigh
and Tripp get to know one another while skating. Turns out what Tripp really
wanted to do was be a journalist, not ruin people’s lives. Who would have
guessed? Cliched lines like “do the job that makes you happy. Do what you love
and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” are uttered left and right. We’ve
all heard these before, but as Tripp says, it isn’t that simple. And the real
truth is life isn’t that simple and having security of a paycheck that can keep
you fed, clothed, and a roof over your head often comes before personal
happiness. Maslow's hierarchy of needs doesn’t dispute this, that basic needs
must be met before self actualization can occur. Only with security do you have
the luxury of asking yourself what makes you happy. And honestly whoever said
your job had to give you joy was putting a lot of pressure on something already
called “work.” I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Kaleigh’s ex
Dan, who broke her heart and through that pain she found comfort in writing a
self help column, is back in their hometown. Will she pick the ex or Tripp?
There is some one-up man ship from the two men, but really you see the title
photo shot. You know how this will end.
So that leaves the break, which after all that has happened
one could say the whole movie was post break with Kaleigh losing her job as the
incident. But with 15 mins to go, having fired her and her friends at
Christmas, ruined her dress, what else could Tripp possibly due to be cut out
of Kaleigh’s life? Turns out after her breakup with her ex, she wrote a novel, which
was very personal and cathartic. She hadn’t finished the novel nor appears to
have thought much about it over the intervening 5 years but having been
inspired by Tripp she finishes the novel. And then despite all that has
happened between them, she lets him read the book. Which he said he would love
to show to a publisher, which he does without telling her. So now the deal is
come back to the paper AND she has a book deal. To which this 180 in career
fortune upsets Kaleigh, who feels so betrayed by Tripp. She trusted him with
her most cherished writing, and how dare he get her a book deal! Which
ultimately gets me to the point that I really don’t get this movie. 2020 has shown me that self care isn’t just a
nice to have, but a necessity during times of crisis and stress. To prepare for
future stress, one has to have had the practice, the right coping tools so you
have them when they are most needed. I take self help and self care quite
seriously, which I didn’t think this movie did. Being your best self takes hard
work, it is lots of introspection, it can be ugly, messy, and confrontational but
mostly it is isolating. Because it isn’t what others think of you, it is all
about what you think of yourself. And I feel that message is lost among the
smelling of the Christmas trees, the ice skating, and the cocktail drinking. A
glib quote here or there belies the real hard work that self help takes, and
while it is nice to be supported by others ultimately it is you who needs to
support yourself. Emphasis on the SELF in self help and self care. Which to end
on a fun note, people really should name some holiday cocktails Santagarita and
Santa Clausmopolitan. Thumbs down to Jingle Juice and Rockin Reindeer as drinks
though.
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