A Christmas Spark
Today our movie Randomizer introduces us to Molly (Jane Seymour), a widowed control freak who's husband is probably overjoyed to be dead. Kidding, Molly is a wonderful person, but she is a passive aggressive control freak. Molly likes her life and the lives of those around her to be mapped out just so, so when her bestie Cass (Shawna Clark) suggests they make a girls trip to Aruba for the holidays, Molly has to refuse because she has everything planned out for her daughter and her daughter's family for the holidays just right, in that they will be doing the same thing they've been doing since forever. However when her daughter Kristin (Sarah Smyth) calls to let her know they will not be coming down for the Holidays, Molly has to alter her much revered plans and make the trip up to New Hampshire to spend Christmas with them.
Upon landing Molly complains that there's no snow. Oh Molly, that's because it doesn't snow in July in Vancouver New Hampshire. Then she has a little innuendo battle with the dashing Hank (Joe Lando) over some taffy she promised her granddaughter. Molly wins that battle, but she will be seeing that man again. Often.
Now at her daughters house Molly passively aggressively attacks daughter's messy life and sets about the process of rearranging everything in her house. Kristin is apparently used to this sort of behavior from her mother and always just smiles, kisses her mom on the forehead and then drags her out so she will stop messing around with her home. Here, she runs into Hank yet again, they engage in more innuendo, and she also meets the ladies of this town who are in a bit of pickle. It seems the director of the Christmas play is no longer available, so they ask Molly, a former Drama teacher to step in. At first Molly refuses because her daughter needs her, but upon hearing this her daughter urges, no.. begs her mother to take this job so she can have something else, other than her, to obsess over.
First thing, they need to find a Santa. The ladies would like the best looking older guy in town to take the gig, but he said no. Molly says 'leave Hank to me', and after some more innuendo, Hank says yes. Now we get to the business of Hank and Molly spending and endless amount of time together, from coffee, to riding Hank's motorbike, to dinner at Hank's place and totally making out. Probably more. I mean Molly was seriously doing a walk of shame sneaking back into her daughter's home later that evening, even apologizing for being so late but Kristin is almost giddy that her mom might have a boyfriend. I don't know if I've seen a daughter so happy to see their mom getting juiced than this daughter.
So the play is coming along, Hank and Molly are getting closer, so what's going to break them up? Well, nothing really. I thought when clumsy Hank, who was invited over for some tree trimming, tripped and broke the cherished Christmas Star that Molly's dead husband had given her so many years ago, Hank was toast. But no, I mean she was sad but stuff happens. Now Hank did make attempt to take the relationship to the next level which did make Molly shy away a bit, but Kristin was right there to let her mom know that Dad is dead and this is what Dad would want anyway, though I have my doubts about that, but we do know that Kristin seriously wants her mom to focus on anything other than Kristin.
Molly finds Hank right before the play, lets her know her true feelings, he does the same and they make out. The plays goes on, it's awful, the curtain closes and they start making out again. The next day, Christmas Day, people open presents, Hank and Molly announce they are traveling the world, Kristin does a backflip, high-fives her husband and daughter, and then Molly and Hank start making out yet again. At Christmas.
It has come my attention that this is a reunion of sorts for Jane Seymour and Joe Lando as they were on Dr. Quinn together back in the day. I have never seen a single episode of that show so I did not know this. All the leading men I'm familiar with Ms. Seymour playing opposite are no longer with us. Roger Moore in Live and Let Die, Christopher Reeves in Somewhere in Time, Michael Sarazzin in Frankenstein the True Story, Chevy Chase in Oh Heavenly Dog... all dead. (edit... Chevy Chase isn't dead yet as of this writing). Nonetheless, one can tell that Mr. Lando and Ms. Seymour are VERY comfortable being around one another, which is a good thing since as we have said many times, these movies usually sink or swim on the chemistry between the leads, so Joe and Jane have that part of this movie easily covered.
The rest of the movie is just basic Hallmarky stuff that we have to come to expect, this time rescuing the Christmas play which in turn rescues the recreation center, but some of the vomit worthy elements of this Christmas Holiday romance were strangely absent. We got some hot cocoa drinking, a little Christmas tree trimming which ended in tragedy, a near miss kiss though they landed all the rest of them and some burnt cookie baking where poor Kristin was passively aggressively attacked by her mother again, but missing was caroling, anything involved with snow such as snow angels or snow man making, and no mistletoe though Joe and Jane didn't need it. I imagine that awful play was suppose to substitute for the missing elements since they did sing in it, terribly, and there were some kids dressed up as snowflakes so I guess we'll have to take it.
Quite honestly, it's a relief to watch one of these where the main characters are actually older than me for a change. Way older. And I'm not young. So yay for A Christmas Spark!
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