The Christmas Contract Review: We Cosign Lifetime’s Festive ‘One Tree Hill’ Reunion Movie

I have to confess I’m taking my first deep dive into Christmas movies this year for Tell-Tale TV. I’m not a naturally festive person, but Lifetime is offering some titles I couldn’t resist this year. 

As a diehard One Tree Hill fan, I knew I had to watch The Christmas Contract. 

It really is a mini-reunion of the WB/CW cult classic, though I do wish there were a few more cameos, even in smaller roles. 

I have seen a few holiday movies, so I knew what to expect: lots of festivities, a romantic dilemma, feel-good cheer, hot cocoa, and little to no actual angst. If these are all of the boxes a good TV Christmas movie has to check off, put A Christmas Contract on the “nice” list. 

But, there are places the film could have made small changes that would elevate it to the coveted cult classic status that its stars are familiar with. 

The film breaks the “show don’t tell” rule of storytelling from the very beginning. Jack (played by One Tree Hill star Robert Buckley) and Jolie (One Tree Hill’s Hilarie Burton) show up at a Christmas party and tell us that they dislike each other. 

Later in the night, we learn that it’s because Jack stood Jolie up for a date set up five months earlier by his sister and Jolie’s best friend Naomi (One Tree Hill’s Danneel Ackles.)

It shouldn’t be a hard and fast rule that a Christmas movie has to start during the holiday season. Just a quick scene at the start showing us Jolie getting stood up would immediately help the viewers establish an emotional stake in their journey right away. We see how they feel in their body language. 

A lot of the shortcomings in the story are simply due to the time constraint every TV movie battles. I just wonder if the quick fixes in my head would really take up that much time.  

For example, there’s also a lot of telling regarding Jolie’s dilemma to start. She sits on the couch and tells Naomi the entire plot of the film before it really starts. I feel more invested in any story when I see a dilemma happen in real-time. 

Jack’s conflict unfolds better in this regard. His ghostwriting project being set in Louisiana (while very convenient) gives him a clear motive for going home with Jolie that we see develop on screen.

Hilarie Burton and Robert Buckley’s chemistry makes The Christmas Contract really special. My favorite scenes in the film feature just the two of them. I’m a sucker for late night chats over hot chocolate, paper roses made from personal journals, and slow dancing under the stars. 

Viewers definitely get to see that progress nicely. They were really awkward and not even able to fake a kiss in front of her family during the first dancing scene, but I still felt them connecting there. 

Even the scene on the steps where they’re just telling each other important facts about themselves is really special because of the oolong tea detail. It’s true that when you care about someone, you remember details like their favorite tea. 

It may seem like a small detail to some people, but I tend to think the smallest things make characters the most human. So, for me, oolong tea is a very minor character in the story. I love it! 

One of my favorite scenes is the hot chocolate and cards scene. Late night is the best time to get to know someone!

I want to know more about Jack. But at the film’s end, he’s still “just” a writer. Sure, he’s in love and maybe he likes romance novels a bit more. But we definitely know less about him and Naomi than Jolie and her entire family. I was excited for a deep confession over hot chocolate that never comes, so I do wish this scene were a bit longer.

One of my other favorite parts of the film isn’t even a moment, it’s a quick second. The morning after the kiss/paper rose scene, as everyone is getting ready for gingerbread, Jack and Jolie put their arms around each other and share a look. 

It’s truly a “blink and you miss it” moment. But I don’t miss it. And neither do her mom and sister.

It establishes true comfortability between them. You know the characters are building something because of that moment. 

Speaking of Jolie’s mom, I wish she never had to battle cancer. It’s a superfluous plot point that we’re only told about, and I’m not sure why. Jolie and her mom have about two scenes alone in the whole movie.

Foster “being there” during that difficult time does not make him more likable. We don’t see that on screen, so her mom’s announcement that she’s officially cancer free doesn’t evoke any feeling in me. It doesn’t warm my heart as it is supposed to. 

Foster and Jolie are not supposed to be endgame, but I don’t feel the history there. My guess is it’s a combination of lack of any real chemistry between Burton and Burke and the time constraint is to blame. I don’t need to see every detail of their relationship, but I don’t even believe Jolie likes him. 

The pace of The Christmas Contract helps with the vibe of the film, even though I wish it were slightly longer. I love feeling “at home” with the characters in a Christmas movie, and I really do feel that here. Sometimes that’s hard to articulate because it builds from pancake mornings and gingerbread days, slow dance in the evenings and hot chocolate at night. 

I suppose as I’m writing this, I realize why the conflict in any good Christmas movie is so small and easy to resolve; because making us feel like we’re experiencing a Louisiana Christmas is more important.

Mission accomplished, here. I’ll visit the Gidrey’s for the holiday’s any time. In fact, I’m sad Jolie and Bre don’t have a brother.  

I could’ve done with some more scenes with the whole One Tree Hill cast together. Naomi and Martin’s scenes prove that Rachel and Skills would’ve made a cute couple once upon a time.

But after the contract is drawn up, the only scenes Naomi and Jolie share are phone calls. Hilarie and Danneel might not have even been on set to react to each other during those while filming. 

 The Christmas Contract does a really great job tying up their conflicts, though. 

Jack and Jolie talk about the date that never happened, so viewers see her get over it.

And after Jack’s “make her fall in love” checklist is found and Jolie tells her mom she feels betrayed, her mom asks her the question that is on my mind. 

If this is casual…why so sad, Jolie? As a writer who watches Jack mostly stumble into the situations or set up a harmless game, I have the same question. I am sympathetic to him. 

I’m glad mama just gets it out in the open, because for me, whether Jack really does wrong here isn’t a black or white dilemma. 

The Christmas Contract is a great holiday film! 

The “festive” Christmas vibe doesn’t take away from the love story at the heart of it all. It delivers the romance and happiness we are allowed to expect from this genre, without too much of the extra cheese or Santa that can sometimes be off-putting to a Grinch like me. 

Combined with a lot of Tyler Hilton music, a very romantic Christmas tree maze, and a touch of oolong tea, this “Contract” is worthy of a cosign from us. Plus, the ensemble is pure Christmas magic.

What did you think of A Christmas Contract? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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A Christmas Contract will continue to air throughout the holiday season on Lifetime.

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