A Sugar & Spice Holiday Review: Dashes Of Chaos Ruin This Recipe

Lifetime’s A Sugar & Spice Holiday is a positive step for representation of Asians on TV, and that should be celebrated. 

Suzy (Jacky Lai) and Billy (Tony Giroux) are worthy protagonists who are both easy to root for.

But the plot puts as much pressure on Suzy to carry every storyline as she puts on herself to be perfect. The result is chaos, so it’s very hard to feel satisfied with the conclusion of the journey. 

Suzy struggles with needing to be perfect throughout the whole movie, but she gets absolutely everything she wants in the end without having to compromise. So she never really has to learn that you don’t have to be perfect to be happy. 

Suzy is essential to every plot in the story. While it’s great to see an Asian woman so dominantly lead her film, one of Suzy’s missions could disappear and A Sugar & Spice Holiday would be better for it. 

As it stands, Suzy is connecting with Billy, worried about her promotion, connecting with baking again, saving the community center, and all up in Billy’s business about his career. 

It’s so unrealistic that all of this works out perfectly for her, even if this is the type of rom-com that we know will be tied up in a bow. 

There is a point during the movie where she thinks she’s lost everything — but Suzy sinking so low only makes the conclusion that much more unrealistic. 

If she must be battling someone in her office for a promotion, couldn’t the pressure of that stress her out enough without her computer failing, too?

Couldn’t Billy be conflicted about his career on his own without Suzy meddling? 

Suzy and Nema’s (Cindy Piper) past relationship and the connection they have via baking after Nema’s death is the most heartfelt element of the film. 

But after Suzy’s initial reluctance to join the baking team, A Sugar & Spice Holiday doesn’t really focus on Suzy reconnecting with baking. All she wants to do is win. 

A Sugar & Spice Holiday has a rare opportunity to have an imperfect ending that it ignores. If Suzy were to find her love of baking and decide to fund a new community center herself without the prize money, the ending would feel more satisfying. 

Similarly, while I love seeing a female architect rise to the top of her field and earn her promotion, if Suzy stayed in Maine to support Billy and be with her family, I wouldn’t be mad. 

Suzy is juggling so much that there is no time to go on a complete romantic journey with her and Billy. We just watch her drop everything, only to have it all suddenly come back to her without having to earn her happy ending.

She does at least learn the lesson that it’s not her place to meddle in Billy’s career. The apology scene is one of the best things the film has to offer because it shows Suzy’s growth. 

 But even though Suzy and Billy do have chemistry, the chaos of the film means that there is barely any time for sweet romantic scenes that make us want to invest in them as a couple.

A Sugar & Spice Holiday makes a good effort, but much like young Suzy’s gingerbread house in the first scene, the script is not structurally sound.

In The Recipe Margins:

• It’s very true that Americans don’t appreciate authentic Chinese food enough. But Mimi deserves a better storyline than that. 
• I really don’t understand how Pete (Tzi Ma) having a southern accent is funny. 
• The prom scene is cute but it makes no sense. If Billy broke in, the alarm would definitely go off right away. 
• It’s disappointing that at least one Asian tradition isn’t more prominently featured, even though it’s not the film’s responsibility to teach culture.  

What did you think of this episode of A Sugar & Spice Holiday? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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A Sugar & Spice Holiday airs throughout the holiday season on Lifetime.

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