Christmas on Cherry Lane Review: Great Concept, But Missing Some Oomph
By the end of Christmas on Cherry Lane, you’ll look like the Charlie Kelly Pepe Silvia meme.
This Hallmark original sets up a small mystery that turns the film into a game. Can you guess all the connections?
Nevertheless, this essentially is a game without purpose, but you’ll want to figure out the connections before the end. Hallmark keeps things entertaining by tying these stories together in several ways. The main one is that they all happen in the same house.
Therefore, this makes Cherry Lane a magical home, despite all the tension. The interweaving of these stories reminds us that life doesn’t exist in a vacuum. And that a home should always feel magical.
Universally, everyone has a connection in some way and choices have a ripple effect.
Thus Hallmark sells this message by not making Christmas on Cherry Lane the story of three generations of a family set 20ish years apart. Instead, connecting most of these characters by friendship and a spiritual family bond emphasizes the importance of goodwill towards your neighbors (actual ones and universal ones).
The Cherry Lane residents look out for each other, and they don’t need blood to connect them. Movies such as Christmas on Cherry Lane remind us of this concept often forgotten in such divisive times.
The interconnecting lives storytelling is a bold format change for Hallmark, and it works well. Therefore, it could have been one of Hallmark’s best movies of all time…if it made the individual plots more interesting.
The stakes feel quite low in all of them except for the story set in 2023. That has some of the real meat. You stress along with Mike and Zain about their kitchen and fostering opportunities.
The other two stories feel too low stakes that they become tedious and boring.
Nevertheless, this isn’t the fault of the cast. Hallmark clearly uses some of its top actors in Christmas on Cherry Lane. The cast’s chemistry is infectious and connects with the audience. Small moments, like Conrad leaving his house on Christmas, help create plenty of heartbreaking and warm moments. But, it is just that these stories feel a little too pointless to become engaging.
It is even more anticlimactic when the ending rushes to wrap everything up too nicely. An unfortunate choice because Christmas on Cherry Lane excels at creating less-than-picturesque families. This feels real and honest.
This movie loses its edge when everything magically just becomes fine between the families. The nagging parents aren’t nagging, just smothering by loving too hard.
Conrad can accept the move and marriage because Ivy helped him see things outside of himself. The film could have resolved these issues but kept the cracks in the family dynamic. Families can have issues and still endear you to them.
However. it isn’t that bothersome that everything resolves itself by the end. We expect these types of quick solutions from a Hallmark movie.
But the less-than-entertaining individual plots really are what makes Christmas on Cherry Lane lose its pizazz. You hate to see this with such a stellar cast. They give it their all.
All the couples charm and feel very realistic. These pairings truly seem like couples madly in love or siblings bantering.
Christmas on Cherry Lane is an ambitious film from Hallmark. It’s commendable that the channel did something different. Hopefully, it will continue to take chances and try different storylines and formats. Christmas on Cherry Lane has smart ideas and a brilliant cast.
I just wish the pieces were as interesting as the whole.
Stray Thoughts
- I love that Daisy is one of the interlinking parts. I would watch a sequel about her life in these decades. We learn so little about her despite being so key to this film.
- As a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fan, loved seeing Vincent Rodriguez III in this movie, and it made me want to see him do more romantic movies.
- I am glad Hallmark continues to build its LGBTQ+ content because Zain and Mike’s storyline really carries this film.
- I enjoy Erin Cahill and John Brotherton’s chemistry so much that I have to check if they star in other Hallmark movies together.
- Jonathan Bennett delivers most of the comedy for Christmas on Cherry Lane. He deserves praise for that.
What did you think of Christmas on Cherry Lane? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Christmas on Cherry Lane will be available on Peacock until December 12.
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Jerrica Tisdale
Jerrica Tisdale is your favorite neighborhood pop culture junkie. She will annoy you with random TV and film facts, while complaining about whatever is the hottest new book. She has been a TV fan all her life but writing about it for over a decade. You may find her work all over the internet especially reality TV rants. She is a senior writer at Tell-Tale TV.
4 comments
Conrad and his sister’s aging doesn’t match the timeline. By the end, they should be 50 and late 40’s. They don’t look it and Conrad’s not in a relationship as he’s still coming home with his sister. Mike says early he’s a chef. At the end, she’s his client?
Yeah, there were a lot of inconsistencies in this one. I did figure she was going to be the owner of the restaurant he works at (they mentioned a pop star owns it).
We only get a glimpse of Conrad. He could pass for 50, in my opinion. And Winnie could well have been 46 or so. They looked great for their ages, granted, but still believable.
For me good movie but they didn’t tie up ivy’s family in 2023. In 1999 you learn they moved when she was 8 and now he’s not doing well. Wasn’t sure what that meant cause like did he die by 2023 or how is her mom IJS. Or heck what is ivy and hector doing in 2023 like did she have kids do more fostering?And is winnie and Conrad’s mom and stepdad doing good in Florida in 2023? I mean we see daisy through each timeline. And for winnie, Zain is her manager and then when she met Mike I believe Zain said winnie invested and opened the restaurant at uncle hams gas station (in which I didn’t catch that till the second time I watched it lol). FYI for me I had to watch this movie three times in order to see how they all meshed together and to see stuff like Conrad did redo the car lol 🫣🫣🫣.And did anyone notice how each timeline the look of the address changed too? It was “seven” then “7 cherry lane” then a “no7”(which was a pretty black sign) I mean I’ve been in my house 18 years and the number was the same as it was in 1980 as I never thought to change that lol but overall a different type of hallmark movie and not just two ppl meet, fall in love have conflict make up and kiss 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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