Hallmark.

The channel for unbridled fluff and a somewhat roller coaster of movies. Some great. Some cringe-worthy.

I watched “Haul out the Holly” during an all-nighter with my youngest (she’s two and we’ve been having… issues). In any case, I turned this one on and it was good. It kept the comedic tomfoolery to a level that was manageable and the fluff was at a good range. Personally, I hate the slap-stick stuff that has people making fools of themselves or just being disgusting.

The movie is about a woman, who after a break-up, goes to see her parents, only to find out that they are leaving for vacation and she is left there by herself. At first, she’s relieved, at least until the HOA president comes by to tell her that her family has violated Holiday HOA rules and she needs to get things up to snuff.

It’s a solid little movie, I think, with the win being on the male lead. He was this sort of eccentric odd person with a twinkle in his eye that made me want to know more about him. He had this quality that I found endearing and rarely seen in a male character. Sensitive in a way that I felt was realistic. In way too many movies they’ll have a male character that is supposed to be sensitive and it’ll usually come off as disingenuous or counter to what has been previously seen. He had a natural, masculine air that showed it in a way that felt like you were looking at the little boy he used to be. He paired very well with the female lead.

Light SPOILERS ahead:

With that being said, I have only two issues:

1. Making HOA’s look fun. I’m sorry, I get why they designed it this way for the sake of the story, but there is no where on the planet that having an HOA and having them force you to decorate for Christmas in very specific, expensive and massive ways would fly. Putting aside the fact that not everyone celebrates Christmas, it’s just too much. Lights, nutcrackers, lawn displays and forced participation in tons of events – I would move before you could say ‘bylaw’.
2. Taking away a child’s Christmas morning: major spoilers ahead. So, the female lead’s parents were the instigators of this whole HOA Christmas thing, started it. Very beginning of the movie they show how the little girl woke up, excited, and her parents wouldn’t let her open her gifts, forcing her instead to help with the Christmas day event (which, let’ be honest, again, totally wouldn’t happen in real life). She all but grew up despising the whole HOA nonsense and, honestly, really can’t blame her. As a mom, I just can’t imagine taking a kid’s Christmas morning.