One of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies--A Shoe Addict's Christmas

Last December I wrote a post about romantic Christmas movies, the ones (many of them Hallmark films) that have shown up on three different television channels here in Oslo this year. I think we need these films more than ever this Christmas season, after a year that no one in his or her wildest imagination could have predicted. They are relaxing to watch, you pretty much know the outcomes, they tug at your heartstrings, and they are enjoyable overall. The word is nice; they are nice films. 

Here is a link to the post I wrote last year: A New Yorker in Oslo: Romantic Christmas movies (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)

Tonight, I re-watched A Shoe Addict's Christmas; it's one of my favorite romantic Hallmark Christmas movies. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Beth Harbison. It's the story of a young woman, Noelle, played by Candace Cameron Bure, who has pretty much given up on her dreams for her life, both personal and professional, and settled for a comfortable life without many risks. She works in Fulton's department store in the HR department, having given up on her dreams to open her own photography studio after her boyfriend dumped her on Christmas Eve three years ago. Three years pass, and she ends up locked by accident in her department store during a snowstorm. While waiting to be rescued by the fire department, along comes her slightly ditzy but totally lovable guardian angel Charlie, played by Jean Smart, who is perfect in the role. Every time Noelle puts on a pair of shoes or boots, they take her back or forward in time, courtesy of her guardian angel, to show her what her life could have been like had she made different decisions and choices. It's essentially a modernized and romanticized version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Noelle is not Scrooge, however, just a disillusioned young woman who has lost her faith in the fun and adventure that life can hold. She meets Jake, played by Luke Mcfarlane, who is also perfect in his role as the fireman who rescues her and who just happens to be her upstairs neighbor as well. Watching these two get together, and how the guardian angel facilitates their doing just that, is so worth watching. It's a heartfelt movie with a believable message, and at Christmastime, it's a nice message to hear--have faith, trust in the process, and don't give up on your dreams for your life. 

Romantic Christmas movies

This year, two Norwegian channels are showing American romantic Christmas movies, either produced by Hallmark or UPTV. One channel showed them all through November; the other has decided to show them all through December. Interestingly enough, there seems to be very little overlap, because I have been taping many of them and they are all different movies, albeit with similar themes and plots. It's hard to remember the names of the movies for exactly that reason, but they mostly have the following plots--girl meets boy but has no time for a relationship because her career takes up most of her life (Hallmark and UPTV are not anti-feminists), but circumstances are such that they either run into each other randomly from time to time, or they are friends who don't want to ruin the friendship by pursuing romance, or they end up working together on a project, or boy pursues girl in a focused slow way in order to win her over, or both figure out over the course of the movie that they belong together. Whatever the plot, the endings are pretty much the same--boy and girl end up together and find happiness. They are feel-good movies for the most part, and perfect TV watching right before bedtime--nothing too heavy, violent, or deep.

You might think that I am going to criticize these types of movies--but you'd be wrong. I rather want to praise them, if for no other reason than that they add a certain lightness/goodness to a world filled with the opposite. They are reminders that the majority of ordinary people go about their ordinary lives, working, meeting a potential spouse, raising families, visiting parents and good friends. I'd rather watch two young adults find love and happiness than watch two adults destroy each other and their marriage and children, even though the latter can absolutely be good drama and provide the potential to learn from the tragedies of others. I'd rather watch the characters in these movies struggle to remain decent human beings in the face of unfairness and injustice. Many of them take the high road in circumstances that would cause others to take the low road. They may not be the most realistic of movies. But if you asked most couples how they met, I bet you'd find that many of them have some interesting stories to tell of love found, love lost, and love found again. Sometimes love is lost for good; these movies deal with that aspect as well. Friendships get them through those times. And I can relate, because friendships are very important, married or not. My mother used to tell me that I should never give up my women friends, even if I married. And I never have. One of the nicest of these Christmas films that I saw this past week dealt with just that--three close childhood friends, two of whom moved away from their hometown in order to pursue careers, and who end up returning to live there after the third friend gets divorced and is in danger of losing her house--a house that holds special memories for these friends. It's a touching movie, with a title that doesn't do it justice--Christmas on Holly Lane--you'd never know that it really is about the blessings of friendship to get you through the tough times. I really liked it.

Some of my favorite films thus far are, in addition to Christmas on Holly Lane:

• A Shoe Addict's Christmas (2018)
• Christmas Perfection (2018)
• Christmas Getaway (2017)
• A Perfect Christmas (An Unexpected Christmas) (2016)
• A Puppy for Christmas (2016)
• Just in Time for Christmas (2015) 
• The Spirit of Christmas (2015)
• A Christmas Kiss (2011)

I'll add to the list as I happily plow my way through the list of taped films during the next few weeks......

Update December 2021--here are some new films that I've enjoyed:

• A Dream of Christmas (2016)
• A Heavenly Christmas (2016)
• Christmas in Vienna (2020)