Wednesday, December 4, 2024

#31DaysOfChristmas: A Christmas Open House

 

Watched On: Max
Duration: 1 hour 28 minutes
Originally Aired: November 11, 2022
Directed By: Emily Moss Wilson
Starring: Katie Stevens, Victor Rasuk, and Monica Garcia Bradley
Please see IMDb for full cast and crew information.

Synopsis

Follows Melissa, an Atlanta property stager who teams with her old high school crush, David, to renovate and sell her mom's house, and as Christmas approaches and the tensions grow, so does a romantic relationship between them.

Review

The movie opens with Melissa at her mother's wedding, which she apparently planned. At the reception, she sees David, her high school crush, who is apparently selling her mother's house now that she's married because she'll be moving in with her new husband. Melissa begs her mother to let her stage her house (it's what she does for a living after all) so she can use it for her portfolio to open her own business. While they're discussing the staging plan, David mentions that the house could use some updates, and Melissa actually agrees, which turns the movie into a house flipping show. There were several scenes of "we should do this, this, and this" with the cartoonish graphic overlay to show the end result. And in the process of remodeling the house, Melissa and David fall back in love, or so the show would have us believe. But honestly, this is a movie I'd expect to star Joanna and Chip Gaines, and that's not really a good thing. 

So is it a Christmas movie? Let's check the facts. There are multiple decorating scenes, to include decorating an aesthetically pleasing Christmas tree, there's a town festival like event where they drink egg nog, both main characters getting a surprise present for the other, and the entire town coming together just before Christmas to save the day. It pains me to admit it, but this is just barely a Christmas movie. It has just enough Christmas magic scenes to qualify. Would I recommend it though? Only if you really enjoy home makeover shows. 

Rating


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