The Hallmark Channel,
Danica McKellar, Neal Bledsoe, Chelan Simmons, Andrew Francis, Rebecca Staab, Brenda Crichlow, Christian Convery, Lindsay Maxwell, Paula Shaw
Lizzie Richfield (Danica McKeller) is looking for a job. Her sister, Camill3 (Brenda Crichlow) finds her a gig as house manager for the Ashford House, a huge mansion filled with art and culture. It’s her job to plan and pull off the last Christmas Gala fort he house, as Robert Marley (Neal Bledsoe) the oldest grandson of Pippa Marley (Paula Shaw) is about to sell the house since his Grandmother is not able to live in such a large house, and neither of this two siblings have any desire to keep the huge mansion. This has caused a huge rift in the family, and Robert is very distanced from the rest of the family. As Lizzie works to prepare for the last Ashford Gala, she also works to bring the family together, but as the two brothers both put in a push for Lizzie, things are bound to get sticky.
There are a certain few actresses who seem to get the very best scripts for the new Christmas films. This seems to happen every year. This is Danica McKeller’s film for the season, and it’s a real winner. She brings such gravitas to her role, and really steals the show, although the house itself does try to steal the lead in the movie. I must also say that I really enjoyed Paula Shaw’s performance as the Grandmother Pippa Marley. She extremely elegant and harsh as the grand dame of the house, but plays the loving Grandmother perfectly when it’s needed. All in all this is a bit different than the usual Christmas movie and has some outstanding elements that make it very charming and quite interesting. This movie is a winner, and Danica has pulled off another Christmas hit. I look forward to her Hallmark movies year after year.
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