Josh is a friend from Abby’s past but no mention of a Rekindled Romance? Bummer. What doesn’t work is the “almost” nature of the clichés. Sage Grandpa Figure Ron Cephas Jones is phenomenal and filled with fantastic lines: “That’s the problem with great loves-pretty good ones don’t stand a chance.” Quincy Brown’s Josh oozes happiness and seems to be the only one who can find the child-like joy that comes from the Christmas season. Things get sticky when her childhood friend, Josh, keeps pushing Abby to chase her career dreams…and inadvertently shows her what real love looks like. When the gifts inside seem to predict her future and set her on a path toward a relationship with “Dream Dad” Ty, Abby warms to the holiday spirit. Struggling photographer Abby (Kat Graham, teetering on unlikable) inherits her grandmother’s Advent calendar, even though she’s not a big fan of Christmas. The promise of clichés are everywhere, and clichés make the formula work: a love story filled with Sleigh Rides and a Sage Grandpa Figure to make our leading lady believe in Christmas magic? The movie screamed Very Merry potential.Ĭan something be both a hit and a miss? If so, that’s “The Holiday Calendar”. Cue the trailer for “The Holiday Calendar” (linked below). Though the plot, the acting and the cast were leagues better than any of the Hallmark movies, “The Holiday Calendar” was still lacking in that one, unknown quantity that makes a movie a holiday classic, like “Love Actually” or “Home Alone.” Instead, it’s the kind of movie watched while baking holiday cookies, wrapping presents or decorating the tree.When you start to tear up at a preview for a Christmas movie, your expectations are high. The film even goes so far as to include a Latinx mayor - talk about diversity and gender equality. Her best friend, and one of the key love interests, is also African-American, along with the comedic relief in the form of a Latinx third wheel in their relationship. But “The Holiday Calendar,” instead, has a mixed-race main character with a focus on her relationship with her African-American grandfather. Typically, holiday movies follow a predominantly white cast with the occasional person of color thrown in to achieve “diversity” and please a network representative. One of the shining characteristics of this movie, though, is the cast. The predictable nature of the way the movie ends, with Abby holing up in her room and ending up with her best friend, feels like leaving the Macy’s gift-wrapping station with everything neatly tied up. The movie comes to a climax when Abby loses her job, her best friend and her new relationship all in the span of two days. Other than the inner turmoil of forcing the audience to choose between two great guys, there isn’t a lot to “The Holiday Calendar.” But this lack of depth is the reason why people gravitate towards holiday movies in a time when family drama is high, and temperatures are low.ĭouble the love interests, though, means double the drama, and when Abby’s relationship with Ty gets in the way of her friendship with Josh, she’s forced to evaluate her life. The first half of the movie is spent flitting between shots of Abby enjoying herself with her childhood friend Josh (Quincy Brown, “Street”) and being swept off her feet by the too-perfect doctor Ty (Ethan Peck, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”). The movie’s two eligible bachelors allow “The Holiday Calendar” to explore the tried-and-true problems that come when a main character is ignorant to the fact that their best friend is in love with them. While the movie relies heavily on the reveal of what’s behind each little door, “The Holiday Calendar” makes good use of upbeat Christmas music and montages to establish Abby’s newfound relationship and the decline of her older friendship. ![]() Abby’s calendar influences her decisions and is the source of her major revelations, both about her life and her relationships. Magical intervention, indirect or direct, is typical of any holiday movie and “The Holiday Calendar” is no different.
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