Onward the Christmas movie watching goes. this time with a sadder offering. This, one of the Hallmark Movie and Mysteries original titles, is different than others in its 2020 class.
Holly and Ivy (2020) Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Review
Moving to a new town in Wisconsin, Melody (Janel Parish) is ready to begin a new life and create the perfect space for her dreams. A recent graduate in library science, instead of a stuffy office job, she hopes to find a job working one-on-one with children through a library program. Trouble is, most if not all libraries are in budget cuts. This puts her dreams at something of a standstill. But in the meantime, she sets to work on re-doing her newly purchased home; and befriending Nina (Marisol Nichols), her next door neighbor, and her two daughters, Holly and Ivy (Sadie Coleman, Piper Rubio).
Most unexpected to her new life is Adam (Jeremy Jordan). A contractor with some unfulfilled dreams of his own, the two develop a liking for each other, little knowing that both of their lives might never be the same.
There’s kind of an unspoken “rule” in Christmas movies that they not be sad. Or at least that seems to be true given that most are never less than cheerful. This one is happy, but also has an underlying thread that leaves us feeling sad. To say more would be to give away a spoiler, but just know, this won’t be a happy-go-lucky film that will suit everyone.
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That said, I will share what I think of this film, and I can say with confidence, it’s easily one of my favorites of the year. There’s a depth to it that is missing from others, and I adore the fact that we see Adam and Melody calling their would-be-relationship what it is; interest. They actually go on dates instead of simply dancing around the spark between them. This is something I wish more TV movies would do because it’s more realistic that someone would step up and say “I like you” rather than hope things work out. In this case, it happens to be Adam, which is fine by me since it plays more into the old-fashioned charm of this genre.
Writer Jamie Pachino is no stranger to the Hallmark family. She’s written one of the ‘Godwink’ films, Karen Kingsbury’s adaptation of The Bridge along with other titles including this year’s On the 12th Date of Christmas, which explains why both it and Holly and Ivy are 2020 favorites. This film has so much heart, and the cast does a nice job of bringing this alive in a warm way. The story isn’t afraid to be “real,” and while this does mean the film will hit you “in the feels,” it’s also a story of hope and happiness.
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Content: this one has a few thematic elements (relating to the sadness), but nothing too troubling though compared to most, it may have a TV-PG rating.
Photos: Hallmark / Crown Media Productions
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