‘Christmas by Starlight’ is the Place Where Family and Fun Meet

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More Christmas movies continue to pile up on my DVR (purposely so), which means I continue to watch them as often as is possible. Christmas by Starlight follows Annie (Kimberley Sustad) as a driven and hardworking family law attorney; a driving passion that stems from her own story of adoption. When the diner her parent’s own and operate is under threat of demolition, Annie determines to change the mind of the man in charge.

This leads her to William Holt (Paul Campbell), the son of the family company that has invested thousands into the project that will lead this. When it turns out William needs an attorney (or at least one to pretend to be his attorney), Annie makes a plan. All she has to do is tag along with William for the week, and in exchange, he’ll see that her family’s dinner remains standing…

As this is a story by its main stars, and the teleplay by Campbell (yes he does write it), Christmas by Starlight is one of the most socially buzzed about films. While really sweet, and full of good humor, it’s still not one that is my most favorite. That said, I also tend to like the Hallmark movies no one else seems to, so perhaps my opinions are “off.”

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‘Christmas by Starlight’ is the Place Where Family and Fun Meet. The 2020 review of Kimberley Sustad and Paul Campbell's Hallmark written film. @HallmarkChannel #Hallmarkies #HallmarkChristmasMovies #Hallmark #ChristmasByStarlight Share on X

Despite this I can also say this is an entertaining and sweet way to spend an evening. Just as she is way back in her first leading role on Hallmark (The Nine Lives of Christmas), Sustad is charming as Annie. She and Campbell not only conceptualized this story together, they have also already appeared in prior romantic-comedies together. Because of this, I suspect these two have a natural friendship which then translates nicely onto the screen. One that means fun for those who are looking to see another festive comedy.

Family, as always, plays an important role and again this doesn’t let us down. There’s family reconciliations and the usual I’m-mad-at-you-moment (usually at about the 15 minute mark), but through it all, joy prevails and of course, as any good Christmas movie knows, this is where it’s all at.

Photos: Hallmark Media

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Content Note: There is a character who is married to a same-sex character [a man who isn’t in the film save for maybe two scenes].