Starring Dolly Pardon, Christine Baranski, Jenifer Lewis, and Josh Segarra
Directed by Debbie Allen
Music and Lyrics by Dolly Pardon
Our first live-action holiday musical of the season is about as traditional as you can get. Despite the pandemic still raging when this came out, this was a surprise hit on Netflix in 2020, and even won an Emmy for best TV movie in 2021. Is it still as much fun five years later, when there's no health event going on, or is there just a little too much cheese here to enjoy? Let's begin in an obviously fake town square, as people are dancing and celebrating the start of the Christmas season...at least until one expensive car pulls into the Square...and find out...
The Story: Regina Fuller (Baranski) is more than happy to hand out eviction notices to every business in Fullerville two days before Christmas. She claims she wants to build a mall on the land, but she really just wants the town gone. The town is the namesake of her father Jack (Douglas Sills), whom she thought turned her away after she had a baby out of wedlock. She learns her lessons from an angel (Pardon), her angel-in-training Felicity (Jeanine Mason) who is working as Regina's assistant, and from Violet (Selah Kimbro Jones), the girl who works at her father's bar and is the only person to treat Regina kindly after the evictions come down, and from a scare with a possible brain tumor about the importance of life, of forgiveness, and seeing the big picture, even in our grief.
The Song and Dance: Baranski and Pardon are the thing here in this big, bright, bold musical. This is about as typical of a holiday musical as you can get, but Baranski's sarcasm, especially in the first half, cuts the sugar level. Pardon gets some funny moments too, especially with Mason when she's either not getting through to her angry employer or fed up with her attitude problem. Broadway singer Jenifer Lewis has some funny moments too as Regina's best friend Margeline who wishes she'd just cut the attitude problem and see what she's doing to the town. The bright-colored sets evoke a polished local stage show or an old MGM musicals, with their blatantly unrealistic old-fashioned look.
The Numbers: We open with "Christmas Is," as everyone in Fullerville prepares for the big holiday...just as Regina shows up with her eviction notices and the constantly apologizing Felicity. "You" is Pastor Christian Hathaway (Segarra) and his wife Jenna's (Mary Lane Haskell) duet as they admit that while they may not have been blessed with children, they still have each other. Salon owner Margeline is called to do Regina's hair, but she ends up calling her the "Queen of Mean" before telling her to do it herself. Regina's ex-boyfriend Carl (Treat Williams) who owns the local thrift shop calls himself a "Keeper of Memories," not merely a junk store owner.
When the homeless woman in the square reveals herself to be Angel (Pardon), she tells Regina that "Everyone Needs an Angel." Regina needs to "Light Her Lamp" and remember the good times with her father. The town calls Regina "The Wickedest Witch of the Middle" at a church meeting, then encourages everyone to "Try" to be the best they can be. Violet and Regina commiserate at the bar as they admit their lives haven't exactly been a "Fairy Tale." "Maybe, Just Maybe" is Regina's song, which she sings four times, in the opening and before, during, and after her brain tumor scan as she wonders if she can change her life and if she wants to. Jack gives "A Father's Prayer" when he takes his daughter's baby, then puts him up for adoption so he'll have a better life than his mother can give him.
"Christmas Is" turns up again for Felicity as she tries to point out to Regina what she's doing to the town again. Jenna reprises "Try" as she wishes she could conceive a child and have a home to give it. Angel performs "Angels Know" as her magic awakens Violet after a car accident and gives Jenna what she longed for. Margeline and the townspeople raise the roof with a gospel version of "Try." Angel sings of "An Angel's Prayer" as she hovers over the church pulpit on Christmas Eve. Regina sings for everyone to "Forgive Me," including her newly-found son, as she finally admits that the animosity she held to the town and her father was wrong. The movie ends with the entire town - including the two angels - reprising "Christmas Is." Pardon sings "Try" over the credits.
Trivia: The song "Try" was originally written for and featured on Pardon's 2014 album Blue Smoke.
What I Don't Like: Another award this one was nominated for was "Campiest TV Show"....and oh boy, did it deserve that. This is about as campy of a modern musical as you can get. There's so many numbers, it's practically an operetta. They lay on the forgiveness Aesop with the thickest, ripest cheese possible, and it can be way too much. There's also the obviously fake sets. This is not a real town. The square is obviously not a real square, the houses aren't real houses. It's more like a play you'd see at your local repertory theater than a TV movie. The dialogue borders on stiff and well-meaning to the point of being annoying sometimes, especially for the Pastor and his wife. Not to mention, there's the ridiculously melodramatic story that comes off as a cross between It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, and The Bishop's Wife and veers between silly and predictable.
The Big Finale: It's worth seeing at least once if you're a big fan of Pardon or Baranski or want to check out a modern version of those big studio-bound musicals of the 40's and 50's.
Home Media: Easily found on Netflix and on DVD.
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