If You Watch One Holiday Movie This Weekend: Disney+’s Dashing Through the Snow Is Our Pick
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With Hallmark Channel’s annual Countdown to Christmas and Lifetime’s It’s a Wonderful Lifetime now in full swing, and Great American Family and other networks loading their sleighs, we’re here to help you choose between the season’s many offerings. Each Thursday, we’ll spotlight the movie that should be at the top of your weekend list and preview why other debuts will make you merry.
THE ONE TO WATCH
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Dashing Through the Snow
(Streaming Friday, Nov. 17 on Disney+)
A month into the holiday movie season, you may need a respite from the cocoa-carrying market strolls and climactic mistletoe kisses. This family-friendly flick will remind you that Christmas is about more than romance; it’s about trying to recapture your childhood belief in magic and hijinks. Chris “Ludacris” Bridges stars as Eddie, a crisis counselor with the Atlanta PD. He lost his love for Christmas 30 years ago when the mall Santa he asked to save his parents’ marriage ended up trying to rob their home. Now separated from his own wife, Allison (Teyonah Parris), Eddie is spending Christmas Eve with his eight-year-old daughter, Charlotte (Madison Skye Validum), when he discovers a man stuck in his neighbors’ chimney. The guy claims to be Nick, aka Santa (Lil Rel Howery); Eddie assumes he’s someone in need of mental health help. Regardless, they soon agree that Nick is being chased by three goons (Mary Lynn Rajskub, Ravi Patel and Marcus Lewis) who want his iPad. Turns out, there was an accidental switcheroo when he was delivering presents at the home of a corrupt congressman (Oscar Nuñez) earlier in the evening.
Howery is a pure delight as pop-culture savvy Santa, who sweats glitter, farts the smell of cinnamon, and cracks enough jokes to keep viewers of all ages amused. The script, by Scott Rosenberg, is full of clever additions to North Pole lore, including that Santa’s lady reindeer are more badass than we thought. And young scene-stealer Validum is off to a very promising start, showing her range as a true believer here and as a more skeptical child genius in Netflix’s Best. Christmas. Ever! this week.
Runner-Up: EXmas
There’s a different kind of family fun in our runner-up pick, EXmas (streaming Friday, Nov. 17 on Amazon Freevee). Workaholic Graham (the always likable Robbie Amell) decides to go home to Minnesota for Christmas after all — and is shocked to find that his ex-fiancée, Ali (Leighton Meester, salty and sweet), had been invited to spend the holiday when he cancelled. The mature decision is made… to bet on which one of them will be asked to leave by Christmas. Amell and Meester have the weekend’s winningest chemistry as the exes seethe, sabotage, and slowly unpack where their relationship went wrong. Michael Hitchcock and Kathryn Greenwood are equally entertaining as Graham’s innocently inappropriate parents, and there’s an unexpected emotional twist. Best of all, though, is a Notting Hill-style car gag that will make you wish Hallmark would inject some of this genuine comedy into its rom-coms.
The Best of the Rest…
Best. Christmas. Ever! (Streaming now on Netflix)
When Charlotte (Heather Graham) and her family accidentally end up spending Christmas at the home of her old college friend Jackie (Brandy Norwood), Charlotte sets out to prove Jackie’s life, marriage, and children aren’t as wonderful as they appear in her holiday newsletter. Beyond the over-the-top physical comedy, there’s an earnest message about closing the distance between friends (and spouses) and the lengths mothers will go to for their children.
A Merry Scottish Christmas (Premieres Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8 pm on Hallmark Channel)
Party of Five siblings Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf reunite as estranged siblings Lindsey and Brad, who are shocked when their Scottish mother finally reveals her childhood home in the Highlands is a castle — which, after the recent death of their uncle, the kids can choose to run as a duke and duchess or sell. Expect bagpipe and Downton Abbey punchlines, romance for Lindsey with estate manager Mac (James Robinson), and a memorable cameo.
A Paris Christmas Waltz (Premieres Sunday, Nov. 19 at 8 pm on Great American Family)
To honor his ailing mentor who wants to choreograph one more masterpiece, jaded professional dancer Leo (Matthew Morrison) partners with joyful amateur Emma (Jen Lilley) for a yuletide ballroom competition in Paris. A song-and-dance break in the streets is charming, while an overly dramatic “O Holy Night” number at least leads to a heartwarming payoff.
Navigating Christmas (Premieres Friday, Nov. 17 at 8 pm on Hallmark Channel)
Swanky, recently-divorced businesswoman Melanie (Chelsea Hobbs) should’ve read the fine print when she booked a last-minute holiday stay in St. Nicholas Island’s rustic lighthouse. Now she and her teen son, Jason (Everett Andres), have to help its Scrooge owner, Peter (Stephen Huszar), decorate it for the town’s festivities. The reveal of family secrets results in a surprisingly dangerous turn for a Hallmark movie, but you’ll never doubt there’s a happy ending on the horizon.
Christmas Plus One (Premieres Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8 pm on Lifetime)
Cara (Emily Alatalo) believes last year’s Christmas wish to meet her soulmate finally came true when a drive to NYC with stranger Chase (Andrew Bushell) ends with him accepting her invitation to her sister’s Christmas Eve wedding. But after losing Chase’s number, her only hope of running into him again is to do all the favorite Christmas activities they discussed with another stranger, Michael (Corey Sevier), a writer who needs inspiration for a piece on the city’s hidden holiday gems. You’ll know exactly where this is headed, but the journey is still worthwhile.
A World Record Christmas (Premieres Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8 pm and Saturday, Nov. 18 at 10 pm on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
Inspired by real-life teen Auldin Maxwell, who is on the autism spectrum and holds the Guinness World Record for most Jenga blocks stacked on one vertical block, this coming-of-age story centers on Charlie (Aias Dalman, also autistic), who is determined to break that record on Christmas Eve and have his absentee biological father in attendance. Nikki DeLoach and Lucas Bryant deliver moving performances as Charlie’s lovingly protective mother, Marissa, and her supportive second husband, Eric. You’ll need a tissue for the touching conclusion.
2023 Christmas Movie Schedule
Holiday Hotline (Premieres Sunday, Nov. 19 at 8 pm on Hallmark Channel)
After a nasty personal and professional breakup in London, sous chef Abby (Emily Tennant) takes a no-cooking holiday in Chicago but agrees to help out at a culinary hotline for folks with turkey trouble. She adopts an American accent as “Peggy,” which is harmless until she realizes the widower (Niall Matter) she’s been bonding with on repeat calls is the same widower she’s been falling for in real life. Tennant and Matter bring heart and humor to the premise and almost let you forgive laughable product placement.
Planes, Trains, and Christmas Trees (Premieres Sunday, Nov. 19 at 8 pm on Lifetime)
When a snowstorm grounds flights in Indiana, event planner Kayley (Kathryn Davis) hitches a ride back to New York with widower sports agent Brett (Olivier Renaud) — only they get stranded again in his Ohio hometown and roped into helping his uncle organize the town’s holiday festival. You can gauge how naughty you are by your guess for what he sees when he accidentally opens up her identical suitcase and quickly closes it. She’s on a break from her boyfriend, so…
Santa, Maybe (Premieres Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8 pm on Great American Family)
Theater manager Lila (Aubrey Reynolds) isn’t thrilled when her high school prankster/tormentor, Glenn (Samuel Whitten), is hired as the new marketing director. As her Secret Santa, he has six weeks to prove he’s changed. We would happily accept his thoughtful wreath of pens.
Sworn Justice: Taken Before Christmas (Streaming now on BET+)
This definitely falls into the “Die Hard is a Christmas movie” category. Vice squad detective Sophie (Mishael Morgan) and her DA friend with benefits Ty (Leland B. Martin) are each told the other has been kidnapped for ransom on Christmas Eve. They’re eventually able to join forces, and make time for multiple sex scenes while trying to stop a plot that climaxes with her church-going mother (Vivica A. Fox) asking, “So, which one of the two of you is going to tell me why I was running from a bomb on Jesus’ birthday?”
Country Hearts Christmas (Premieres Sunday, Nov. 19 at 7 pm on UPtv)
In this sequel, the singing Jameson sisters Tori (Lanie McAuley) and June (Katerina Maria) have to decide whether to perform in a live Christmas Eve TV special in Nashville to jump-start their career or head home early to make their father Bones’ (Chris Jericho) wish of spending the evening together as a family come true. Tori also makes a choice in her love triangle, and June stands by her man even though we’re not convinced she should.
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