Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up

This is one of those movies that just did not need a sequel. And rarely do I not love a Lacey Hallmark Christmas movie. This was just beyond disappointing. Loved the first one and was so excited to watch this when I saw the previews for the season, but it just did not deliver. The Jolly Johnson's left me anything but jolly after watching. I've watched hundreds of Hallmark movies and realize they are not trying to be Oscar worthy, but this is barely watchable. I have seen worse, but not with this cast. It was just incredibly disappointing and painful to watch. They can't all be winners, but this is a big pass for me.

The anticipation for this movie kept me giddy for weeks. I adore the cast. In the first movie, I laughed nonstop, and it was a huge rewatch for me. This one was great, but the influencer aspect was awful. The Jolly Johnsons were mean-spirited and vexing. They made it difficult to watch. I get it; they are supposed to be awful, but it was to the point of me turning it off, but I didn't. I wanted to see the end. For me, the new neighbors ruined the movie, and I don't think I can watch it again even though it ended well. To listen to the Jolly Johnsons and others follow their lead is not my idea of fun.

I wasn't a huge fan of the allegedly-funny Haul out the Holly in 2022, but thought I would give this second one a go nonetheless, looking for something that might change my mind, as the cast - led by the Queen of Christmas Lacey Chabert, and the always-reliable Wes Brown - is very good.

Alas...

Sadly, the cast is wasted.

The movie seemed like it went for 3 hours, and not in a good way.

I just didn't find this funny. The parts where I assume I was meant to laugh were just uncomfortable.

Watching the ultra-competitive new neighbours who arrive on Evergreen Lane (which is actually a cul-de-sac) was akin to running my nails up and down a blackboard. The characters were the complete opposite of what Christmas is supposed to be about. Their "jokes" were not funny. There were few in this film that were.

Let's hope there is no third movie. I'd prefer to see Chabert and Brown together in a more meaningful Christmas film.

This movie was an utter disappointment The first movie was awesome, you saw the personal growth in the characters, they managed it very well, this one is just chaos and competition

They manage to get you annoyed from the get go at everything that goes on, feels like a bad attempt at showing HOAs in a good light(There is a reason they are slowly dying off) but at the same time it makes you so angry at the "famous"(Nowadays everyone is famous if they post the right thing online) people that are really only inconsiderate bullies that want to make other people feel bad

Usually in all of these movies(Battle of the bulbs, the christmas house. Deck the halls, etc) you see them realizing their mistakes and correcting them on the last leg of the movie, but this movie literally gives you a very lazy move from jerks to kind in the last 5 minutes, not 15, not 20, but 5.

The acting is all over the place, the main characters(Lacey, Wes, and the main HOA members) are as good as before(I mean, as good as can be expected for a Hallmark christmas movies, which are traditional but not top notch) but the rest is just bad and feels off

All in all it is just good to see as a continuation and in case there is a third one, but it does not hold on fine against the og nor other movies of its kind.

Caught this on the night it debuted. A few hours earlier, they played the original. I was at home with my mother and was not going to go out shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving. The original was inoffensive if not great. But this one. Let's just say that I am an atheist and I was longing for some spirituality or mentions of the real meaning of the holidays.

Instead, this is a very shallow look at a bunch of shallow people in a Homeowner's Association (HOA) who really don't think of much but decorations and cookie contests. Despite such a great cast like stalwart Lacey Chabert, Melissa Peterman, Ellen Travolta and Stephen Tobolowsky ( all returning from the original movie), there isn't much here to recommend it. Too bad. Not hoping for a third.