Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday

Jennifer (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and Meg Swift (Ashley Williams) are sisters and best of friends. Jennifer runs a restaurant which got a coveted spot in a contest. She comes home for Christmas and grows concerned over the sale of their beloved late uncle's theater.

I've always loved the Williams sisters. They are great at being positive which plays well against some comedians. They have been great partners to many TV male comedians. It's rare that they do stuff together. That's the intriguing twist to this Hallmark partnership. Their real-life sisterhood makes it easy for them translate it into on-screen chemistry. The problem is that the structure of the premise leaves them mostly in separate movies. It loses the power of that something new. The constant dive into the off-screen other movie just cuts down the time for their own story. It doesn't really matter anyways because the story isn't that worthwhile. Hallmark should just put the two sisters in the same movie and leave them together. They could solve murders if they want. They would probably do it with big goofy smiles.

'Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday' is the first of a two-part Christmas movie. The twist is that the two storylines run parallel, each from the perspective of one of the two sisters, who are our protagonists in the two films. Adding to this, the two sisters are played by the William sisters (i.e., real-life sisters). So, it's a great concept, what could go wrong? Although there is plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer in this first installment of 'Sister Swap' (there is a lot of energy in this one as well), the story itself, I'm afraid, is not very good and the acting is mixed. In 'A Hometown Holiday', the story revolves around Jennifer (played by Kimberly Williams-Paisley), a successful restaurant owner in Salt Lake City who lives with her teenage son Simon (played by Jacob Buster). Her sister, Meg (played by Ashley Williams), lives in their hometown of Hazelwood where she helps run the family bakery. This Christmas Jennifer and her son head home to spend Christmas with the family, while Meg heads to Salt Lake City to help out at her sister's restaurant. Jennifer soon learns that her mother wants to sell their late Uncle Dave's movie theatre (who recently passed away, played by Kevin Nealon). And so, our story begins as we watch Jennifer and her son (re)connect with their past through their Uncle's beloved movie theatre, and maybe, just maybe, they can have one final movie night for the community during Christmas. As other reviewers have pointed out, there are several issues with the story. The writers do a terrible job of setting the scene when it comes to who the (supporting) characters are in the story. I am referring to Luke (played by Jim Byrnes) and Uncle Dave. Though minor, it is unnecessarily annoying. The story itself lacks focus, often drifting in and out of scenes, some of which become clearer in the second film. The writers could have done a better job of integrating these parallel stories in a more coherent narrative here in the first movie (to avoid such pitfalls). That said, the writers do a decent job of conveying the closeness, the friendship, the love the two sisters have for each other. But, again, some of this gets lost in this first movie, as you only get part of the story. It is not until the second movie that you start putting it all together. The acting is a bit of a let-down. I am sorry to say, but Williams-Paisley's performance is not very good or convincing. As others have pointed out, there is too much overacting in her performance that doesn't come across well on-screen. I found myself struggling to engage with her performance throughout the movie. Simply put: it turned me off. Though the romance in this one is not central to the story, as is the case in the second film, it still isn't very good. There is no real chemistry between Jennifer and Eric on-screen. I feel sorry for Mark Deklin (playing Eric). Leaving aside the chemistry, he has a strong performance. The rest of the cast is pretty good, especially Buster, who has a lovely performance as the son. All in all, although a fresh concept, this first installment of 'Sister Swap' is a disappointment, I'm afraid.

This movie seemed to gel a lot better than Sister Swap: Christmas in the City. Maybe I watched them out of order, but this storyline made more sense. The real-life sisters were more natural together, there was less of the social agenda and more attention to the story.

Their favorite uncle and owner of the local family theatre, Dave, has passed away and this will be the first Christmas without him. The sisters' parents have decided to sell the theater and Jennifer Swift (Meg Swift's sister) convinces local handyman and town council member Eric to help her do one last Christmas at The Madison...for just the family, but then the whole town gets invited. The two single parents (and former high school debate nemesis) bond over fixing up the theater. Lots of family and town Christmas memories.

"The Madison is famously romantic."-Pops.

"What, do you just walk through town with a later?"-Jennifer.

"You know I meet the best people that way."-Eric.

I loved the chemistry between the two real-life sisters, Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. I had no idea that they were sisters, but I also am not typically a year-round Hallmark movie person. Christmas is the thing for me!

These movies are not meant to have massive plot-twists, nor are they rivals for the complexities of say, 'Inception', but I'm realizing how a shortcoming of development can really set movies back. (Novice movie critic here.) I don't think there is enough character development, and there is something missing in terms of relationships. Why was Dave so missed by his sister, which is an atypical 'trope'- usually movies are focused on main relationships, because they tend to reflect real-life. Siblings are always important, but there is not a connection that helps the audience understand why his passing was so devastating for his sister (the Mom).

Likewise, why don't we hear more about the loss of Jennifer's husband?

And also: why did they swap cities...what made that something that was helpful to the end goal of the plot?

And as far as grief is concerned, it seems that Meg (the younger sis who typically lives in the small town, Hazelwood) is in a phase of 'healing from grief'. Is this from her uncle passing, or...something else? If that was addressed, I missed it.

These are the questions that still remain unanswered.

I agree with the other reviewer that Jacob Buster is a star- he is so incredibly impressive, and resonates as an atypically sweet/sensitive teen. I hope that he continues his career, because he has the same charm and charisma as someone like Freddie Highmore, etc.

7 stars for beautiful scenery, natural chemistry between the two leads, and Jacob's efforts.

3 stars missing for lack of plot development, character definition/relationships, and some unanswered questions in general.

My title is a quote from the character Simon about a bow tie. If you stretch your imagination a bit, you could think of these two movies that way. I'm a fan of Ashley Williams so I was ready to enjoy the pair of movies no matter what.

The hook in this movie is the multiple relationships. The story is nothing great. Have to sell our family ________ (movie theatre). The lead couple are working together to repair it. The premise is especially a bit of a stretch which is where "ridiculous" comes in. In this movie, the family relationships are just as significant as any romance. The sisters (real life sisters) love each other and it shows. Jennifer's son, Simon, forms a kind of fraternal bond with Eric's much younger daughter. Plus Meg and Jennifer's parents. There is a romance story, but it has to share the spotlight with all the other things.

I would think the story encompassing both movies could have been squeezed into one movie. As it is, the sister movie (yes it's a pun) steals several scenes from this one while a few of the same events are shot from different perspectives and maybe changed slightly. The stories run parallel and the other movie continues a little past the ending of this one. But combining the two into one who have squeezed everything a bit too much.

There's a lot of fun and energy in both movies. It's strange, but I don't think the two movies should be separated, but it also creates some confusion a little like mental whiplash. Also, while this movie is broader than a simple romance, the second movie is a little more focused on the corresponding romance.

I liked both movies, but not as much as I anticipated. I got the fun and energy I expected, but as another reviewer said, it's kind of all over the place. The two movies together use a lot of the common tropes which are overused this time of year. On the other hand, the parallel stories and how they are combined give a different feel to it. When it comes down to it, I think each person's enjoyment will be influenced by their predisposition to the two main actresses.