The producers of "Christmas on the Coast" missed the boat (pun too?). The idea for the plot is okay, and could have been a very good film, but as a comedy. There's just enough in it as is, especially with the characters of Hawk Cramer, Fletcher Reese, Drucinda Cassadine and Ellie Cassadine. Indeed, Julie Ann Emery and Bonnie Bedelia have naturally humorous personas as daughter and mother. But instead, this movie was made as a drama, but without much of anything convincing along those lines in the screenplay.
Even the lead role's name begged for comedy treatment - Drucinda evokes the name of a mean step-sister of Cinderella, Drisella; or of a mischievous witch from some other tale. Brian Lafontaine's Hawk is a comedic character itching to be cut loose. But for a few lines that attest to that, and his voracious appetite, his character is wasted and certainly doesn't fit in any drama of this film. And the drama, or what seems to pass as the drama, seems very forced and unbelievable. Mom and her friends are shocked and hurt after reading a few chapters of Drucinda's new book that makes them appear as a bunch of hicks. Even with the names and places changed, they are hurt because they know she was writing about them. Then, as proof of how lame this plot scene is, they so quickly get over it.
Finally, as a romance this film fails completely. If there is any chemistry at all between Drucinda and Brysen Flynn, it must still be in the petri dish of the producer's lab. Burgess Jenkins has so little life and spark to him that his character appears bland most of the time. The only other occasional sparks in the film are provided by Clarence Gilyard as Fletcher Reese, and Cait Pool as Brysen's daughter, Peyton Flynn.
And these characters, along with Drucinda, her mom and agent (Hawk), were ideal for building a very good comedy film. It could use the same premise, the same settings, etc. It just needed to be rewritten for that purpose. And then, maybe even the romance could enter in with Drucinda's coming back to earth at the end, and realizing what life could really be like.
I doubt very much that a huge four-engine passenger jet would be landing at an airport in a place like that, as the movie implies. But, the scenery is very nice where the fictional Harbor Point, South Carolina, was filmed around Saint Simon's Island, Georgia. I always enjoy coastal scenes that have lighthouses.
In living on both coasts of the U. S. over the years, I became very interested in lighthouses and the history of the Lighthouse Service. The stories of lighthouse keepers included many rescue efforts from shipwrecks. The U. S. has the most lighthouses of any country in the world. Many have been abandoned, taken out of use, or succumbed to nature. But many more are still active as beacons for navigation. By the end of the 20th century, all lighthouses had been automated. Some have been transferred to historical trusts to operate, and others taken out of service have been transferred to historical preservation groups or sold to private sources. In my travels, I have been to or seen all of the lighthouses on the continental coastline of the Pacific Ocean, and most of the lighthouses below New England on the Atlantic Coast. I have been to and seen many along the coast of New England, several along the Gulf Coast ,and many in the Great Lakes, as well as some along the Alaska Coast and in Hawaii
Here are the best lines from this film.
Drucinda Cassadine, "I don't like Harbor Point." Hawk Cramer, "You don't have to like it to enjoy it." Drucinda, "What does that mean? Hawk, "It means... I don't know."
Drucinda Cassadine, meeting her mom at the airport, "Here's my stuff." Ellie Cassadine, "Did you leave anything in your closet?" Drucinda, cynically, "Ha, ha, mom - that's very funny."
Drucinda Cassadine, cynically, "Wow. This place is exactly the same." Ellie Cassadine, eagerly, "I know it. Ain't it great?"
Hawk Cramer, after Drucinda chases him out of her mom's kitchen, "I really want pancakes."
