Christmas on Cherry Lane

I am not sure what it is about this wonderful addition to the Hallmark Christmas movies that encouraged me for the first time to write a review but it really touched me. The ties that bind this movie is truly in the spirit of the holidays. I was transported into the heart of each character and felt invested in their journey. Must admit I will love a follow up next year. (As I know Hallmark is want to do). Unlike most reviews, I am not going to give you a play by play as I feel the magic of this movie is to be experienced without any preconceived notions. But I will say that you can tell that each of the actors felt invested in their journey and give us their vision of what family really means and the various ways to show it. Kudos to the writer and the actors for the fun journey they took us on. As an aside, Catherine Bell you have never looked more beautiful.

I enjoyed this movie. It's well constructed and acted with good performances all round in particular I liked Vincent Rodriguez III as Jonathan Bennett's long-suffering carol singing partner. The 3 story lines weave seamlessly if somewhat confusingly together and there is a heartwarming end. What more could you want from a Hallmark LGBT inclusive Christmas movie? Well, I for one would like to see Hallmark (and others) push just a little further. For all its diversity credit, this film is still wholeheartedly about the conformity of the family ideal. The gay men are cute with the children. The adopted girl is set firmly on the path to become a little princess. Religion rears its secular head through the singing of carols. None of this bothered me too much - but one detail did. The gay kiss. This was very much a 'no sex please we're hallmark' movie. No shirtless reveal. No steamy shower scene, and the kiss between the two men is blink-and-you'll-miss-it brief, and shot carefully to be out of sight of the child. A pity.

There's so much in here about families and how Christmas brings out the best and worst in them, that it almost feels like the writer is presenting a theory and philosophy of family Christmas.

It's one of the most interesting and innovative of the "family Christmas" sub-genre of Christmas movies that I've seen.

That said, there is an awful lot going on here and I got a little lost as I wasn't paying full attention. Not least because the description I read didn't make it clear that events are happening at different times in the same location. So I was struggling, at times, to work out precisely how the various characters spanned the 3 time periods.

I didn't pay enough attention to the trailer that preceded this film's release during the week. This is one Hallmark film where the ending doesn't matter as much as what happens in each of the three stories. This film has sweet and relatable stories, and as is the way with Hallmark, love still takes center stage. Note: If you're a bit drowsy or are overly distracted, perhaps wait till you're not to watch, otherwise you'll likely miss the smattering of clues to help you understand what's going on with each of the three stories. With a large stellar cast, this film is not your typical Hallmark movie. Love that Hallmark is working hard to ensure ensure representation in story lines as well in casting.

I was a huge Good Witch fan (I wish more of those were being made) and I love Catherine Bell and James Denton, which is why I was excited to see them together in a Hallmark holiday film. So, I came for the two of them...but found myself enjoying quite another storyline instead, that of John Brotherton (John Hamilton) and Erin Cahill (Lizzie). John and Lizzie play a couple who have just moved into their first home, expecting a new baby, money is tight, they haven't unpacked, and Lizzie's big family descends on them for Christmas when they expect to have a quiet Christmas Eve just themselves. Funny and real with each other, this was definitely the story at the heart of this film.

Cleverly the writers tied three stories in three different time periods together in the same house...and with some of the same people, like their neighbor on Cherry Lane played exceptionally by the same actress in all three time periods.

There were some inaccuracies with their time frames, but they did try to throw in some time period specific notes...like the oil crisis and a hallmark keepsake Christmas ornament. I appreciated having a foster child pay it forward and make another foster kid's Christmas special. That was a really nice touch.

This wasn't really a romance, but it was a family drama. If you like holiday family dramas then this might be for you.