A Very Vermont Christmas

This is one of the odder entries in the 2024 Hallmark holiday film lineup. It is all about microbrews and instead of mocking the snobbery, they have fully embraced it. I don't drink beer at all, so all of this craft brew nonsense was lost on me. In fact I think I might really dislike this film with its clear jealous villain, if it were not for its main leads.

This is about the rivalry of a big beer company and a small ma and pop craft brewery. The Ma and pop, now run by the ma and daughter is struggling until they enter a competition and come up with a holiday aka seasonal craft brew that the jealous ex-boyfriend steels and sells to the big beer company (in a totally ugly and unseasonable move).

This might be a good holiday film for someone, but it wasn't my cup of tea...which keeps me from recommending it.

It's not the usual Christmas fair or charity benefit or the usual Christmas memes Hallmark seems to rely on. Even though the family pub business is riding in the balance, it's not the centerap plot line. The "villain" even had their forgiveness in the end. I'm not sure I'd have been so generous if an old family friend and former boyfriend stole from me and sabotaged me knowing it would put me out of business. There was one BIG goof that will be noticed. The 2 leads wanted to get the first chair up the mountain but Lifty Lucy wouldn't let them ride until the stroke of 9AM, despite no one else being around to even know, let alone on line. Yet when they're riding up the mountain and the camera focuses on their conversation, every chair behind them is filled. And when the camera focuses on their backs as they continue moving up the hill, there are also people in the chairs ahead of them. How did they get there? Did they fly and land in the chairs like birds? Overall, it won't ever be counted as the best Christmas movie Hallmark has ever made. But it's far from the worst. The 2 leads would be welcome in more Hallmark films, especially since GAF poached some of their bench.

Hallmark lost an opportunity to represent the deaf or hearing impaired community by not only not addressed the lead actresses hearing loss but by covering her hearing aids in every single scene. Shame on you Hallmark. This move makes you no better than those who left because they disagreed with certain storylines you were showing. I will no longer be watching Hallmark movies.

That being said the same old storylines are getting really boring. It's seriously time to light a fire under your writers and get some new content where not everything works out perfectly or the female lead doesn't give up everything for the "man of her dreams".

Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July continues with a craft beer and skiing in A Very Vermont Christmas. The plot unfolds in a Vermont ski town during the holiday season, where Joy (Katie Leclerc), a young brew master and local champion skier, manages her family's traditional ski pub, Mogul Joe's, alongside her mother, Mary (Joanna Herrington). Facing financial difficulties since Joy's father's passing, she worries about covering their expenses this Christmas.

Unexpectedly, Joy's ex-boyfriend Greg (John Forest) shows up and informs them about the Brew-Ski competition he's organizing at his rival venue, Frosty's. Intrigued by the opportunity, Joy and Mary see winning the competition as a potential Christmas miracle. Meanwhile, Joy crosses paths with Zac (Ryan McPartlin), a charming yet inexperienced skier, on the slopes after a lift mishap.

Lightweight, sweet, family oriented romantic comedy ... nothing special but enjoyable.

Almost halfway through. So far it's a bit cringe worthy. We like Katie Leclerc and Ryan McPartlin, however Katie seems to smile awkwardly at everything and Ryan's hair always looks a mess. Will have to see how it pans out but I'm betting the picture Zac takes with her recipes in the background will cause a problem going forward. Also, their "relationship" seemed to take all of three days to build into something serious. The ex, Greg is really creepy. Was going to DVR it but quite honestly we don't feel like it's worth a second viewing. If you like craft beers, you may find it interesting and if there's nothing else to do it's not the worst thing to watch.