Scouting for Christmas

Six Stars: Solid. Could be better.

Full disclosure-I was going to skip this one, but I'm glad I didn't. Scouting for Christmas was a charming non-traditional family story. It didn't break new ground but was perfectly enjoyable.

Ten-year-old Brooklyn (Audrey Wise Alvarez) is a Sunny Scout and loves baked goods and the guy who bakes them, Sir Bakes-A-Bunch, William (Carlo Marks). Brooklyn's single mom Angela (Tamera Mowry-Housley), is a busy real estate agent who doesn't like asking for help. She shows up late to things, which is apparently her worst quality as a human. Other than that, she's pretty great.

Brooklyn and Angela enlist Sir Bakes-A-Bunch to audition to be the caterer/goodie table guy for the Sunny Scout holiday ball. The relationship building centers around that story line.

We also meet Dakota (James Paladino) who is Brooklyn's dad, but I'm convinced he is 75% Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper. Look him up, you'll see it too.

The meanie is Den Mom Elizabeth (Jaycie Dotin). She is easy to root against in all things. She's judgy and snooty to a "working" mom who can't possibly be a good mom, work and show up to things on time.

This is set in Washington state. They keep showing images of snowy Seattle. That's not really a thing. We have other cities here, too. Maybe visit Leavenworth if you need a snowy Washington town. Also, nobody here has ever said "tri-state area," if anything they would say, "the Northwest" which covers Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Also, we drink coffee (home of Starbucks), not tea.

Funniest line: When Brooklyn is asked what she wants for Christmas, she replies that she wants her dad to come home and her mom to be fun. Brooklyn's friend replies, "Whoa. That's deep. I want an electric scooter."

Cast Kudos: Brooklyn (Audrey Wise Alvarez). She's a very good child actor who is really the driving force of the whole movie.

Alternative Titles: Those who bake a lot, love a lot; Sunny Scout Ball; A baker for Christmas; Christmas Matchmaker Meritt Badge.

Tamera's acting was not so good in this movie. For someone playing the mother to a child she'd adopted at 2, she talked to her like she was the babysitter hired to watch a new kid for the day/night. It was awkward. The girl was, what? 10? She talked to her like she was 5. I LOVE Carlo Marks and will watch ANYTHING he's in, but he and Tamera had absolutely zero chemistry. Which has to be her doing, because everything I've seen him in, he's had some kind of spark between him and the main female lead.

I really wanted to like this movie because it represents my household. My daughter, growing up as a mixed child, never saw HER family represented on the Hallmark Channel. Majority of their couples and and/or families are very homogeneous. This movie was a let down.

Another Hallmark Christmas movie that I had never even heard of. But I had the opportunity to sit down and watch director Jason Bourque's 2024 movie "Scouting for Christmas" as part of my December Christmas movie marathon. And while I had never heard about the movie, I suppose that the writers had every opportunity to impress and entertain me.

Writers Ali Spuck and Casie Tabanou put together a good script. True to the classic Hallmark formula, the writers delivered a storyline that had elements of romance, family, and holiday season; all in all, what you would expect from a sappy Christmas movie. And it worked out nicely, because the narrative proved entertaining. Predictable? Sure. Sappy? You betcha. But isn't that what makes for a good sappy Christmas movie? And that is what Hallmark usually do quite well.

The acting performances in the movie are good. The only familiar face on the cast list for me was leading actress Tamera Mowry-Housley.

If you enjoy sappy Christmas movies, then you should definitely take 84 minutes to sit down and watch this 2024 Hallmark movie.

My rating of director Jason Bourque's movie lands on a six out of ten stars.

I'm an avid Hallmark movie watcher with my wife. Christmas movies are by far our favorite to watch. After a stressful, busy day, I don't want to be stressed out by the negativity and vulgar junk I see on TV now. This movie was a great way to kick off the Christmas season for us. I enjoy all of the movies Tamera Mowry Housely does, she has a genuine warm demeanor that always comes across in her movies. I think her and the girl who played her daughter had a nice natural chemistry. There were elements that reminded us a little of The Parent Trap and I thought that was really cool. To me it makes it a great movie for the entire family. It has romance.and the fun that kids will also enjoy. We need more movies that bring the family together and remind us of all the Good there's still around us.

I have to say this movie was a breath of fresh air. Pretty much all Hallmark movies are the same and after a while it starts to get boring. I felt this was a sweet and happy movie that just felt good. All the characters meshed well together and the two leads were fantastic. Great chemistry between each other and the rest of the cast. So much negativity out in the real world, I want to escape into a place where good always wins and happily ever after. I would not understand what it is like to be a single mother, so I do feel they did a good job in trying to show the struggles that someone would go through.