Holiday Movie Marathon 2017 Part I

Another ridiculous length of time has come and gone between posts on TSIMD and all I have to say is that I just haven't felt like writing. I have watched a ton of TV, online videos and movies, I've taken notes on some of them, but I just haven't felt like writing and posting, until now.

What? What pray tell, has pulled me out of my no-writing-mood? Cheesy holiday movies.

It all started the 2016 holiday season, when Ion Television started advertising their Sunday holiday movie marathons and that they even were going to premiere some all-new original movies. I knew in my heart that these were guaranteed to be cheesy and I wanted to be on my couch to view them. Unfortunately, I was busy and/or forgetful on the Sundays of the holiday season 2016 and I barely caught a few clips, but never a whole movie.

Flash forward to 2017. Thanksgiving turkey in the fridge, I turn on the TV on a Sunday morning with only housework to do and I squealed with delight when I found a cheesy holiday movie on and myself available to watch it. The following is a list of my 2017 Cheesy Holiday Movie Marathon. I got so into it, that I saw many if not most of Ion Television's offerings, I also found some holiday cheese on Netflix and Amazon, as well. Some of it was good cheese; Some of it was bad cheese, so that's the rating system I used. Enjoy!

Good Cheese

Christmas Belle (Ion): Haylie Duff (Hillary Duff's older sister. You don't remember her either, eh.) stars in this Christmas Beauty and the Beast tale. Haylie just might be the Karen Black of B holiday movies.

Back to Christmas (Netflix): Woman goes back in time to her mistaken Christmas break-up, only to find some new, old love. Gloria Loring, who plays the mom in this movie was the co-composer of the Diff'rent Strokes and Facts of Life theme songs. Everybody finds a way to shine!

A Christmas in Vermont (Ion): A marketing expert turns around a failing winter wear company and falls in love. Featuring Chevy Chase as the mean boss and the main character is played by Abigail Hawk, who also plays Baker, the commish's secretary on Blue Bloods.

Falling for Christmas (Amazon): An injured figure skater recuperating in a small mountain town learns how to slow down and enjoy life from a local handyman and his daughter. Lisa Whelchel of Facts of Life Fame plays the figure skater's mom and Lochlyn Munro, who often plays a villain or antagonist, plays the handyman's best pal.

*Naught or Nice (I suspect it was Amazon, but its not available right now.): A big city, bad boy radio host is temporarily banished to work at a small town radio station with a quiet and considerate radio host of a Dear-Abby-like call-in show. Opposites attract and apparently make for good radio, too! Starring Haylie Duff as the small town radio host. This was one of my favorites.

*Marry Me for Christmas (Netflix): NYC marketing firm owner contracts her assistant to pretend to be her fiance during her long-awaited return home to spend Christmas with her family in Atlanta. This was the only holiday cheese that had an all-Black cast and it was also one of my favorites. The guy who plays the main character's cousin, Carl Anthony Payne II, played Cole on the show Martin. And the actor who plays the main character's mom is Victoria Rowell, of Young and the Restless fame. I found that there is a series of these films. Hopefully they will be available for free next holiday season.

A Christmas Kiss (Ion): Assistant to a high-end interior designer finds herself falling for her boss' fiance. Of course the assistant wins. If that was a spoiler I recommend you take some time to learn about cheesy movies. The actor who plays the interior designer, Elisabeth Rohm, is known to me as one of the DAs on the original Law & Order, but according to her IMDB page, she gets a lot of work.

A Christmas Kiss II (Ion): Assist to a fashion magazine editor finds herself falling for her boss' brother and he for her. Elisabeth Rohm makes a cameo. Elisabeth Harnois (What are the odds that both actors spell their name that way?), who plays the assistant, is known by me as Brody from the original CSI.

*12 Dates of Christmas (Netflix): Groundhog Day with a female lead. The main character relives the same day and the same blind date 12 times. She gets it right more than once, so this feels long, even so, I thought it was good holiday cheese. Starring Amy Smart from one of my comedy favorites, Road Trip, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar of Saved By the Bell.

Christmas Inheritance (Netflix): An heiress and socialite gets sent to a small town to deliver a message to her uncle. Once arrived, she finds that her plans have to be delayed and modified due to unforeseen circumstances. She's forced to spend unanticipated time in a new place and with new people and she find herself falling in love with the town and the hotel's manager. Andie MacDowell shows up in this movie. And randomly, her uncle turns out to be a Black man, but he also turns out to be just her father's business partner, not really her uncle! Whew!

Spirit of Christmas (Netflix): Cheesy holiday romance + time suspension + rum running = this movie. A lawyer has a short time frame to make sure a bed & breakfast is sold. During her efforts, she runs into the tangible, living, breathing ghost of the house's former occupant who comes back every year, 12 days before Christmas, to live in the house. Of course, during that 12-day period, the lawyer and ghost fall in love. I won't spoil the ending of this one.

A Christmas Prince (Netflix): Not to be confused with A Prince for Christmas, A Christmas Prince is about a reporter who finagles her way into the royal residence of some unknown land, by pretending to be the princess' American tutor. She falls for the bad boy prince and he falls for her, but then there's that big ol' lie she told. Alice Krige, B-sci-fi-fantasy-movie star, plays the queen.

A Cinderella Christmas (Ion): Angie hopes to take over her uncle's event planning business from her lazy, credit-taking cousin. Then she has a Cinderella-moment during her client's event and falls for the guy her cousin wants and he for her... but can he find her after the party or will he end up with the cousin? I wrote this confusingly on purpose.

A Dogwalker's Christmas Tale (Netflix): A spoiled 20-something has to fend for herself during the holidays after she spends her allowance on an expensive watch for a boyfriend that breaks up with her and her parents jet off on a winter vacation without her. She begins to walk the neighbors dog for money and finds fulfilment with a cute dogwalker, some other friendly dog owners and a dog park that is being threatened by a local developer. Can she help save the park? Is she falling for the cute dogwalker? You know the deal.

*Christmas Mail (Ion): Santa's daughter is sent to post offices all over the world during the holiday season to respond to Dear Santa letters. This year she finds herself working in an office with an ambitious mid-level office manager, single dad and former rock musician, who falls for her and she in turn falls for him. Will her dad let her settle in one place or will she have to continue the Claus family tradition? One of my favorites!