If I could retire one Christmas movie plot, it would be the old “corporate takeover of a beloved family-run Christmas tree farm” chestnut. A staple of the holiday season, it rarely packs an emotional punch and is instead bloated with filler. The Tree That Saved Christmas is a prime example of the kind of sentimental drivel that Hallmark, Lifetime, UPTV, and Co. so adeptly delivers. Lacey Chabert stars as Molly Logan, an aspiring writer who’s always had her head in the clouds. Adulthood brings her down to earth, but just a little.
As a PA for her demanding boss, Walter Dunlop (Jim Thorburn), she does everything from running office errands to babysitting his two motherless girls (Yasmeene Ball and Alisha Newton). When she discovers her special tree – one that she saved from destruction at the family farm years ago – sitting in his living room, she takes this as a sign to return home. Molly arrives, stolen tree in hand, only to find her parents (Lini Evans and Eric Keenleyside) in no mood to celebrate Christmas. She learns that the bank is ready to foreclose on the farm, and with a buyer in line to turn the property into a golf resort, it’s shaping up to be the worst holiday ever.
The story doesn’t always veer into the mawkish, and some of the best moments are between Molly and her brother, Ryan (Matthew Kevin Anderson). As the two struggle with career disappointments and their parents’ uncertain futures, they feel their way through adulthood, seemingly for the first time. That vulnerability resonates far more than Molly’s endless moaning about tradition, and it’s too bad that Ryan disappears for long stretches, forcing their relationship into the background. In his place is Lucas Bishop (Corey Sevier), Molly’s old flame and the guy tasked with taking over the farm. This pairing also has potential to drive the story into a more emotionally mature space, and both actors handle dramatic scenes well. Sevier especially brings layers to his character, but the script doesn’t allow the two to grow, even as Molly and Lucas try to reckon with their contentious breakup and the lingering mistrust.
The relationships are instead crowded out by everything else the story must do. The movie crams in requisite but generic scenes of Molly’s quest to save the farm and her town. She takes a principled stand at the city council meeting and goes head-to-head with the villainous bank manager – and Lucas’s dad (James Kidnie). She even makes a tortured attempt to get their family home listed as a historic building. When the narrative takes an odd turn and focuses on Walter and his family, she’s there to heal those wounds as well. I don’t mind that it’s all one big soppy mess; I know what I’m getting. I’m more offended that it’s so unimaginative when there are clear hints of a better story to be told.
Released: 2014
Dir: David Winning
Writer: Michael J. Murray
Cast: Lacey Chabert, Corey Sevier, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Jim Thorburn, Eric Keenleyside, Lini Evans, James Kidnie, Olivia Steele Falconer, Darien Provost, Karen Holness, Yasmeene Ball, Alisha Newton
Time: 88 min
Lang: English
Country: United States
Network: UPTV
Reviewed: 2021
Fits of Fury 