DECEMBER 23rd, 2016
By LANA CARBON & JOHN LILIES
1. Christmas Angel - 2009
A woman goes to work as an assistant for her philanthropist neighbour but there is a catch, she can’t tell anyone he is involved…even the guy she is falling for.
[Lana] I actually enjoyed this movie as it showed the warmth of the true meaning of the holidays without being overly cheesy. The good acting goes a long way to how a story comes across (as we would soon find out).
[John] This was a nice heart-warming piece to start us off well. In fact, deciding to watch this was actually what led us to make all of our 12 movies this year, only made-for-TV movies.
2. Snow - 2004
Nick Snowden’s reindeer was poached and sold to the zoo. Can he get it back and teach it to fly in time to save Christmas?
[Lana] This movie was cheesy in all the best ways. Tom Cavanagh is such a wonderful actor we could watch him in nearly anything and this was just fun.
[John] I’m a big Tom Cavanagh fan, so when Lana mentioned this as an option, I did not hesitate for a moment. It was the perfect amount of cheese with some genuine smiles and great laughs.
3. Snow 2: Brain Freeze - 2008
Nick gets amnesia when he suffers a head injury. Can Sandy make him remember that he is Santa before Christmas is ruined?
[Lana] The first Snow was so enjoyable we decided to watch the sequel as well and while not quite as good at the first one it was still a lot of fun.
[John] The sequel is rarely as good as the original and this one was certainly no different. However, it was still a cute movie and Tom Cavanagh always makes my heart feel the warm fuzzies.
4. Always Remember I Love You - 1990
(SUGGESTED BY PATRICK KELLER)
A teenaged boy discovers he was adopted and sets out to find his biological parents from whom he was stolen as a young child.
[Lana] This was a very emotional story that touched both of our hearts. Thank you, Patrick for introducing this movie to us.
[John] When I saw that Patty Duke was in this movie, I needed no further reason and was more than happy to watch this one. I was most definitely happy with the decision, even if there were some tears throughout the duration of the movie.
5. Small Town Santa - 2014
A small town sheriff has lost his Christmas spirit when his ex won’t allow his daughter to spend the holidays with him. To top it off, his house is broken into by a guy claiming to be Santa Claus.
[Lana] There are good movies and there are bad movies and then there are movies that are so bad that they become good. This falls in that latter category. I must say that Dean Cain is definitely not in Superman form in this movie.
[John] Oh my stars. This really was so bad it was fantastic. This was the ultimate combination of bad acting and cheesy line delivery, so who could ask for more? This was absolutely what I was looking for when we decided on made-for-TV movies.
6. The Santa Con - 2014
Feeling guilty for promising to get a child’s parents back together while working as a mall Santa, a conman tries to make good on his word.
[Lana] This is a who’s who of 90’s TV. Starring Matt Camden from 7th Heaven, he was over-shadowed on the advertising by Sabrina and Urkel even though they had much smaller roles.
The story itself was cheesy and fun.
[John] This was horrible and so good. It was predictable and hokey with the right amount of Christmas fuzzies. A great choice for our list… absolutely enjoyable.
7. Pete’s Christmas - 2013
(SUGGESTED BY DEAR FRIEND ALLY DIAS)
Pete is feeling left out as the middle child but will living the same Christmas Day over and over help show him the importance of family?
[Lana] I actually found this quite pleasing. A Christmas version of Groundhog Day that reminds the viewer that it isn’t gifts but seeing others you love finding happiness, that truly matters.
[John] This one brought the tears. Our dear friend suggested we watch this and warned us it would give us the fuzzies; she was not mistaken. I really enjoyed this movie.
8. A Dog Walker’s Christmas Tale - 2015
(SUGGESTED BY MA CARBON)
A spoiled rich girl is forced to take a job walking a dog to earn some money. The park where she goes happens to be the development site of a future spa but how will this impact the people who have ties to the area?
[Lana] Ma Carbon told us that we had to include a Christmas tale that involved dogs, in honour of our four-legged family members. This seemed as good a choice as any. Well…at least the dogs weren’t barking Jingle Bells.
[John] Ha! Yes… this was a bit of stinky cheese but it had the right elements for a family Christmas movie. The pups were cute and we had the obligatory happy TV-movie ending, so it was a good choice. The only thing I would have liked more, is if we could have watched while sitting on a big enough chesterfield for all of our beloved furry family members to cuddle up with us.
9. It’s Christmas, Carol - 2012
(SUGGESTED BY ALLY DIAS)
This is a modern version of A Christmas Carol where a successful publisher is in need of learning the meaning of Christmas.
[Lana] They try throwing some comedy in between some really sappy scenes with disastrous results. They should have left the telling to Dickens in my opinion.
[John] Oh, this was bad. The stinkiest cheese we could have imagined. For that reason, it was a great TV movie but it truly was oh, so bad. Ally Dias suggested it to us… possibly jokingly. I believe Ally loves us enough to only teasingly want to torture us this way. Simultaneously, cheesy TV movies do give me the warm fuzzies, even at their worst.
10. Help for the Holidays - 2012
An elf, who wonders if there is more to life than making toys, leaves the North Pole to help a busy mom and her family regain the Christmas spirit.
[Lana] So sweet, this will give you cavities but again in that wonderfully cheesy way that you may not mind at all.
[John] This was great! I really loved this one. Perfectly tender and innocent, it gave me all the fuzzy feels.
11. Dear Secret Santa - 2013
A woman begins getting romantic Christmas cards from a secret admirer who she believes to be an old neighbour that has been dead for 3 years.
[Lana] This movie is basically The Lake House if it was filmed at Christmas time.
[John] There were aspects of this movie that were endearing and then there were moments when I actually exclaimed, “Did they take that directly from The Lake House?!?” Some warm moments mixed with some ridiculous cheese… still a cute one to watch.
12. Christmas Oranges - 2012
This is the story of a young orphan girl who inspires hope to all those around her.
[Lana] This was by far my favourite movie of all the films we watched during our 12 movies. I am a big fan of period pieces in the first place and love anything Edward Herrmann is in.
[John] This was, without hesitation, my favourite too. I cried so much – happy tears and sad tears. It was a beautiful showing of love, kindness, and empathy. We have been repeatedly singing “Lavender Blue Dilly Dilly…” ever since it ended.
Bonus
John skipped out on a few that we decided to make our bonus selections, so only Lana had this pleasure…
1. Let It Snow - 2013
A big company wants to commercialize a family lodge but when the new owner’s daughter starts to feel the Christmas spirit, she has second thoughts.
[Lana] This was the classic story of how holiday spirit seems to always conquer the overwhelming powerhouse that is commercialism and big business. If only that were the case…
2. Journey Back to Christmas - 2016
(SUGGESTED BY PHIL CHILDERS)
A nurse from World War 2 is transported to 2016 and shares some of the Christmas traditions from her time.
[Lana] Sometimes, by looking into the past we can slow down and see a different, and sometimes better, way.
3. Guess Who’s Coming to Christmas - 2013
A rock star tries to fix his image by granting a fan’s wish by playing a concert in their small town. While there he sees the true value of family and holiday spirit.
[Lana] A rock star goes to a small town, stays with a reverend and his family, learns morals, gets sober and falls in love. That is a Christmas miracle…and so is making it all the way through this movie.
[John] To be fair… I did start watching this one but was so truly bored that I slept through most of it (I was desperate for sleep but I likely wouldn’t have made it through the movie even if I hadn’t been completely exhausted).
Songs
1. Little Drummer Boy by Boney M
[John] Our first movie of the 12, mentioned that the “Little Drummer Boy” inaccurately portrays the sound of drums as “pa-rum-pa-pum-pum”. So, naturally, we needed to use this song for our first choice.
2. Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys
[John] This seemed entirely appropriate, given the role that Tom Cavanagh plays in our second movie choice.
3. I Believe in Santa Claus by The Mills Brothers
[John] This was fitting, given the challenge that Tom Cavanagh’s character faces in Snow 2.
4. Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time by Sufjan Stevens
[John] The adventure that our lead character takes and the emotions that rip through Patty Duke’s character throughout this movie, for whatever reason screamed “Sufjan Stevens” to me.
5. There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays by The Carpenters
[John] The theme of the Dean Cain movie spoke to the importance of family and being ‘home’. Every time I thought about the movie, this song played through my head. So, I decided it should be our selection for our 5th TV movie.
6. Zat you, Santa Claus? By Louis Armstrong
[John] I really can’t provide much reasoning for the majority of my song selections and so for the most part, you see me writing that it felt “appropriate” more often than not. When choosing this one, however, it was also a toss-up between Louis and Dr. Teeth & Electric Mayhem. Louis won out, but it wasn’t an easy choice.
7. The Secret of Christmas by Ella Fitzgerald
[John] After watching Pete’s Christmas, I was left with wanting a song that spoke to the meaning of the holiday and the spirit of the season. Ella makes me happy, and “The Secret of Christmas” seemed to do the trick for this one.
8. Walking in a Winter Wonderland by The Eurythmics
[John] I struggled trying to find the right song for A Dog Walker’s Christmas, so I finally handed over the responsibility to Lana. It didn’t seem to take him long to decide on The Eurythmics and I couldn’t agree more with his choice.
9. When Darkness is Falling by Boney M
[John] I may have been rushing with this one and honestly didn’t remember that we had already posted a Boney M song in our list. However, if you remember from last year, I said that Christmas is not Christmas for me without Boney M. As such, it’s actually fitting that we added them twice to our experience this year.
10. Where are you Christmas? By Sam Lin
[John] Indeed, where are you Christmas? In the life that our sweet elf chooses to experience and influence, the Christmas spirit is a challenge to find. Thankfully, it all works out for the best and the world is set back on its correct axis.
11. Oh Holy Night by Aaron Neville
[John] This was a song that was sung in our eleventh movie (think Lake House meets 80’s family values television) and I wanted to use the same song, but a completely different version that we don’t often hear.
12. Oh Holy Night by Apocalyptica
[John] You would think we would have realized that we had just posted this song for our previous movie, but we were so caught up in all the feels and wanting to find a suitable selection for this movie, that we completely lost sight of our previous choice. So, you get Oh Holy Night for a second time. However, this is an instrumental version that is in stark contrast to the Aaron Neville style, so it feels like a different song. Also… if I can post Apocalyptica for something, I will. We wanted to remain with a traditional feeling for the song for Christmas Oranges and Apocalyptica stayed true to this mood in their rendition.
[John] Thank you everyone, for playing along with us on this Christmas journey. I thoroughly enjoyed the TV movie experience and though it has been strange not watching all of my traditional films for the season, I am quite happy with the warm fuzzies I received from all of the cheese… mild and stinky alike.
Thank you, Lana, for another sentimental experience and the quality time we spent together during these movies. Though we did multi-task through some, doing up our Christmas cards and some crafty items, this time together really made my heart smile and I couldn’t ask for more than that. I love these adventures of ours.
Merry Christmas to all of you, our dear friends and readers. Your support has helped us navigate another year in this often-crazy life, and we value you all so much. We wish you all much love and happiness in the New Year. May it be filled with warm fuzzies and great health.
