Twas the Night Before Christmas

source: Twas the Night Before Christmas

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7.2 stars. Several movie actors decide to put on a broadway play about a courtroom drama depicting who was the true author of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'. If you research it, there is question of who really authored it, however it seems pretty clear to me, or at least there is a logical conclusion. But you never know... This is a fresh new spin on Hallmark stories, the characters are cut from a different cloth so to speak, it's not a Christmas story as much as a testament of what an off Broadway type of production might be like in the real world with a bunch of wannabes and a few of the genuine article. It's an interesting take on it, and I gotta say, I'm sold. It's sparkling with strange humor, and strange personalities, and weird innuendo and obvious Hollywood meets Broadway clashing and whatever else it represents for which I really have no idea, I'm just totally shoveling out a bunch of random words right now, but it sounds good to me. Give it a whirl, you will probably be at least mildly entertained. I'll watch this again in a few years, maybe twice a decade.

This movie sucked me in right from the start. It was a great story and the actors were very believable in their roles, and the subplot of the unique play was also quite interesting! The introduction of the "ghosts" added a bit of humor, yet it also was special in that if revealed how far back this tradition goes. These are the Christmas movies I love - the ones with an engaging, heartwarming story and the ones that remind you of what makes Christmas such a special time of year. I don't often rewatch Christmas movies because there are SO MANY each year, but I make special exceptions for the ones that really moved me. I think it's safe to say I'll be rewatching this one! Thank you, Hallmark!

This was not the formula Halmark movie that has become the staple. The principals were expertly cast as were all the supporting players. Torrey Devito is a pleasure to watch. The two playing Moore and Livingston left you wanting more. The acting was excellent and the dialogue perfect. This was a totally enjoyable movie to watch and watch again. There have been a few Hallmark movies that deserved a sequel to see the characters relationship over time. This deserves a sequel to see a more thorough development of who actually wrote the poem with Livingston (the next time) being able to hear his side to the mystery. Truly one of the best with great twists and turns with no foreshadowing of the end of the trial.

'Twas The Night Before Christmas (2022) - What a great and fresh concept for a seasonal film. It still had a lot of the traditional motif's and the heart of the usual films, as well as a couple of the typical hammy and cheesy bits and the romance, while not as prominent, was still cute, but it also brought something educational and diverse. I liked Torrey DeVitto as Madison and I liked Zane Holtz in the role of Connor too. I particularly liked his fantastic chest, which filled the room, let alone his tops, but I really enjoyed the slow build up of their relationship, because it was easy, pleasant and uncomplicated. The drama element was played out in the rest of the film. I did find it hard to believe that Madison. Would be asked to make, and would achieve, so many changes to a play just ten days before opening night. I thought that it would be very unlikely. Most of that was due to the character of Lena (Sophie Bastelle) and her boyfriend, both of whom were a bit stupid. In general though, I loved the idea of a play that covered a real trial, one which I was totally unaware of. I love Christmas in all its forms and it's mythologies, so it was really interesting and enjoyable to discover that the origins of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' had been in contention. I had always thought it to be written by Clement Clark Moore and I'd had no idea that it might actually have been created by Major Henry Livingston Jr., whom I had never heard of at all. The point is that they delivered a really clever story here and without compromising any of the other values that are the staples of this genre. I thought it was great. I look forward to watching it again to pick up anything that I might have missed this time around. 7.5/10.

Favorite scene with Madison Rush (Torrey DeVitto) - Questioning Clement Clarke Moore's Ghost on the Stand only to have him Turn the Tables on her, Changing her View regarding the True Author of "'Twas The Night Before Christmas". BTW #1, I Loved this Movie! BTW #2, I Never Knew that there was a Who Wrote "'Twas The Night Before Christmas"? Issue that went to Trial in Real Life!!! Now that I've seen this Movie, I Truly Believe that Clement Clarke Moore wrote it. He may have been a Curmudgeon and Against Smoking, but he Loved his Children Very Much, and Wrote this Very Magical Christmas Poem for them. BTW #3, I Loved, Loved, Loved "The Sound Of Music" Quotes - My Favorite Movie Ever!!! Set in New York.

The leads in this are great but not as great as the unique and interesting concept for their Christmas play...a court case over who actually wrote 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. 'Twas the night before Christmas had a different title and was published anonymously originally, then it was published under the name Clement C. Moore...but some argue that it was really written by a man named Livingston. Madison Rush is a famous actress, but wants to try her hat at directing. She gathers an old acting friend and single dad, Connor Avery to play the male lead and lawyer. And is forced to use her backer's girlfriend for the female lead...which really stretches her directing chops. The best thing about this holiday romance is the romantic notion that two ghosts are really fighting to prove that they wrote the now famous poem. This was fun and unique. I recommend watching if you are a big fan of Christmas movies.

Torrey Devitto is fast becoming one of my favorite Hallmark actresses. She's beautiful, talented, and often plays smart, strong, assertive women (loved her move at the very end). I enjoyed watching her in Rip in Time, The Christmas Promise and Write Before Christmas. Hallmark rookie Zane Holtz, who played Connor, was solid too. I just watched a movie where extreme close-ups just didn't work. But here there is an extreme close-up of Torrey Devitto in an early kitchen scene and she just lights up the screen. In fairness, Holtz nailed his close up too with his line about "our kiss in Christmas Time Cupid was my favorite on screen kiss". This was directed by Gary Yates who also directed some of my favorite Hallmark movies: Christmas by Starlight; On the 12th Date of Christmas; Once Upon a Christmas Miracle; Pearl in Paradise; A Dream of Christmas; A Bride for Christmas; and Taylor Cole's winter trilogy. Richard Waugh, with his portrayal of Henry Livingston, Jr., and Shaun Austin-Olsen, with his portrayal of Clement Clark Moore were terrific. Truly outstanding. And the movie actually did a nice job of including a lot of the competing facts regarding the contested authorship of the famous poem (although the writer put his thumb on the scale at the end, presumably due to time constraints). Amanda Barker is fun as B&B Edna who has a crush on Connor. Sophie Bastelle did a great job with the thankless task of playing an actress who supposedly can't act (which was reminiscent of the set up in Bullets Over Broadway). There are a lot of fun lines by writer C. Jay Cox, who also wrote Sweet Home Alabama, last year's great Hallmark movie Love Strikes Twice, and this year's wonderful Rip in Time: When Conner walks into the theater for the first time, Hayley looks at him and says to Madison: "To what should my wondering eyes appear?" which is taken right from the poem for which the movie is named. Hayley: "You said you'd let me know what Conner and you find" Madison: "He's helping me do research" Hayley: "Carrying your books to class?" Madison: "Aren't you too busy for misguided innuendo?" Hayley: "One should never be too busy for innuendo" Madison: "Misguided" Hayley: "You have your version, I have mine" Madison: "I took this play to give myself a challenge, and Lena is a challenge" Hayley: "I admire your affinity for understatement" Connor: "She doesn't need to be Meryl Streep, she just needs to say her lines and not bump into the furniture" Hayley: "And that marks the end of my 15 minute human interaction break" And the exchanges between the "lawyers" and the witnesses were well written and well performed. The mock trial that the movie is based on is called "The Trial Before Christmas". It was written by Duncan Crary and Jack Casey and was first staged in Troy's historic downtown courthouse in 2013, and then again in 2014. But this movie, as with most Hallmark movies, was filmed in Canada. I grade Hallmark movies on a curve, so this is an easy 10 for me.

This story is totally different from most of the Halmark Christmas romance movies, but it still has some echoes of a few of those romance stories. After all, there is a Christmas performance that brings together two old flames to rekindle their past. But the trial setting with the objective of shedding light on the true authorship of a Christmas iconic tradition is unusual and there is some mysticism thrown in with the appearance of a ghost. The acting is good. The dialog is sparkling. There are twists and turns. Did anyone predict the outcome of the trial even if the outcome of the relationship was predictable? I did expect one thing involving Madison even if it didn't occur to me how that would happen. That was clever. And the chemistry between Torrey DeVito and Zone Holtz was excellent. This was a good climax to Hallmark Channel's 2022 lineup.