📸: Hallmark Gold Crown
I give this movie 8 out of 10 vomits
🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
🟢 Plot 🟢
A Christmas wish gives Renee the successful life she’d always dreamed of. This new reality is perfect, except for one thing She is no longer married to her husband Aaron. Now, Renee must race against the clock to win him back before Christmas Eve.
🟢 The Stars 🟢
Vanessa Lengies – Renee
Corey Sevier – Aaron
🟢 Non Spoiler Spew 🟢
This was such a fun movie to watch. I enjoyed every minute of it. Even though this story has been told time and time again at Hallmark, I quite enjoyed this version of it. It was very emotional. The writer truly new what they were doing and believed in the story they were telling. It is emotional, entertaining, has depth, and light hearted. And of course full of romance.
What’s also wonderful about the movie is that you can tell everyone involved believed in the story. Every detail was well thought out. I even enjoyed the edits to commercial. MANY movies they leave in those long stares with no dialogue even though they could have cut the scene down by 3 seconds. The story focuses a lot on what’s important, family and taking a chance. So this makes it easy to relate to. We as people get so bogged down in a routine we forget to come up for air, take loved ones for granted, and we get too comfortable we don’t want to take risks in life. This movie reminds us to make the most out of the time we have.
Vanessa Lengies and Corey Sevier had amazing chemistry! Not only did they have great chemistry, but they were both wonderful actors. They both fully committed to their rolls and made everything they did believable. Nothing about them took me out of the movie. I was able to stay in the pocket and enjoy the movie to its fullest. Lengies shows her range as an actress and I was hooked every second she was on screen. Other actors it feels their heart is not in the project and they do not believe in what they are filming. She does such a great job I am with her on this emotional journey and I feel every emotion she does.
Overall, this was a fun watch and I recommend watching it when it comes on! Just a warning, grab your tissues. You’re gonna need them!
🔴 Plot Summary Spoiler Spew 🔴
Aaron tells Renee that they should sell her mom’s house that they live in to move back to New York where he can go to culinary school and she can open a food business and they can start a family. She tells him no because they are not financially stable and that her late mom loved the house. Her mom passed of a medical issue and Renee was left with paying the bills.
In all of the photos Renee has jet black hair, but when we see her she is blonde. Normally I don’t care about hair, but it is such a drastic change that I didn’t understand. When the camera was zooming in on the main actress I didn’t know it was her. I know that sounds dumb to have an issue with because women change their hair all the time. It was just something that threw me off guard.
Another thing that was not clear was the type of business Aaron wanted Renee to start. She was making a bread and cheese basket. So from that I did not get what type of business she would do. Later we find out, but still. It was an unclear beginning to the movie.
Renee goes to her work where they are currently doing pictures with Santa. She gives the bread and cheese basket to her pregnant friend and coworker, Tasha. Tasha is thankful and asks if the bread is warm. The owner of the store sees the basket and tells Renee that she cannot bring outside vendor food. He then takes the basket to his office to eat.
What the actual heck. I could not believe Tasha would ask if the bread is warm. I found it a little rude. I wouldn’t ask that. I would just be thankful that I got a goodie basket.
Ok. The owner made me mad. Honestly, so did Renee and Tasha. How the heck could they not speak up and say Renee brought it for Tasha who is PREGNANT. I am honestly surprised that Tasha didn’t chop the owners arm off. One thing you DO NOT do is take food away from a pregnant lady.
At the end of the day, and elf who was Santa’s helper goes up to Trisha and Renee and asks them if they would like to make a wish. If they make a wish they get a toy. Trisha makes one and wishes for an easy delivery and for her baby to be healthy. Renee declines, but the Elf gives her a bell toy and tells her to ring it after she makes her wish. Trisha leaves and Renee finishes sweeping.
This broom. Ok. The broom Renee is using to sweep the floor is terribly small. Ridiculously small. I would have told the owner they need to order a new one.
Renee talks to the owner saying she knows he wants to retire and she would like to become a manager. He tells her he decided not to retire so she will not be getting a promotion. Renee leaves and gets to her car. Her car died and won’t start. Renee then grabs the bell, wishes for a different life, closes her eyes on the steering wheel, then wakes up in an office in New York.
Renee closing her eyes on the steering wheel didn’t make sense. Well I guess I do get it because she is contemplating what her life is like and all the problems she has. But I still feel the first thing she should have dome was call her husband and call for a tow truck.
In this new place we see Renee have short hair. She calls Aaron, but it is a wrong number. Her colleague, Jerry, comes to her office to grab her so they can start the meeting. The meeting is to discuss their at home meal kits will lose money in the new year if they do not come up with a tactic to get more subscribers. Renee has no idea what is going on and everyone is looking to her for answers. She then finds out she is the CEO of the company. She freaks and goes back to her office. She is not alone in the office, her mom is there and then Renee faints. When she wakes up she asks her mom if she is real, then she starts crying.
Not gonna lie. I cried when Renee cried. Vanessa, who plays Renee, did such a great job acting that I could feel her emotions were real.
Renee leaves her office and remembers where her and Aaron lived when they were in New York. When she gets there she tries her key. It doesn’t work, but remembers where the spare one is. When she goes inside she talks about her day to Aaron who is in the other room. They bump in to each other and Aaron is surprised to see her because they broke up 5 years ago. Renee leaves Aaron’s place and runs into the elf, Stacey, who gave her the bell. Stacey tells Renee to ring the bell she gave her whenever she needs help.
Renee then heads to the diner she knows Tasha worked at before becoming friends. Renee vaguely tells Tasha what is going on, and Tasha tells her to get her ex husband back so she can have it all. Renee leaves then sleeps at her moms house because she doesn’t know where her apartment is. Talking to her mom in the morning helps Renee with her food delivery business. She decides to do special Christmas boxes and will give a free meal to someone in need whenever a box is ordered. She will need to hire a chef to curate the boxes. Renee’s mom gives her, her spare apartment key.
Renee is at her apartment and stunned to see how big and beautiful it is. After her initial shock she runs to her bedroom and tries on her clothes. She then goes to see Aaron about her business opportunity. When she is talking to him she is very fidgety and asks if he is seeing anyone. He says he is single and he will work with her. He needs to since he needs to find anew food supplier and Renee offered him her contacts.
Renee’s apartment is LEGIT. I love that her first instinct was to go see how big her room and closet are. And then her playing with her clothes was such a cute moment. When it comes to Aaron, I thought it was super cute how awkward Renee was around him. I would be awkward too if I were in her shoes. That’s her husband, so it makes sense why she is awkward because the things she wants to do, like kiss him, she can’t.
Renee goes back to her office to tell her partner, Jerry, about the meal kit she has planned. He agrees to it and they start a marketing campaign. She goes back to Aaron and tell him the plan and they get to talking. He tells her he works everyday and has no time for Thursday hockey. Renee says this will not do and they go play hockey and talk business. Aaron and Renee continue to get together to work on the meal kit menu. One of their times together Aaron tells Renee that he wants to sell his shares of his restaurant and move to Pittsburgh to maybe start his own thing.
Jerry tells Renee with this new Christmas meal box they have been approved for a European expansion. With this expansion they will need more employees. Renee tells Aaron about the expansion and lets him know she will hire him and he can hire a staff.
At the meal kit Christmas party, Jerry tells Renee in front of Aaron that since their expansion has been approved they will both be heading to London. Aaron tells Renee he cannot go through this again. He does not want to wait for her and get hurt.
Sad, Renee goes back to Tasha’s diner to talk to her. Tasha tells her that her husband and daughter are going to live in the suburbs. Renee is thrilled to find out Tasha has a daughter. Even though Tasha loves the city, her home is wherever her family is.
Renee calls on Stacey and they have a heartfelt conversation. Stacey is happy with their conversation and tells Renee she is gong home at midnight. The plan was never for this new life to be permanent. Renee begins to cry when she realizes when she goes back, her mom will still have passed. Renee goes to visit her mom one last time.
I was a blubbering mess during these scenes. To know when Renee went back her mom would not be there was so sad. To see Renee spend one last day just broke my heart. To be able to spend one last day with someone who passed would be everyone’s wish, but then knowing you have to say buy one more time is heartbreaking. Vanessa again did such a fantastic job acting. If she didn’t kill this scene I for sure would not have cried.
Renee then wakes up in her time. She heads down to her job and quits, she tells Tasha she has a strong feeling she is having a girl, then she tells Aaron her new life plan. She wants Aaron to go to culinary school, they will sell the house, and then they will start a food business together.
Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. The only thing I would change about the script is to add Aaron having a love interest. Just a little something to spice up the story. At the end of the day, this story really did not need for Aaron to be with someone else, but it for sure would have added a little more drama.
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