Title: A Christmas Duet
Year of Release: 2019
Available On: Hallmark Channel – Christmas In July
Rating: 4 out of 5 Jingle Bells
People of color! People of color! Very light-skinned brown humans, but hey, we’ll take what we can get o’er here with stars with melanin. The white lady (preggo) gets to be the sidekick for once.
We are introduced to the BEAUTIFUL Avery (Chaley Rose) and Jesse (Rome Flynn) off the top — Jesse is a musician and Avery is running a B&B that specializes in Winter Wonderland experiences. They also have a critic living with them and they are hosting the Yuletide Festival. And Avery’s right-hand woman, the aforementioned white lady, Chiara Zanni, has an early labor feeling and has to sit out helping Avery take care of everything. At first the two main characters are living separately, and we learn that a few years ago they used to perform as a duo and had a big Christmas hit. But something happened, and now Jesse is on his own while Avery does her inn thing.
There is original music — it seems ok so far.
Jesse ends up booking a room at Avery’s inn randomly, and what’s going to happen with that?!
There is a cute yellow lab named Rowdy who is adorable.
The critic who will be deciding whether or not Avery’s space is “The Best Christmas Inn” or whatever, Ms. Selig (Teryl Rothery), she’s a handful. One handful to another … Woof. She’s demanding. And I guess that’s the prerogative of the critic, but it’s not a role I love. They certainly aren’t breaking any stereotypes with that one.
Luckily, Rome takes this very seriously:
Rome Flynn: Doing a Hallmark movie was something I put on my bucket list as an actor. It’s a staple to me because Hallmark has got such lineage and such a strong, loyal fan base that I wanted to have the opportunity to portray a person of color in a leading role in one of their films.
Look at these people. Look at them! Gorgeous. I’d watch them silently knit.
Christmasterpiece Theater: Holiday Movie Reviews 