Just in Time For Christmas

Just in Time For Christmas
Starring Eloise Mumford, Michael Stahl-David, Christopher Lloyd, William Shatner
Directed by Sean McNamara

The Hallmark Channel is where former big stars go to die a slow, agonizing, tinsel-covered death.  Candace Cameron-Bure, Adrian Grenier, Brandon Routh, Keri Russell, Chad Michael Murray, and Lacey Chabert have found a new home on the Hallmark Channel, and will be eternally stuck in the Christmas loop that the network has trapped them in.  "Just in Time For Christmas" is one of those rare Hallmark Christmas films that has withstood the test of time (since 2015 to be exact) to be one of the network's best, and that has to do in large part to a surprisingly well-known cast that offers something a bit different than you'd expect to find on the perpetual Christmas network.

Lindsay Rogers (Eloise Mumford) is a successful psychology professor with hopes of getting her own work published, and is in love with goofy local coffee shop owner Jason Stewart (Michael Stahl-David).  She seemingly has it all, and gets even more one night when she's offered not just to get her work published, but a job as a professor at Yale University, which is on the other end of the country from her small Washington state town.  She's overjoyed until Jason pops the question, and she refuses it because she fears that this will end her career before it began.  Jason leaves her, and she sullenly wanders to a small park where a Coachman (William Shatner) offers her a ride in his carriage.  She witnesses the Northern Lights, and when she turns around the Coachman, his horse, and carriage are gone.

When she arrives back in town, Lindsay is shocked to see her book on bookshelves, and everyone around her acting weird toward her, like she's been gone awhile.  She goes home, but her mother Shannon (Laura Soltis) is nowhere to be found, so she goes to her Grandfather's (Christopher Lloyd) house and learns that it's been three years since anyone has seen her, and her mother is now living in Sweden with the doctor who saved her life after suffering a heart attack.

Lindsay is dumbfounded and has no idea how this happened, but now she's a successful author and Yale professor who's close to tenure, and to her none of this has happened yet.  She goes to the coffee shop and discovers that Jason is now engaged to his former employee Becca (Tess Atkins), and together they've opened a few more coffee shops.  Lindsay and Jason eventually reconnect to hash out old differences (at least old to Jason), and Lindsay feels that she might have made a mistake with her path in life, and hopes to find a way to get everything she ever wanted - which now just includes getting Jason back into her already successful life.

"Just in Time For Christmas" doesn't feel like your traditional Hallmark Christmas film, and that's a huge sigh of relief.  While the main character is a blonde woman, pretty much nothing else follows the traditional lineage of the Christmas films of Hallmark past, as there seems to be a strong script delivered by a capable cast, and the production values (for the most part) far exceed the typical Hallmark flair.

Eloise Mumford ("Fifty Shades of Grey," "Lone Star," "Chicago Fire") stars as Lindsay, who's not your traditional Hallmark heroine.  She is out for more than just finding a right man, as she's already found him - but instead her desire is to be successful and famous, and basically to have it all, because she feels that this is something that can be attainable.  She plays Lindsay with an aloofness that's infectious and fun, while also giving her a heart and intelligence not generally found on Hallmark.

Likewise, Michael Stahl-David ("Cloverfield," "LBJ," "Almost Family") isn't your typical dashing, charming, dark-haired, tall, all-together white male lead (I actually think he's shorter than Mumford) that you find on Hallmark.  Instead he's a funny, fun, self-defecating individual who has his own identity outside of just looking for love, but has a deeper emotional core at his heart.  The chemistry between Jason and Lindsay is heightened due to their natural feel, as neither of them come across as the typical beautiful, perfect people you find on Hallmark.

The icing on the cake comes from the two living legends who give supporting but memorable roles to the film.  "Back to the Future" star Christopher Lloyd stars as Lindsay's eccentric yet lovable grandfather, who even offers a reason to Lindsay's recent woes: time travel!  Such an inspired choice to pick him for the role.  Then there's William Shatner's Coachman, who appears out of the fog to show Lindsay the life she could have if she missed her opportunity with Jason, because it's perfectly acceptable for a single woman sitting alone at a park at night to accept a carriage ride from an old man who looks like a Santa Colonel Sanders.  Maybe that's not how the film wanted to go about it, but I couldn't help but think that during those scenes, but even then Shatner is a breath of fresh air in his typical cheesiness delivery.

The film itself has earmarks of the typical Hallmark movie, but also adds deeper depth and emotional resonance you wouldn't typically find.  The script is more intelligently written than most, and the film was directed by successful "Soul Surfer" director Sean McNamara, which also adds credence to the movie as a whole.  While the production values were increased for this film, there's still moments (such as the CGI Christmas lights) that remind you you're really watching a Hallmark movie instead of a semi-big budget spectacle.  And for once, it's a good thing.  Plus the ending had a nice little zinger that my friend really appreciated with an appreciatory "aww."

Supplying bigger actors and a better director - along with a more unique script - "Just in Time For Christmas" rises above the generic Hallmark cookie-cutter mold and crafts its own tale filled with emotional performances, lovable flawed characters, and the greatness of Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner.

The Score: B+