A Tale of Two Christmases Movie Review

An architect from Chicago is torn between celebrating Christmas Eve in the city, or heading home to see her family in Vermont. When Christmas magic makes it possible for her to be in both places, it's A Tale of Two Christmases.

Overview of A Tale of Two Christmases

Emma (Kat Barrell) is an architect in Chicago who is torn between city life, and the quieter life of her hometown in Vermont. In addition to a work project that she wants to finish, Emma wishes that she could enjoy Christmas Eve in the city and go to a party at Max's (Evan Roderick) house. He is an attorney in her building, and someone she was hoping to get to know.

The flip side of her Christmas wish is wanting to get home to spend Christmas Eve with her family. Her parents hold an annual party that includes all of her favorite things to do at Christmas. And, includes her childhood friend Drew (Chandler Massey). When Emma wakes up on Christmas Eve she is faced with two different scenarios.

In A Tale of Two Christmases, in one scenario she heads home to Vermont. She gets to attend her parent's party. And, she gets to spend time with Drew. Drew has been in love with Emma since they were kids, and he finally shares his feelings with her. He loves the Emma who is willing to wear a silly sweater that her Grandmother gives her. And, is there to help everyone have a great holiday.

The second scenario sees Emma missing her flight and being stuck in Chicago. She misses her parent's party, but she gets a chance to finish her project at work. And, she gets to help Max prepare for his Christmas Eve party. But his style of Christmas is quite different from “Vermont Emma”. He doesn't like real Christmas trees because they are too messy. He also prefers simple hot chocolate without all of the fancy fixings.

Emma is faced with two very different ideas of Christmas, and two very different men who are interested in her. Which one is right for her, and does she figure out what she wants to do with her life?

A Tale of Two Christmases Review

A Tale of Two Christmases was actually the last Hallmark Christmas movie that I watched for 2022. The movie originally aired on November 26th, but I forgot to record it so I had to wait until Hallmark re-aired it. I don't know if my review would have been different if I watched it a few weeks ago. Perhaps I would have been a little more forgiving, but I don't think so. This movie just falls short and does not have the Christmas magic that the movie uses to tell the story.

The Verdict: Fa-La-La-La Flat. This movie falls flat and is not one that I recommend. I think that the story is cute, and had potential. But, bad acting, a slow pace, and lack of emotion made it pretty hard to sit through. It's the type of movie that you want to be multi-tasking and doing something else while you watch. It's not the type of movie to curl up on the couch and give it 100% of your attention. If you do, you'll probably end-up taking a cat nap.

A Tale of Two Christmases Recap

What's the best type of Christmas? Do you prefer a messy dysfunctional family Christmas, or a picture-perfect party? That's the underlying message in A Tale of Two Christmases. Emma has to decide what she wants in life and her Christmas Eve mix-up gives her a chance to figure that out. So although I didn't like the movie, I was happy with the choice that Emma made in the end.

Related Article: Read my ranking of ALL the Hallmark Christmas movies for 2022.

Hallmark Channel