Hallmark

Christmas at Castle Hart (2021)

December 9, 2021

Rating: On theĀ 0-Christmas scaleĀ this gets "Unsettling Mistake"
IMDB rated it 6.5/10

The Queen of Hallmark triad took a huge hit when Lori Laughlin went to prison. The two remaining queens, Ms. Candace Cameron-Bure, and Ms. Lacy Chabert.

Two sisters, recently forced into unemployment, decide at the last second to go to Ireland of all places for the holidays.

What ensues is a debacle of espionage and lies packaged with intended folksy charm. Like many other Hallmark movies, the down-on-her-luck girl is “forced” into an alter-ego by a desperate case of opportunity.

Chabert’s character, Brooke Bennett and her sister Margot Bennet (Ali Hardiman), meet Aiden Hart (Stuard Townsend), the Earl of Glaslough, a title he inherited but is hesitant to assume.

Castle Hart, the estate home of the Earl, is throwing a holiday party, but *GASP* the even planners are unable. Left with no one else, the girls suddenly become front-and-center, as they volunteer their experience as event planners. But are they actually event planners? No!

Follow Brooke and Aiden as they gallivant around the countryside on trusty steeds in the middle of winter and with a dusting of snow. Picture a scene from Man from Snowy River with a Hallmark layer and Cold War era identity theft.

What happens at the end? Does the secret end with the credits, or will the dames be exposed? If you know Hallmark, the conflict comes with exposure, and the viewer is left to anticipate the resolution.

My problem with this movie is not the plot. It’s that the plot carried on too long. How can Act III-The Resolution be believable if the whole entire movie was built on a lie. Lies, and damned lies at Christmas nonetheless!

I’ll be honest. I get excited with the potential of a higher quality Hallmark whenever the Queens of Hallmark appear. However, the magic of this flick was forced upon us with the Ireland tie in, ideas of royalty, and a beautiful christmas party. However, the plot needed the conflict sooner…the lack of integrity going on soooo long into the movie hindered my ability to enjoy it!