Film Review: 'Christmas Ever After'

This Christmas, romance novelist Izzi Simmons (Ali Stroker) is in desperate need of inspiration. The Christmas Eve deadline for her latest holiday-themed book is coming up and her editor Mila (Kim Nelson) has amped the pressure by asking her to rework the story's ending. So when Izzi learns that the owner of her beloved holiday getaway spot Antler Lodge is retiring after this year, she convinces Mila to let her travel to Silver Springs to work on the revisions. Once she gets there, however, the change-resistant Izzi is surprised to find that there's already been some renovations done to her wintry home-away-from-home.

The source of these changes, owner Bob (Bill Marchant) informs her, is his son Matt (Daniel di Tomasso), who is set to inherit his father's position running the lodge. Seeing Matt proves to be an even greater shock to Izzi--as he bears an uncanny resemblance to Desmond Ranes, the male lead from her book series! And while Izzi initially writes Matt off as being nothing like the dashing Prince Charming of her novels, she soon begins to see a different side of Matt as she spends more time with him. Will Izzi's return to Silver Springs give her the inspiration she needs to finish her book and take a chance at starting her own love story?

The last stop on this film blogger's journey through what I've dubbed "The Christmas of Inclusion" is another first for Lifetime. While the previously reviewed The Christmas Setup was the network's first Christmas film to focus on an LGBT+ romance, Christmas Ever After is the first Lifetime movie of its kind to have a disabled female lead. Played by real-life wheelchair user Ali Stroker, Izzi Simmons' disability is treated with perfect tact. It's never dwelled upon for longer than necessary for developing Izzi's character and not a trace of patronizing Inspiration Porn can be found. No one treats Izzi any differently because she's in a wheelchair and her disability doesn't become the focal point of her character or her relationship with Matt. While it doesn't have the social commentary found in The Christmas Setup, Christmas Ever After is still a success when it comes to having non-schmaltzy disabled representation.

(Christmas Ever After also has a smidgen of LGBT+ representation in the form of Matt's sister Sarah and her wife Parker. Both characters are left in the far background for much of the movie, giving Nicole Leroux and Charlotte Legault little room to make an impression. I also feel that the way Sarah's sexuality is revealed--Izzi asking her about "her wife Parker"--could've been handled better. If I had it to rewrite, I would take out the word "wife", thus making the question--and the revelation in general--feel more natural. As is, it's still a nice bit of mostly well-handled gay representation)

Going into the film itself, it has a fairly standard made-for-TV Christmas movie plot. While the angle of Matt looking identical to the male lead from Izzi's books adds a twist of originality to the mix, it strangely isn't given all that much focus. The scene where the revelation behind Matt's doppelganger-ness takes place is surprisingly lowkey and the whole affair isn't mined for emotional resonance as much as it could've been. There's also a fair amount of Hallmark-familiar tropes thrown into the script, including an annual town Christmas festival and a precocious little girl for Izzi to befriend. In this case, the latter role is filled by Matt's aspiring writer daughter Kacey, who is played with serviceable cuteness by Melia Charlotte Cressaty in her debut role.

But like the best made-for-TV Christmas features, the cast brings the heart and charm needed to liven up the familiar narrative. In the beginning, both Izzi and Matt are rough around the edges, with the latter's almost obsessive "Christmas purist" ideals and aversion to even the slightest changes being done to the lodge quickly bordering on obnoxious. But thankfully, Izzi mellows out rather quickly as she gets to know Matt more and Ali Stroker plays the quirky novelist with such infectious energy (presumably owing to her theater background) that you can't help but love her. Matt, meanwhile, doesn't go overboard with his anti-sentimentality attitude and similarly begins letting it go as he and Izzi begin to bond. Daniel di Tomasso is just as likable and charming as Stroker, and while he has his moments of dropping the ball, Tomasso mostly does well at connecting with Matt's emotional arc as he begins opening up more about his wife's passing.

Once their characters get through their initial rough patches, Stroker and Tomasso form authentic chemistry as Izzi and Matt's snarky bantering makes way for an unexpected connection. SPOILER ALERT Unfortunately, their relationship hits a snag thanks to a Third-Act Misunderstanding involving Matt's friend Jennifer, as played by Gita Miller. While Jennifer is established as having a crush on Matt, she refreshingly doesn't become Izzi's catty romantic rival or try to force her affections onto Matt. In fact, Jennifer becomes friends with Izzi as she recruits Jennifer in a plan to help Bob adjust to post-retirement life and even encourages Matt's relationship with Izzi, with Miller making Jennifer as effortlessly likable as everyone else.

So when Izzi ends up writing a sad ending to her book and preparing to leave Silver Springs on Christmas day in response to seeing Jennifer and Matt together at the festival, my head was spinning. Like the worst examples of the Third Act Misunderstanding trope, Izzi is required to act completely out of character in order for this misunderstanding to happen. After befriending Jennifer and understanding how conflicted Matt is about their relationship because of her connection to his late wife, Izzi suddenly jumping to such massive conclusions about the two of them is unbelievable. At least Izzi's baffling behavior leads to a pair of cathartic scenes: one where editor Mila (played with firm-but-fair zeal by Kim Nelson) scolds Izzi for not telling Matt how she was feeling and another where Matt does the same and rightfully calls Izzi out for not trusting him.

(Another milder problem with the finale: the climactic kisses between Izzi and Matt are very awkwardly filmed. Though unlike Hallmark's Falling for Vermont, where the awkward/gross kiss at the end could've easily been fixed, Christmas Ever After has the excuse of having been filmed in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions. So as much as I wish there was a big romantic lip-lock between Izzi and Matt at the end, I understand that the crew did all they could to simulate such a moment under the circumstances and won't penalize them for following necessary protocols) Spoilers Over

Another noteworthy member of the supporting cast is Bill Marchant as Matt's father Bob. As well as sharing in the charm that the rest of the cast brings to their characters, Marchant gives Bob all the necessary warmth required to sell him as an inviting lodge owner. Marchant plays well off of both the main leads, bringing heartfelt sincerity to Bob's long-standing friendship with Izzi and his deep love for Matt as he encourages his son to take a chance at love again.

While the story has its share of issues and hits a major bump in its third act, Christmas Ever After is able to maintain the lovable spirit it culminates for itself before hitting rocky territory. Despite Izzi's third act derailment, Ali Stroker makes for an excellent lead, with the rest of the cast keeping up with her performance-wise. The characters all have something to love about them and the relationships that form between them feel real. And as stated before, the film's disability representation couldn't have been handled better, as it never feels like the writers infantilize Izzi or put her on a self-aggrandizing pedestal. All in all, Christmas Ever After makes for a strong film to end my coverage of "The Christmas of Inclusion" on--a holiday season that has left me all the more optimistic about the directions Lifetime and Hallmark are taking with their content.

Score: 7.5 out of 10 Springbok jigsaw puzzles.