Hallmark Review: 'Our Christmas Journey'

The last few years have been a challenge for Lena (Holly Robinson Peete). On top of raising two kids and homeschooling her Autistic son Marcus (Nik Sanchez), she also had to deal with a bitter divorce from her husband Rick (Lyriq Bent). But years later, with Marcus now eighteen, Lena has reluctantly agreed to Rick's plan to spend Christmas in Orchardsville--home to Hope Hills, an academy designed to help mentally disabled individuals learn, grow, and gain a sense of independence. Rick is certain Hope Hills is the perfect place for Marcus while Lena frets over whether or not her son is ready for such a big change.

While their differing views initially cause more friction between Lena and Rick, time in Orchardsville does them some good. Not only do Lena and Rick begin to find common ground, but the rest of the family makes themselves at home in their new environment. Lena's mother Robin (Aloma Wright) works on Christmas crafts and bonds with Hope Hills guesthouse owner Beth (Caroline Cave). Lena and Rick's daughter Maya (Hilda Martin) befriends Beth's son Henry (Graham Verchere). Marcus begins thriving at Hope Hills and makes friends of his own. But will Lena's overprotectiveness spoil what could be her family's best Christmas ever?

Being a Hallmark fan who's also on the Autism spectrum, I wasn't about to miss out on the channel's first movie to include an Autistic character. The fact that said Autistic character was played by an Autistic actor only sweetened the deal. On top of this big move, Our Christmas Journey has a lot of the things needed to make a good Hallmark movie. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, the characters are relatable and likable, and the pacing keeps the story going at a smooth pace. These all proves to be invaluable assets to the movie, as it helps make up for Our Christmas Journey's imperfect representation. With this being Hallmark's first film depicting Autism, it makes sense that it wouldn't be a flawless masterpiece in that regard. But even with that leniency, it's disappointing to see the various ways Our Christmas Journey could've worked out the kinks in its path, but didn't.

As you've probably guessed by now, Our Christmas Journey's biggest flaw is related to Marcus--more accurately, how little we see of him. Marcus growing up is the catalyst for the film's story and he's often the subject of conversation. But after his parents drop him off at Hope Hills for the evaluation weekend, Marcus only gets 5 to 10 minutes of screentime. The focus instead shifts to his parents, sister, and the people they encounter in Orchardsville. Like plenty of other movies about Autistic children, more emphasis is put on the child's parents' struggles than on the child's struggles. Making his film debut as a non-verbal character, Nik Sanchez gives a lovable and empathic performance. That makes it all the more frustrating that Marcus spends most of the movie offscreen, only present through the discussions all the other characters have about him. With how well the movie does at juggling its subplots, there definitely could've been more scenes showing Marcus's weekend at Hope Hills and his experience getting adjusted to his new home.

I was even able to pinpoint a few opportunities where we could've seen Marcus grow as a character. We see Marcus get scared of a dog while arriving at Hope Hills, only to later end up befriending that same dog. We also see Marcus getting a smile and wave from fellow Hope Hills resident Morgan (Beth's daughter and Henry's sister, as played by fellow Autistic debut film actor Lily Johannesson). The next time we see Morgan, she's gushing over how Marcus is now her best friend. Between those offscreen developments, Marcus and Morgan's friendship is the most baffling. There could've--and should've--been scenes showing how Marcus and Morgan's relationship progressed over the two days they spent together. There could've been a scene where Marcus works up the courage to approach Morgan, or where Morgan comforts Marcus when he starts feeling overwhelmed/homesick. The possibilities are endless and seeing them casually squandered is disheartening.

(But on a positive note, Johannesson gives just as lovable a performance as Sanchez. What's more, Morgan being a verbal autistic while Marcus is non-verbal goes to show how the spectrum is vast and how Autism doesn't affect everyone the same. And Sia, if you're somehow reading this: this is what a female Autistic character should be like.)

The other members of Marcus's family get more time to shine, so it's a good thing they all have good actors playing them. Holly Robinson Peete and Lyriq Bent share good chemistry, making Lena and Rick believable as a divorced couple who still have that spark for each other--even if Lena tries to deny it. The two share some adorable moments with their onscreen son and are as charming individually as they are together. Between the two, though, Bent gets more chance to be endearing thanks to him playing the more likable of Marcus's parents. While Lena has sympathetic reasons for being overly protective of Marcus, her harsh attitude towards Rick is harder to forgive. With how thoroughly supportive and loving Rick is with his children, Lena's claims about how selfish and flaky Rick is don't hold much weight.

In fact, from how she behaves and treats Rick throughout the movie, it comes across that Lena is projecting her own flaws onto her ex-husband. She intentionally makes Marcus late for their first appointment, hypocritically accuses Rick of having a false impression of what Marcus is capable of, and generally acts like she's the only one who gets to decide what her son's future looks like. The story wisely clarifies that Lena is wrong to be doing all this, with the middle act seeing Lena soften up to Rick and begin easing into the idea of cutting the apron strings. But then the third act strikes and everything comes undone for very flimsy reasons. SPOILER ALERT When Rick has to return to work on his boss's orders and Marcus gets a minor scrape at Hope Hills, Lena suddenly goes back to her old ways by chiding Rick for having work responsibilities and making plans to pull Marcus from Hope Hills, regardless of how Rick or Marcus feel about it. After all her character development, this sudden shift (however brief) makes no sense for Lena. Plus, the age-old "Thriving Career vs. Loving Family, You Can't Have Both" fallacy is just as gross when applied to a man. Spoilers Over

Outside of Lena's characterization stumble, Peete gives a mostly balanced portrayal of a loving mother learning to let her son go. It helps that Peete does so well with Lena's emotional moments of opening up about Marcus. They make it more understandable why she's so apprehensive about letting him out of the nest. Aloma Wright and Hilda Martin play the other two women in Marcus's life. Much like what she did while playing Edna in Lifetime's The Christmas Edition, Wright gives matriarch Robin equal parts wit and heart. Robin is the kind of all-loving person who's ready to be anyone's pseudo-maternal figure and Wright is the perfect person to play such a wholesome character. Hilda Martin does something similar with daughter Maya. Martin is another debut actor in Our Christmas Journey, and while her performance is wobbly in spots, she makes it easy to like Maya. Despite her mother unintentionally neglecting her in favor of Marcus, Maya clearly loves her brother and harbors no resentment against him. Martin and Sanchez share more than a few touching scenes together.

The last of the primary cast is Caroline Cave and Graham Verchere as Hope Hills guesthouse owner Beth and her son Henry. Like Martin, the pair have their awkward/stiff deliveries. Verchere's "end every other sentence with a half-chuckle" method of selling Henry as adorkable got annoying really fast. His performance as adorkable goofball Leo Borlock wasn't nearly as forced. But both have just as many good deliveries when they relax into their roles. Verchere has some genuinely cute moments when Henry is with Maya and/or Morgan, Cave is at her best whenever Beth opens up about her fresh grief, and both share a touching mother-son scene where they talk about that grief. The supporting cast consists of a few sweet characters played by some capable actors: Hope Hills director Madelyn (Miranda Edwards), Hope Hills mentor Jim (Matty Finochio), and Henry's friends Misho and Emma (Anthony Timpano and Kallie Hu).

In the grand scheme of Autism films, Our Christmas Journey hits some familiar snags. The biggest is that the Autistic character isn't given the focus they deserve, instead being put on the sidelines while the movie instead places its spotlight on their family. It's not bad enough to where Marcus feels like a glorified prop, but it still would've been better if Marcus had more screentime to let us get invested in his journey towards independence. And for one last nitpicky sort of issue, the ending was rather abrupt. When the screen faded to black on the final scene, it felt more like a "going to commercial" fade-out than a proper finale. But despite its rough start and slightly rushed ending, Our Christmas Journey makes for a charming and heartfelt movie about familial love, friendship, and the importance of keeping one's faith when things get tough. If Music had you cringing at its horrendously offensive portrayal of Autism, Our Christmas Journey makes for a nice peppermint-flavored palate cleanser.

Score: 7 out of 10 gingerbread astronauts.