Hallmark Review: 'The Christmas Bow'

Ever since she was a little girl, Kate Malone (Lucia Micarelli) has been passionate about the violin and is hoping her talent will earn her a spot in the Rocky Mountain Philharmonic. But right after her stellar audition, Kate's plans come to a screeching halt with an accident that injures her hand and leaves her temporarily unable to play. Forced to turn down the position, Kate returns to her hometown of Boulder to stay with her parents while she recuperates. Along the way, she runs into another familiar face: Patrick Walsh (Michael Rady), her childhood friend and the physical therapist in charge of helping her recover.

While she lets her broken hand heal, Kate's return to Boulder spurs a lot of changes. Her Grandpa Joe (James Saito) reconsiders his retirement from the family music store. Patrick's young cousin Gavin (Kenneth Cummins) asks Kate for help making one of his Christmas resolutions come true. And as they spend more time reconnecting, Kate and Patrick begin to feel long-forgotten feelings for each other come back to life. But with their careers seemingly taking them in different directions, are these rediscovered feelings meant to reach their crescendo?

For her first-ever Hallmark role and (from my understanding) her first leading role in any full-length movie, Lucia Micarelli couldn't have found a movie she could better connect with on a personal level. Not only is Micarelli also a violinist, but like Kate Malone, she also suffered from a hand injury that left her worried about her future as a musician. Being one of Hallmark's more music-centric films, casting a professional violinist to star in The Christmas Bow is a wise move on Hallmark's part. For all the faults to be had with the film, the music side of the equation is handled with grace and passion by the gifted Micarelli.

Micarelli's acting, however, comes with a pitfall. For the most part, she plays Kate with a likable air and is able to throw herself into her character's emotional moments. A flashback scene in which Grandpa Joe recalls a time when Kate played for her grandmother is a beautiful highlight where Micarelli truly shines her brightest. James Saito and Anne Sward bring the same amount of tearjerking heart to the scene. Sward's depiction of a dementia-stricken woman brought back to vitality by her granddaughter's music is powerful enough to give her similarly touching scene from A Crafty Christmas Romance a run for its money. But there are notable moments when Micarelli's deliveries feel flat, and at times, it takes away from the chemistry building between her and Michael Rady. For the most part, though, Micarelli gives a good debut film/Hallmark performance and plays well off her more experienced leading man.

In the same boat as Micarelli, there's Kenneth Cummins as Patrick's precocious cousin Gavin. For about 75% of his screentime, Cummins brings an adorable likability to Gavin's eager-beaver attitude and efforts to be Patrick's "wingman". The other 25% of the time, he plays Gavin with enough cloying preciousness to get annoying. It's enough to make me wonder if Arthur Cummins (who plays Patrick as a child) would've been a more consistent actor for the role. And given how fairly certain I am that Kenneth and Arthur Cummins are brothers, I hope that thought doesn't cause spark any sibling rivalry. Despite the former Cummins' occasionally aggravating performance, he and Rady still make an adorkable duo as goofball cousins.

Speaking of Rady, he proves to be an effortlessly charming love interest. Whether he's being a cool cousin to Gavin or getting flustered by his reemerging feelings for Kate, Rady brings an intoxicating sincerity to Patrick's sweet and altruistic nature (a nature he shares with Kate). Despite Micarelli's performance issues, she and Rady still bring authenticity to Kate and Patrick's past friendship and share some heartfelt romantic moments as the film goes on. Of the supporting cast, James Saito makes the most impact as Grandpa Joe. In his initial scenes, Saito is a firecracker of energy as Kate's boisterously supportive grandfather. But when the film delves into Joe's backstory regarding his late wife, Saito just as effectively taps into his character's poignant side--leading up to the aforementioned flashback scene.

Jyl Kaneshiro and Tim Threlfall give the same energy to Kate's parents and Nate Bynum is surprisingly memorable as the endearingly wholesome Dr. Burk. Another surprise comes in the form of Joy Perry, making her own debut performance as Patrick's mother Tess. Despite her lack of experience in the field of acting, Perry gives a natural performance as a kind-hearted mother who encourages her son to pursue his happiness and not allow her disease to hold him back. With Perry having the same disease as her character--Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disorder --in real life, the scenes where Tess defends her ability to take care of herself to her son hold more weight. And between this and Lifetime's Christmas Ever After (which I hope to have the chance to watch and review before December's end), 2020 has seen made-for-TV holiday channels show more diversity when it comes to disabilities as well as the LGBT+ community. Another touch of diversity is also shown in the interracial romance at The Christmas Bow's center--something that was (to my knowledge) unseen on Hallmark until this year.

Plot is where The Christmas Bow's biggest problem lies. While the story is as sweet as any Hallmark feature and has the occasional sprinkle of depth thanks to Kate's family backstory, it can't quite make up for the film's inherently uneventful nature. It's mostly just following Kate and Patrick as they go about their lives and rekindle their bond, leading to some slow stretches that have the potential to lull you to sleep. But like fellow 2020 Hallmark release Christmas by Starlight, such stretches are mitigated by solid actors that put forth their most earnest efforts. With a flawed but charming cast playing characters you root to see get their happy ending, The Christmas Bow rises above its sour notes and ends up being a pretty good watch. And after that breathtaking flashback scene, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Lucia Micarelli build on her acting abilities through future appearances on Hallmark.

Score: 6.5 out of 10 Christmas tree-shaped pizzas.