Hallmark Review: 'The Mistletoe Secret'

Having grown up in the small town of Midway, Utah and now running her family's "Mistletoe Diner", Aria Eubanks (Kellie Pickler) has always had a fondness for Christmas. Now, with a ski resort threatening to destroy the small businesses of Midway, Aria is hoping out hope for a miracle to turn things around. Specifically, she's hoping that successful travel writer Sterling Masters (Christopher Russell) will choose Midway as the latest destination to write about for his annual "Big Holiday Adventure" article.

Little does Aria know, however, is that Sterling's work is penned by his best friend and ghostwriter Alex Bartlett (Tyler Hynes), who has recently come to Midway to write the article for Sterling. While Alex's bluntness initially gets under Aria's skin, the two soon strike up a friendship as Alex finds himself charmed by Midway's dedication to making every Christmas special. But when Sterling comes to town and also takes a shine to Aria, will Alex's secret tear him and Aria apart?

While the two follow vastly different plots, Hallmark's 2018 offering It's Christmas, Eve and The Mistletoe Secret share one commonality: they both have Tyler Hynes starring opposite a leading lady played by a woman more widely known as a singer than an actress. But while It's Christmas, Eve followed the "Save the Town's Beloved (insert something)" template for Hallmark holiday flicks, The Mistletoe Secret takes on the classic "Love Triangle" narrative. Seasoned Hallmark viewers have likely seen these story beats before, with the ghostwriting element of the story only marginally bringing deviation to the formula. As such, the film's cast is left largely responsible for spicing things up--and despite some hiccups, The Mistletoe Secret's cast mostly succeeds in bringing some charm and heart to the film's admittedly familiar plot.

Skimming the IMDB reviews for The Mistletoe Secret reveal that a vast majority of viewers feel Kellie Pickler was a terrible leading lady, to the point of some reviewers calling for Hallmark never to hire her again. Personally, I find most of these reviews to be over exaggerating, though with a grain of truth to them. While Pickler has her share of charming and sweet moments as small-town-loving country girl Aria, there are just as many moments when she appears stiff and uncomfortable. The few moments when her character sings highlights her increased experience in singing over acting, as Pickler is noticeably more comfortable in those moments when compared to how she appears throughout the rest of the film. Pickler isn't helped by the fact that Aria Eubanks dangerously borders on becoming an unlikable character, initially being unnecessarily brusque and borderline condescending to Alex, being all too easily duped by Sterling's false charms, and very nearly becoming a Mary Sue character due to how much time is spent painting Aria as a saint. Pickler's performance isn't terrible, but she's hardly a contender for Hallmark's next recurring actress.

Tyler Hynes fares much better, bringing the same charm and instant likability to Alex as he did with Liam Bailey from It's Christmas, Eve, and he and Pickler strike up a chemistry as Alex and Aria forge a friendship--a chemistry which Pickler reciprocates despite her flawed performance. Another flawed performer comes in the surprising form of Christopher Russell's portrayal of Sterling Masters, as Russell has proven a competent actor in other works I've seen him in. Here, however, he drops the ball due to the film's attempts to humanize Sterling. From his opening scene of Sterling on his TV show to his final scene with Alex, Russell plays Sterling as a straight-forward smarmy, self-aggrandizing celebrity personality taking advantage of his best friend for his own gain. Even in moments when Sterling is meant to come across as a flawed man who genuinely cares for Alex, Russell's performance makes his words of friendship and support feel insincere, which in turn makes the informed years-long camaraderie between him and Alex ring hollow. Sterling's artificial charm when it comes to his romancing of Aria are also made too obviously fake thanks to Russell's performance, to the point where Aria looks like an idiot for buying into it.

The mixed bag main cast is supported by a solid side cast, all of whom make Midway believable as a kind-hearted small town where everyone's family. Patrick Duffy brings charm as Aria's father Mack, who refreshingly subverts the "Overprotective Dad" trope I've grown to hate by wholeheartedly rooting for Aria and Alex's budding romance. Another highlight comes in the form of high-energy Midway local Catherine, who is played with the appropriate amount of hyperactive gusto by Beverley Elliott. The Mistletoe Secret is also notable for downplaying the "Big City Bad, Small Town Good" mentality other Hallmark films have embodied (*cough cough* What I Did for Love *cough cough*) by arguing that, while city life isn't inherently awful, some people (such as Aria and eventually Alex) find greater happiness in the simplicity of small-town life.

In spite of some uneven acting from two of its main stars and the uneven characterization of its lead heroine, The Mistletoe Secret remains a solid little Hallmark feature that meets the requirement that it keeps a viewer entertained and leaves them feeling good. With Hynes providing more than enough of a charismatic screen presence to make up for where Pickler is lacking and the antics revolving around Midway's devotion to Christmas providing fun side entertainment, the film is sure to be a good film to watch on a lazy December day wrapped up in a cozy blanket--even if it isn't a film that will become go-to viewing for the holiday season.

Score: 6 out of 10 Christmas passports.