Nov 11

Nov 11 A Cookie Cutter Christmas

Christy has a hankering for the new man in town, and hopes to warm his heart by taking the cake in a holiday cookie contest. But her salty nemesis, Penny, keeps stirring up trouble. Can Christy and James bake up something sweet while raising dough for charity…or is their love story bound to get burned?

A Cookie Cutter Christmas.jpg — Christmas clichés:

Christmas Festival
Widower
Contest as Plot Device
Charity Work
Cute, Precocious Child
Deceased Parent
They Play Piano!
Ends w/ Kiss or Ring

Our Thoughts

An unanticipated bright spot of COVID-forced working from home is the ability to catch Christmas classics over lunch or in the early afternoon. (Coworkers, if you’re reading this, those private appointments on our calendars aren’t Hallmark blocks…we swear.)

A seasonal household staple is Hallmark’s 2014’s “A Cookie Cutter Christmas.” Looking back at our notes, we originally planned to review this one in 2018, but boy, we got Christmased out that year. A 2020 lunchtime screening gave us another shot to give this a critical eye.

And one of us was critical this go-around.

Childhood besties turned teacher rivals, Christie (Erin Krakow, a little mopey) and Penny (Miranda Frigon, a distracting wig), battle it out once again in the first annual Contest as Plot Device Christmas Baking Competition. Tensions heat up even more when sexy Widower, James (David Haydn-Jones, perfectly type-cast) comes to town. Christie gets a leg up as teacher to his Cute, Precocious Daughter, who needs extra tutoring…which means extra flirting between Christie and James.

Between the not-so-subtle lusting after James of both Christie and Penny, there’s the baking side of the plot. Christie only entered the competition to beat Penny, not because she has cooking talent. As her supportive mother says, “You suck. Always have.” Thankfully, James has a secret cookbook and is willing to trade tutoring for cooking lessons. Caramel making has never been so titillating. (Seriously. It’s a sexy scene.)

Where the movie falls apart is in the careful scrutiny. The competition, while spread throughout multiple rounds, involves zero cooking on stage—that’s ripe for store-bought cheating! And when Chef Krueger (Alan Thicke, we always need more Alan Thicke) starts dating Christie’s mom, how does that not scream judging collusion? And honestly, there are so many missed opportunities for a Playful Food Fight. What gives?

What really takes away from the Christmas-y and heart-warming Charity Work vibes is the Christie-Penny rivalry. That hatred runs deep. And when Penny’s final betrayal makes James give the evil eye to Christie for multiple scenes, it actually hurts. Not quite a merry moment.

It’s a classic flick with a split household take. Give it a view if you love cooking shows and Alan Thicke.

Rob's Final Take: Merry
Tons of potential, but the sweet parts are saccharine and the rest is surprisingly bitter. It’s worth a taste, but you likely won’t be running back to this cookie jar.

Jess's Final Take: Not Very Merry
A tough rating for a movie I’ve seen 5+ times. But the desperate single women outshine any Christmas spirit. The only man they need to bag is Santa.