Lifetime's conscientious and diverse Christmas films are continuously a gift that keeps on giving.
Not only does the network continue to provide content that reaches its equally diverse audience, making them feel seen during the holiday season, but they also give us a plethora of reunions and collaborations that are too good to be true.
The best part of A Christmas Spark, executive produced by Toni Braxton, was the romantic leads themselves, eternally stunning and vibrant Jane Seymour and an unbelievably charismatic Joe Lando. Yes, we got a Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman reunion when these two besties joined forces for this heartwarming flick.
There is nothing I love more than a later-in-life romance. They're among the best of the genre, yet criminally unexplored territory rarely traversed, particularly at the forefront.
And for the life of me, I don't understand why. Can you think of anything more beautiful, real, hopeful, and a great reflection of life and the journey of it than people over the age of 40 finding love again?
For some reason, the romance genre likes to act as if love, romance, and sex are reserved for the teen to 30-year-old crowds, and beyond that people stop being lively, vibrant, sexy, romantic, fully-realized human beings with desires, needs, and many things still left to learn.
When the reality is that we spend our entire time on this earth trying to figure life out, no one has anything figured out completely, regardless of their age. We still have plenty of lessons to learn and opportunities to seize.
It was on display while watching Molly, a widowed mom and grandmother who had to learn how to live again and embrace changes and new things.
Molly didn't know what to do with herself after her husband died. They had this lovely little life together, and his death disrupted everything, leaving her in this state of the unknown and not knowing what else life had in store for her.
With her husband gone, it was evident she poured more energy into her daughter. Unfortunately, Krysten lived in another state with her own family, leaving Molly in the cold a bit.
Christmas was everything for Molly, and my heart broke when Krysten told her that she and her family wouldn't be making it to Molly for the holiday.
Initially, it felt like they'd bail altogether, and she wouldn't get the opportunity to spend the holiday with them. However, Krysten wasn't implying it'd be a family-less holiday.
Instead, she invited Molly to New Hampshire, a break from tradition, the type of change that seemed to push Molly out of her comfort zone, but the exact thing she needed and a gift in disguise. New Hampshire was the first step toward opening Molly's world and perspective. She found family, community, adventure, and love there.
So far, aside from the commendable diversity in what the network is offering, the latest Christmas films this season feel tailor-made to the times that we live in, staying authentic to people's experiences.
Grief and loss are not unfamiliar themes for the genre, but it feels markedly different two-years post a fatal global pandemic. While last season's slate was about simply trying to get Christmas films out there at all while navigating filming with restrictions, giving us saccharine escapism as possible, it's different this time.
This year, the holiday films have settled into the filming protocols behind the scenes, and the stories are about giving us that realism while still maintaining the feel-good magic of the season.
Grief has been so prominent in the films. We've seen it in The Reindeer Games Homecoming, a bit in A Christmas Country Harmony, among others, so far this season. But it's not in a depressing way that makes a film difficult to watch, but in a realistic, honest manner that is likely resonates with many viewers.
We've collectively gone through this massive trauma. We have spent the past couple of years crawling from beneath it and creating a new normal, learning to live with what we've experienced while also recognizing what we endured and the losses.
It's not lost that Molly lost her husband two years ago. And she's been trying to figure out who she is and what her life looks like ever since.
Within the time frame, an overwhelming volume of individuals have experienced something similar, so her journey and obstacles feel relatable.
It's fresh enough to have a firm grip on her still while there's enough time for Molly to find happiness and a sense of normalcy amid her grief without dwelling on it or allowing it to consume her fully.
And I genuinely appreciate how films like A Christmas Spark have managed to keep the magic, embody all of what this time of the year can mean, and feel prescient while still addressing the pain and heartache.
The film catches up to our collective headspace of craving positivity while honoring the past.
Much of what Molly had to learn focused on honoring her past and the life she lived with her husband while still moving forward, being present, and looking to the future.
It wasn't that she needed to know that she could find happiness again, but more so that she had to realize it's okay to experience it again without it meaning that she was losing parts of her life with her husband, forgetting, or dishonoring him.
And there was no perfect person to see that in her and push her in the ways necessary than Hank.
It doesn't even need to be said that Jane Seymour and Joe Lando's chemistry is crackling and outrageously fantastic. They're like magnets drawn together; they just click.
And when they're onscreen together, you get lost in them and forget about everyone and everything else. It's a testament to how long they've known each other and their previous experience working together that they pull this off effortlessly.
Their genuine friendship shone through in every scene, especially the fun banter between the pair.
Hank was sexy, funny, and charming, exactly what the doctor ordered for Molly. He was so unabashedly smitten and attracted to her from the second he laid eyes on her, and he didn't hold back on that attraction.
Their meet-cute at the airport over the taffy was adorable, and you could tell he found her feisty and irresistible from then on. And Molly was.
More than anything, seeing her let her hair down and embrace spontaneity when she was around him was rewarding. Hank tapped into something in Molly that she hadn't let out in some time, bringing out that eternally youthful quality to her that lightened up the film and allowed us to get to know Molly on a deeper level, too.
One can appreciate that Hank wasn't solely this mysterious bad boy trope.
While he most definitely delivered on the silver fox "Zaddy" energy, ahem. He brought so much more to the table, and when he opened up about losing his wife at a young age, it added more dimension to his character and made him more rounded, but it also showed how great a fit he would be for Molly.
Hank wasn't a stranger to grieving either. And while he was at a different stage of it, enough not to run away when he saw the good thing coming his way with Molly and encouraged her to take this leap of faith with him in the next chapter of their lives, it was evident he had some difficulties to work through as well.
Before Molly, it didn't seem like he would find someone he wanted to settle down with again. The Christmas Cookies chatted about his being some form of a silver-fox playboy.
And his reservations about Christmas were an issue for him, too. He handled his grief in the opposite way of Molly, spending years of his life traveling the world and not laying down any roots, seemingly distracting himself with marvelous wonders and adventures.
It's what made him and Molly such a great pairing. They balanced each other beautifully and instantaneously, too.
You could see the light Molly brought to Hank's world and how her love of Christmas and positive spirit were infectious. She radiated this warm glow and light that had him drawn to her, and once he experienced it, he didn't want to go without it again.
It didn't take the full month for Hank to fall for Molly and want her to be part of his life forever. He was a goner from the first conversation.
For all the jokes about Hank being a "bad influence," Hank lit a spark in Molly, brought her out of her shell, and helped her find herself again. He challenged her, and she rose to it at every turn.
She remembered how to be lively, fun, giggly, and free when she was with him. He made her happy, and it was a beautiful sight to behold.
#AChristmasSpark is officially shining on your TV screen, are you watching?!✨ #ItsAWonderfulLifetime pic.twitter.com/03k93LTVzZ
— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) November 28, 2022
