‘A Wish for Christmas’ Review

The latest in the Lacey Chabert Christmas Movie oeuvre, A Wish for Christmas, ticks a lot of the boxes for a solid Hallmark movie, yet somehow fails to do more than simply tick said boxes.

We meet our heroine, Sara (Chabert), on her way to work in an artsy skyscraper, so you know she has some sort of arty/creative job (tick). She’s overloaded with obviously empty takeout coffee cups and a festively wrapped empty box along with her suspiciously light-looking purse. In hindsight, I should have known from this introduction that A Wish for Christmas would be fairly insubstantial.

Despite not actually carrying any weight, Sara’s hands are full as she awkwardly holds the door for someone to enter ahead of her. Followed by a crowd of people who inconsiderately push past her as she struggles to hold the door and all of her empty items. She finally leaves the door in someone else’s hands and rushes to the elevator, only for the crowd to again push past her and fill the space. As the door closes in Sara’s face, leaving her to wait for the next elevator, the message is clear: Sara is a pushover.

This does give us the opportunity to meet Sara’s bestie/co-worker Molly, her hot boss Peter (Paul Greene), and requisite goofy co-worker Brian who rides a bike to work and has a sprig of mistletoe dangling from his bike helmet. There’s awkwardness between Peter and Sara that’s meant to be adorable but instead makes her look childish. We also learn that Peter intends to make people work on Christmas Day because…they’re saving lives in that artsy skyscraper? The fate of the free world depends on them meeting a deadline? No.

We soon learn that Sara is a junior web designer at a marketing firm. The job people have to do on Christmas Day, the work that’s so important the office can’t close for the holiday, is marketing. But really this is to indicate to us that Hot Boss Peter doesn’t like Christmas for Unknown Reasons and consequently his employees should not want to celebrate with their families (tick). Weirdly, Hot Boss Peter is not the villain in this movie.

Sara’s immediate boss, Dirk, is the jerk. He reprimands her for not sending him information he requested, only for her to show him that he received the email the day before. Despite the wall of contempt and derision she encounters in Dirk’s office, Sara optimistically presents a proposal for Christmas 365, a campaign meant to land the big fish client.

Jerk Dirk jerkily dismisses Sara’s proposal and reminds her that he is the Director of Marketing and she is but a lowly junior web designer. Sara is upset, but rallies in time to put on a matronly gown (seriously, Lacey Chabert is stunning, why are they wrapping her in taffeta?) and accompany her bestie to the office Christmas party. At the party Hot Boss Peter announces that thanks to a brilliant proposal from Jerk Dirk, he’s confident that they’ll land the big fish client and everyone will have a happy new year. Of course, the proposal is actually Sara’s, cleverly renamed Holidays 365 because Jerk Dirk is a marketing genius (tick).

In case you weren’t sure that he’s the villain, Jerk Dirk smirks at Sara from his place beside Hot Boss Peter. Rather than confront him, Sara decides to leave the Christmas party. As she departs, she bumps into Santa who gives her a gift: Whatever she wishes for will come true, but only for the next 48 hours.

Molly catches up to Sara as Santa leaves and convinces her to return to the party rather than go home and sulk. Before she rejoins the party, Sara returns to Santa and expresses her wish, just in case it’s the real Santa. (Spoiler: it is. Tick.)

“I would wish for courage for a change. I would wish I could be brave. I wish I could stand up for myself and stop letting people treat me like I’m a pushover. I wish I could speak up for myself when I felt like I had an opinion that deserved to be heard.”

I wish Sara’s quest for bravery and confidence had been more prominent throughout this movie. This could have been an interesting journey as we watched Sara speak up for herself in all areas of her life and really come into her own. Instead, it’s diluted by the myriad other storylines happening.

When Sara returns to the party, she sees Jerk Dirk dancing smugly – yes, somehow he even dances with a smirk – and her wish kicks in. She confronts him, in front of everyone, calling him out for passing off her ideas as his own.

Assuming her outburst the night before has left her unemployed, Sara packs up her desk and prepares to leave. Hot Boss Peter stops her and after some interrupting and misunderstandings, he asks Sara to go to Seattle with him to present Christmas 365 to Wilson Taylor, the big fish client. Not only is this pitch in her hands, but Hot Boss Peter dangles Jerk Dirk’s former job in front of her as added incentive.

After a bit of fashion advice – “You should wear your navy suit. It really brings out your baby blue eyes.” – a flustered Sara enlists Molly to take her to the airport and makes her escape. Molly might be the best part of this whole movie. She’s basically all of us: somewhat self-centered, slightly exasperated by her friend, but ultimately rooting for her to succeed in life and love.

What follows is a series of mishaps and coincidences. After traveling to Seattle, Sara and Hot Boss Peter are informed that Wilson Taylor already chose someone else and has departed for the lodge in White Ridge. Sara draws on her wish, summons her courage, and demands that the meeting be rescheduled. Wilson Taylor agrees to meet them at the lodge in the afternoon, at which point Sara notices a flicker of…something cross Peter’s face, hinting at A Dark Past and/or Complicated History (tick).

In need of a rental car to drive up to the lodge, Sara and Hot Boss Peter head to the rental car agency where, naturally, nothing is available. A mom and her adorable daughter (tick) are in line ahead of them, frustrated because they can’t get home for Christmas. Cue Sara’s opportunity to show what a good mother she’d be by interacting with the adorable child (tick). Another round of confident demands from Sara results in an SUV for the mom who offers a ride to our hapless duo.

Once they arrive in White Ridge, they’re told that the meeting has been pushed to next morning. Surprise, they have to spend the night (tick)! Hot Boss Peter seems to know exactly where to find rooms, besides the lodge they’re standing in at that very moment. He books two rooms at a B&B, thereby avoiding the “we have to share a room how awkward/romantic” trope, but surprise, it’s Hot Boss Peter’s aunt and cousin who own the B&B! Yep, White Ridge is Hot Boss Peter’s hometown but he has no intention of seeing his parents, at Christmas, because reasons (tick).

At Sara’s insistence, the pair do end up at Hot Boss Peter’s parents’ house for some Christmas festivities. His mother, Barb, comes rushing out to hug him, so we know the estrangement isn’t on her end. Peter’s father appears in the door, lurking, and now we know where the tension originated. Barb presents them with the world’s most elaborate and cavity-inducing cup of hot cocoa, and the party adjourns to the dining room to decorate cookies and tease Hot Boss Peter about his lack of Christmas spirit (tick).

Over the hot chocolate and cookies, we find out that it’s been two whole years since Hot Boss Peter was home. And yes, it’s due to a fight with his dad. Sara manages to have a heart to heart with Lurker Dad, giving him a speech about how her dad was her best friend but he’s dead now so cherish the moments, etc (tick). Lacy Chabert gives the speech a pretty good shot, but it’s hard to take this estrangement seriously.

The night in White Ridge includes a trip to the Christmas tree lot (tick) followed by a tour of the town in the snow (tick), a snowball fight (tick), and, finally, Hot Boss Peter reveals the source of the estrangement from his family: his father wanted him to join the family law firm and, at Christmas two years ago he gave his son an ultimatum (tick). Hot Boss Peter chose marketing and his own life. Oh, and by the way, if they don’t land the Wilson Taylor account than the company – the one he chose over his father – is going under (tick). Paul Greene tries to give this ridiculousness some emotional weight, but we have not been given a reason to care about Hot Boss Peter beyond as a love interest for Sara so it falls flat.

Then we have an awkward scene with carolers because why not.

Back at the inn, Hot Boss Peter and Sara are tasked with decorating Aunt Lizzy’s tree in a transparent attempt at creating a romantic atmosphere (tick). Sara tries to drill Christmas spirit into Hot Boss Peter so he won’t make his employees work on Christmas Day, then changes tactics and suggests double pay, presents, stockings, and a full Christmas dinner for those who are forced to work. Hot Boss Peter seems to take these suggestions seriously, at which point we begin to understand why his company is failing. It would be far cheaper and more productive to just give people the day off than pay them double to come to the office and be distracted from work by presents and dinner.

Meanwhile, the tree is decorated in about four minutes and there is no kissing.

At last the Wilson Taylor meeting is upon them, but the jerk makes them wait outside the lodge in the snow as some sort of power play. Hot Boss Peter is on to him and warns Sara to mind her manners. While he appreciates that her confidence and outspokenness have resulted in 1) getting this meeting that could save his company, 2) getting them to White Ridge in the first place, and 3) reconnecting him with his family, he’d rather she let him do most of the talking now, thanks.

Wilson Taylor is predictably horrible and misogynistic. Sara tells him off. Hot Boss Peter is upset with her and depressed about his failing company that this junior web designer could not save. At the airport, Hot Boss Peter decides to stay in town another day and sends Sara off on her own. She takes it personally (tick), ignoring the fact that Hot Boss Peter is obviously going to make amends with his father.

Time has run out on her wish, but Sara miraculously finds the courage that was inside her all along (tick), tracks down Wilson Taylor in his limo, invites herself inside, and tells him she won’t be the person that she was before which of course he doesn’t understand.

Back at the office on Christmas Day, Hot Boss Peter brings in dinner, gifts, and sincere thanks for his employees giving up their holiday to save the world do marketing. Mom and Aunt Lizzy show up with cookies and the best pumpkin pie West of the Rockies, followed by Lurker Dad who gives Hot Boss Peter a big hug (tick). The Great Rift of 2014 is mended!

Then Sara arrives with more good news for Hot Boss Peter – she landed the Wilson Taylor account (tick). After delivering the news that she single-handedly saved the company, Sara slinks off like she’s done something wrong. Fortunately Hot Boss Peter won’t let her get away. He meets her at the elevator again, this time with thanks and a promotion and a kiss (tick). We end with a festive Christmas dinner at the office and a shot of the mysterious Santa who started it all lurking in the corner. A kiss under the mistletoe ticks the final box.

A Christmas Wish could have worked if the story had stayed focused on the actual wish and Sara’s journey toward self-confidence and courage. Her occasional big speeches to right wrongs or demand equality were steps in the right direction, but the story continually veered off path by focusing on Hot Boss Peter’s failing business/family estrangement/I hate Christmas amalgamation.

Sara’s wish, ultimately, was to be able to communicate her own desires and ideas with strength and confidence, yet most of her communication with Hot Boss Peter consisted of trite sayings and giggles. For the love of Santa, Lacey Chabert is too old for half of her dialogue to be giggling! Those giggles also kill the chemistry between Chabert and Greene. Any time sexual tension starts to rear its head, Chabert giggles and suddenly Greene looks like an older man perving on a teenage girl. I’ve seen Hallmark movies successfully navigate sexual tension while staying G-rated, so I’m not sure what happened here.

I give A Christmas Wish  2.5 out of 5 expertly decorated Christmas cookies.

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