A VERY MERRY MIX-UP: Alicia Witt Meets the (Wrong) In-Laws

This holiday season we get a double dose of Alicia Witt who stars in original movies for both The Hallmark Channel and Lifetime. Hallmark unspools their Witt special first, A Very Merry Mix-Up, sending the redhead to meet the wrong future in-laws, changing her life forever.

Witt plays Alice Chapman, a sentimental antique shop owner in Brooklyn who longs for a traditional, homey Christmas spent with a family now that both of her parents have passed away. Scott Gibson plays Will Mitchum, Alice’s boyfriend and a high-powered realtor who has plans for her prime bit of Brooklyn real estate.

When Will proposes to Alice, she accepts in a state of bewilderment, then eagerly agrees to spend Christmas with his parents, who she’s never met. On the way to the airport, Will gets a message that he needs to stop by the office for a last minute deal, so he sends Alice on without him. Never a good sign, although Will does seem to genuinely care about Alice.

Alice arrives at the small airport where she’s supposed to meet Will’s family, the Mitchums, but her luggage does not. As she deals with her lost bag, Alice meets Matt (Mark Wiebe), a fellow traveler with lost luggage who is instantly smitten although she is oblivious. When he overhears her mentioning that she’s going to the Mitchums, he is surprised – he’s a Mitchum. His brother, who they call Billy, didn’t tell the family he was bringing someone home for the holidays, but he offers to take Alice to his parents house.

On the way to the Mitchums, the pair are involved in a car accident that sends them both to the hospital with possible concussions. They’re released to go home, but have to stay awake for 24 hours to avoid complications. Alice is instantly taken with the Mitchum family and their home, delighting in all the traditions. Over the next 24 hours, she and Matt discover that they have a lot in common and grow closer, which certainly complicates things for both of them.

When Billy Mitchum arrives and is not her Will Mitchum, Alice is devastated that these people are not going to be her in-laws. Will finally finds her and takes her to his parents’ home, one of those modern, decorated by a designer McMansions that represent people more concerned with money and appearances than family and tradition. As Alice tries to reconcile a future with these people as her family, she longs for the other Mitchums – and the other Mitchum brother.

This is a sweet story of realizing what kind of life you really want, and being brave enough to go after it. The “mix-up” is executed with a minimum of self-consciousness and contrivance, which makes it easier to suspend disbelief. Witt is charming, as usual, and adds a wistfulness to Alice that reminds me of Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping, another holiday favorite.

A Very Merry Mix-Up airs Sunday, November 10 at 8/7c on The Hallmark Channel.