Hallmark’s Santa Tell Me is a holiday romantic-comedy starring Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing where they play an interior designer and TV producer who collaborate on a Christmas home makeover special. Just add in a magical letter from Santa and three guys named Nick (Benjamin Ayres, Christopher Russell, Kurt Szarka) and you’ve got yourself a goofy feel-good time. But is it enough to recommend for your viewing pleasure this holiday season? Read on to find out.
SANTA TELL ME: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: On one notable Christmas, a young Olivia Spencer (Erin Krakow) asked Santa Claus for a dollhouse and to know the name of her one true love. She gets the dollhouse, but it’s not until 25 years later she starts to see a chance at her second wish coming to fruition. The adult Olivia is a successful interior designer working her dream job with the opportunity of a lifetime to make a Christmas home makeover special this holiday season. If all goes well, she might even get her own TV show.
But Olivia’s path to getting everything she wants is certainly not all smooth sailing. She has an awkward first meeting with Chris Davis (Daniel Lissing), the producer and director of her upcoming Christmas special, where she vents that she’s dreading working with her new collaborator, not knowing that she’s talking to the man himself. Much to Olivia’s chagrin, Chris has big ideas on how to shoot this special, including the location: Olivia’s now dilapidated childhood home. While she’s initially reluctant, she eventually agrees to feature her old home for an epic holiday home renovation, complete with a live reveal of the finished product on Christmas Eve.
Later on, it’s just Olivia and her younger sister, Darcy (Jess Brown) hanging out in their childhood home reminiscing when Olivia hears a ringing bell. It leads her to a covered vent, where she finds the letter she’d sent Santa as a child asking for the name of her one true love. And if that wasn’t surreal enough, a letter from Santa writes itself in front of Olivia and Darcy’s eyes saying that Olivia’s soulmate is a man named Nick. Naturally, she’s in utter disbelief, but that soon changes when she has back-to-back-to-back meet cutes with pediatric neurosurgeon Nick A (Benjamin Ayres), furniture store owner Nick B (Christopher Russell), and firefighter Nick C (Kurt Szarka) within a span of minutes.
As Olivia pours her all into her home design special, she simultaneously dedicates herself to figuring out which handsome Nick holds the key to her heart, all while gradually growing closer to Chris at work. Can she find her other half by Christmas Eve or is destiny nothing but a childhood fantasy?
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Santa Tell Me is the choosing between three men aspect of Mamma Mia! with the Christmas magic and whimsy of Elf plus the initially reluctant coworkers to something more part of 27 Dresses, all through a Hallmark lens.
Performance Worth Watching: Erin Krakow sticks out as Olivia, leading us through this wild ride with a winning sincerity and commitment that leaves you charmed.
Memorable Dialogue: “Sometimes falling is the best part.” Nick A, what a philosopher. The line hits even harder after watching Olivia send three Nicks falling quite literally into hospital beds. Ohhh love. It hurts!
A Holiday Tradition: As a kid, Olivia and her family used to take a sleigh ride through the snow, complete with hot cocoa and marshmallows to sweeten the deal. Chris helps her bring this treasured memory back, perhaps even reviving the tradition for Olivia in the future.
Does the Title Make Any Sense?: Santa is telling Olivia about her romantic destiny, so Santa Tell Me does, indeed, make sense on some level.
Our Take: When you accept that Santa Tell Me takes place in a some alternate reality where magical letters from Santa write themselves out of thin air (to much less shock and fanfare than I would have expected) and horse drawn carriages appear in your driveway exactly when you need them, you can have a really fun time with this movie. There may not be much logic or realism to this, but it’s a Hallmark Christmas movie, okay, it doesn’t always have to be that deep!
Olivia is a winning leading lady (it’s also fun that she ends up being a bit of a player as she tries to sift through the Nicks to find The Nick To Rule Them All) and the guys end of being entertaining caricatures of leading men. The three Nicks are especially hilarious himbos once they all meet and interact with one another, making for some laughs and a dynamic that I certainly would want to keep watching. Admittedly Darcy at times just seems to serve as a vehicle to help push Olivia’s story forward, but even she has her pops of personality and hidden inner depths (like that little moment towards the end of the movie between her and a surprise arrival at the sisters’ door). Olivia and Chris have a nice build up to their own romantic connection and everyone in this movie seems to understand the assignment and commit to the roles they’re playing from top to bottom.
Is this going to be the best holiday movie you see all year? Probably not, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from watching Santa Tell Me. It’s just a nice, digestible, and amusing Hallmark Christmas movie that will be a good time to watch with a group of family or friends, and often, that’s all that you really need.
Our Call: STREAM IT! Embrace some seasonal silliness with the easy viewing and simple charms of Santa Tell Me. Because sometimes Santa Claus has nothing better to do than play matchmaker for one specific lady and you know what? That’s okay!
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Santa Tell Me’ on Hallmark, Where A Magical Letter From Santa Leads A Woman To True Love And A Hit Home Makeover Special appeared first on Decider.
