When it comes to buying a Christmas tree, New Yorkers have it easy. Around Thanksgiving, many city sidewalks are clotted with firs for sale. It all seems so cheery, but a new documentary, “The Merchants of Joy,” reveals that the tree business itself can be more than a little cutthroat.
The director Celia Aniskovich, using Owen Long’s 2022 New York Magazine article “Secrets of the Christmas Tree Trade” as a starting point, has at her subject with commendable verve. (Long is a “consulting producer” here.) As is common in certain documentaries that lean to whimsy, this one uses animation at times. Aniskovich has the wit to do a homage to the stop-motion stylings of the television classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” She also offers up zesty character studies of the ostensible Big Five of New York City tree vendors.
The Brooklyn-born vendor George Smith has the manner of a character out of Scorsese’s “Mean Streets.” We do eventually see his soft side, which is not all that expansive. George Nash and Jane Waterman face competition in the form of Ciree Nash, their own daughter. “Big” Greg Walsh, who’s teaching the trade to his adult son Greg (you’ll never guess the son’s nickname), actually resembles Santa Claus.
And then there’s Heather Neville, who, like the other tree vendors, has an alternate gig during the off-season; hers is peddling exotic meats. “My dream is to sell beaver hot dogs,” she tells the camera. All the parties at least strike poses of equanimity as they’re interviewed.
The Merchants of Joy Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Watch on Prime Video.
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