Christmas Under the Stars

TV-G

2019

1 hr. 22 min.

Holiday

Romance

List

Reviews

45%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

Nick loses his high finance job right before Christmas. Lost, he takes a gig at a tree lot, where he meets Julie and her son, Matt.

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Premiered Nov 04

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Watch Christmas Under the Stars with a subscription on Hulu, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Jeff M

Maybe I'm mellowing as I get older. Maybe the joy of Christmas is hitting me early this year. Maybe 2020 has affected my senses more than I realized. But I am actually recommending a Hallmark Christmas movie. If memory serves, this has only happened once before - it had something to do with Rob Lowe riding elephants in Africa. I think I was drinking during that one. I have spent my life ridiculing Hallmark movies and the people who watch them. I don't know if I just happened upon a rare goodie or if my tastes are changing or what. This was a fascinating 2 hours for me. The first 30 minutes or so is honestly pretty rough. We hit every cliche from every Christmas romcom ever made. And there is admittedly a peculiar delight in that - in a Rifftrax sort of way. But then a strange thing happened. I actually got involved in the story and these characters. I put down the notebook in which I was writing potentially witty barbs, and by the end I found myself breaking down into the ugly cry. I still haven't processed all this yet. Now don't get me wrong - this is not filmmaking at its finest. But it dots all the i's and crosses all the t's for this genre and what it does it does well. I'm not going to say Metcalfe necessarily gives a strong performance here, but he is filled with charisma and is extremely likable - he demonstrates here what I don't get from Zac Efron, another actor known more for his ridiculously good looks than his acting chops. It took me awhile to warm up to Reeser, who often sounds like she swallowed a Kardashian, but I eventually came around and she has a nice chemistry with the boy who plays her son. The standout in the cast is Peters, whose role has Morgan Freeman written all over it. I appreciate that the romance here took backseat to the goings-on at the tree lot - in fact this movie was based on Rikk Dunlap's novel THE CHRISTMAS TREE LOT, which would have been a much better title than the generic one chosen. Color me shocked, but not only am I heartily recommending this movie, I may end up watching it a time or two more before the end of the holiday season.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Ruthann K

Too many subplots, an unrealistic (even for Hallmark) premise and ZERO chemistry between the two lead actors. It passed the time while I played a video game on my phone…..

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I don't really like the female lead but I love Jessie Metcalf. He is wonderful as Nick. But rte real star of this movie is the actor who plays Clem. He really brings the movie to life. It's a touching movie that really shows the meaning of the season.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Allan Harmon

Director

Jesse Metcalfe

Nick Bellwith

Autumn Reeser

Julie Gibbons

Clarke Peters

Clem Marshwell

Anthony Bolognese

Matt Gibbons

Yoshie Bancroft

Kate

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Ian Thomas Malone

ianthomasmalone.com

Christmas Under the Stars chooses some pretty bizarre plot points including parental medical debt and the future of a seasonal vacant lot to drive its narrative.

Dec 10, 2019

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Synopsis

Nick loses his high finance job right before Christmas. Lost, he takes a gig at a tree lot, where he meets Julie and her son, Matt.

Director: Allan Harmon
Executive Producer: James Wilberger
Screenwriter: Jamie Pachino
Production Co: Crown Media Productions
Rating: TV-G
Genre: Holiday, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 31, 2020

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