Stream It or Skip It: ‘A Christmas to Treasure’ on Lifetime Sends Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey on a Holiday Quest

Lifetime kicks off the last weekend of holiday movie season with A Christmas to Treasure, an ensemble romance / mystery starring IRL married couple Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey. But is A Christmas to Treasure a prize worth digging up the backyard to find? Or is this Christmas movie best left buried?

A CHRISTMAS TO TREASURE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Taylor Frey plays Austin, a brand… publicist?… who works with his childhood friend Tipper (Katie Walder). They’re super close to landing the event that could send their whatever-their-careers-are to the next level when they each get a strange letter. The letter is from Mrs. Marley, a woman who meant a lot to Tipper, Austin, and their friend group back when they were growing up. Even though she’s passed away, she still has one more adventure in store for them — and she wants all six friends to go on it together this Christmas.

Back home in Belleville, Mrs. Marley’s passing has hit Everett (Kyle Dean Massey) even harder. He’s singlehandedly decorating her old house for Christmas when his friend Ricky (Roberto Aguire) delivers the worst news: the house is being sold to a land developer unless Everett can come up with $200K. With his childhood haven at risk of being turned into a ski resort, Everett is determined to find Mrs. Marley’s buried treasure. And then there’s Austin, who wants to use some of that money to build up his brand… partnership?… company. Will there be enough money to bankroll all of these dreams, or will this treasure hunt stand in the way of Austin and Everett giving in to their feelings for each other?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: A bunch of childhood friends reconnecting to go on a mission? There are definitely some Umbrella Academy and It Chapter Two vibes here (which is fitting since Frey was in It). But don’t expect anything supernatural to happen here; this reunion is way more millennial Big Chill, but as a family-friendly TV movie and set at Christmas.

Performance Worth Watching: Katie Walder gets a scene that has to be an actor’s dream and nightmare: one of those fast-talking, thinking-on-your-feet and bluffing your way out of a high-pressure scenario scenes — y’know, like the post-its speech in Romy & Michele or all of Erin Brockovich. Those have to be a pain to memorize but so much fun to play. They’re definitely a blast to watch, and Walder makes that moment memorable.

Memorable Dialogue: The opening scene where Austin and Tipper are pitching to a team of influencer publicists is pure Entertainment 720 Mad Libs madness. Here’s the duo’s response when they are asked, “What brands?”

“All the brands. You just leave that part to us. You bring us your best influencer clients and we bring the brands to you.”

“How about we start with wardrobe? Boots, heels, cocktail attire — everything everyone in attendance is wearing? Branded. And the champagne, the wine, even our colorful cupcakes?”

“All brands. And don’t forget to tell them what’s in the swag bags, Tipper.”

“Purses, watches, beauty products, even dog treats — all of it brand.”

I… think I could watch 90 minutes of just Austin and Tipper in pitch meetings.

A Holiday Tradition: The entire movie is built around one final Christmas treasure hunt, just like Mrs. Marley used to throw for the neighborhood kids every holiday season. The Marleys also hosted an annual Candy Cane Carnival, where the six friends all dressed up like candy canes. 

Two Turtle Doves: Want more gays falling in love at Christmas? Check out Hallmark’s The Holiday Sitter,

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: Considering that this isn’t just a hunt for buried riches but also the first holiday in a while that some of these characters have really cherished? yeah — this is a Christmas to treasure.

Our Take: If it’s not evident yet, A Christmas to Treasure is a lot of movie. It has a bigger lead cast than these movies tend to have and it has an even bigger premise. I haven’t even mentioned the scheming real estate agent (Autumn Federici); the very detailed ins and outs of Austin and Everett’s will they/won’t they/they definitely won’t… but maybe? history; Everett’s painful — and true to life —coming out story; Tipper’s romantic subplot; or even the other two friends, who are a professional basketball player (Norman Towns) and a publicist (Nikki McKenzie) and are both underutilized. There’s also a timeline for Mrs. Marley’s life that involves her husband dying and Everett caring for her, but it’s a lot to keep in line with everything else going on. This is a movie that requires your undivided attention, which doesn’t seem like a lot to ask but, come on, we’re all watching holiday romances while cooking, wrapping, or decorating. I’m just warning you: there are characters named Michelle and Rochelle in this movie, and you shouldn’t confuse them like I did for the first couple acts.

Even with a large ensemble, the principle characters — Austin, Tipper, Everett, and Ricky — all get multi-faceted personalities that give their scenes a real lived-in feeling. Taylor Frey is particularly fun to watch as Austin, a kind of cuddly but quick-witted (re: snarky) gay that we don’t really see in these movies.

The biggest problem with the movie is Mrs. Marley — or rather the concept of Mrs. Marley. She was a neighbor to all of them who lived in a large house that has a basketball court, a shed for Tipper’s bear figurine collection, a lemonade stand, and a clubhouse. She and her husband also threw a carnival on their property where they dressed like the Clauses. And, most importantly, they threw annual Christmas treasure hunts. It sounds like they lived next door to a way more nurturing and less homicidal Willy Wonka.

I became distracted every time the movie added something new to the Marley mythos, because the old widow with a palatial estate who loves having a dozen or more neighborhood kids tearing it up all the time — that’s not an archetype that many viewers will recognize from their own lives. Coincidentally, A Christmas to Treasure airs opposite Hallmark’s Holiday Heritage, another Christmas movie built around the absence of a larger-than-life figure. That movie does a splendid job of showing who the lead’s grandfather was just from one 10-second video clip and a few stray facts (he was mayor, he proudly shared the traditions of Kwanzaa with his family and the town). That was enough. Maybe Mrs. Marley didn’t need to be any more than a neighbor who just threw a Christmas treasure hunt every year, and a mother-figure to Everett when he couldn’t talk to his parents.

Fortunately, the movie doesn’t overcrowd Austin and Everett’s relationship. It’s clear that they have history, including a lot of issues to work through, and the movie knows to pause and let Frey and Massey take their time in the scenes that really matter.

Our Call: STREAM IT. While A Christmas to Treasure is a lot of movie, it knows that the most important parts are the small, intimate details.