Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Magic in Mistletoe’ on Hallmark Channel, Where An Author Struggles To Find The Joy In Christmas

When the author of a celebrated Christmas book series turns out to be a Grinch in real life, his book publicist forces him to attend a Christmas festival to reconnect with his holiday spirit. Magic In Mistletoe on Hallmark Channel is a fuzzy, feel-good romance, one in which its leads bond over their love of treats like peppermint brownies and cinnamon-spiced s’mores, which only adds to the film’s cozy holiday charm.

MAGIC IN MISTLETOE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A news anchor reveals that a world-famous author, Harrington Davis (Paul Campbell), whose Magic In Mistletoe book series has taken on a Harry Potter-level of popularity, has caused its author to not only hide out and live as a recluse, but to actually renounce Christmas as a capitalist joke in a social media post. His fans are, predictably, not happy.

The Gist: It’s two weeks before Christmas and a PR rep named April Collins (Lyndie Greenwood) who works for a publishing company is facing a major crisis. The author she represents, Harrington Davis, who is famous for his Christmas-themed books, has revealed himself to be a dour grump who has alienated his entire fan base with his tweet. April has been tasked with damage control, and her idea is to get Harrington to attend a Christmas festival in his hometown (which is actually called Mistletoe) to make nice with his fans.

April is not persuaded by Harrington’s tweet that he hates Christmas, she thinks that in order for him to have written six books about the magic of the holiday, he must actually have a shred of holiday spirit. When he refuses to go, she threatens to sue him for breach of contract, and so he begrudgingly shows up. As April learns more about the town of Mistletoe and Harrington’s past, she learns that he has drawn inspiration for all of his characters and settings from many of his old friends and favorite places in town. He slowly warms to April, and she realizes he’s kinder than she thought. And he doesn’t actually hate Christmas, he just hates the fact that his whole town has started mooching off the success of his book by branding everything in town with his book title and its characters.

Eventually, April helps Harrington realize that he’s done more for the town than he realizes, and he’s brought a lot of joy to everyone there… including her.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Take the “George Bailey realizes the positive impact he’s had on his town” aspect of It’s A Wonderful Life, throw in a dash of “young book publisher deals with a cantankerous author” as in Best Sellers, and filter it through a Hallmark lens, and you have Magic In Mistletoe.

Our Take: I don’t think that Magic In Mistletoe intended to draw comparisons to J.K. Rowling and the friction her fans now feel as the result of her controversial anti-trans tweets, but it’s hard not to make the connection. Harrington is a global superstar whose social media post has jeopardized his career. With April’s help, he reconnects with his past and realizes that he made an error in judgment, toning down his hot take that Christmas sucks. (If only it were that easy in the real world, but instead, Jo Rowling continues to double down on her TERF-y stance.)

But if you can put that comparison aside and take the film for what it is, which is an easy-to-digest romance about people who don’t get along until they realize they’re actually meant for each other, you’ll succumb to its charms. April and Harrington both start out a little prickly – she’s a tough-talking PR flack and he’s a Scrooge, but those personas don’t last long, and they learn they’re more alike than they thought, connecting over their shared grief due to the loss of parents, and a sweet tooth. (There is a running theme throughout that these two bond over everything from s’mores to scones to spiced nuts.)

The height of tension in Magic in Mistletoe comes during a fight that April and Harrington have when, while at his house in Mistletoe, she tells him that her book publisher never really would have sued him for breach of contract, and she only said that as a bluff to get him to attend the Mistletoe festival. He is genuinely shaken by the fact that this person he has come to trust would lie to him, but when April apologizes and explains that she simply made a desperate move, he forgives her. What I assumed to be a drawn-out estrangement between the characters that I expected to last for the middle third of the film in fact only lasted about 30 seconds. (They have a second “fight” that also lasts about 9 seconds when April decorates his house for Christmas and he gets mad at her for that and then realizes she was just trying to be nice.)

Such is the vibe of Hallmark movies: they don’t exist to make us wonder “will they or won’t they?” because of course they will, in the end. Everything that leads up to that point is just more feel-good filler.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: April and Harrington sit on a bench on a hill overlooking the town of Mistletoe. He tells her, “For the longest time, I didn’t believe in magic. But you’ve changed my mind.”

“I think I’ve heard that somewhere before,” she says.

“Mmhmm. Book one, page 234,” he says, referring to his own book series. “Except I really mean it,” he adds, leaning in for a kiss.

Performance Worth Watching: For a romantic film’s leading man, Paul Campbell is not overly charismatic or sexy, but that suits this role. He’s kind of like a Hallmark Channel Adam Scott, a cynical and sarcastic everyman. To his credit, he easily transitions from cynic to softie by the end.

Memorable Dialogue: “Is Harrington Davis being canceled?” April’s mom asks. “It’s all over the internet!” Classic “Mom’s been on the computer again!” line.

Our Call: A dazzling little town filled with twinkle lights and holiday spirit, two charming (maybe a little boring, but charming nonetheless) leads, and everyone feeling the holiday spirit? What’s not to like!? STREAM IT!