Hitched For The Holidays
Up Schitt’s Creek
A pre-Schitt’s Creek Emily Hampshire (Julie) and Joey Lawrence (Rob) meet online with the intention of posing as each other’s significant other to get their meddling families off their backs. Totally understandable plan - the guy her parents want to set her up with is a podiatrist with a seriously unprofessional foot fetish, even by podiatrist standards.
Not Hallmark’s traditional Christmas fare, particularly from the last few years - basically the opposite of the bright and shiny aesthetic that dominates now.
So if the prospect of a fake(?) relationship wasn’t enough to deal with, he’s from a big Catholic family and she’s Jewish, so they also need to come to terms with each other’s families and traditions. Like when Julie breaks a 116-year old family heirloom ornament… which was just tossed in a box of unsentimental ornaments and looks new… but whatever… ands Rob has to fake knowing how to light the Hannukah menorah.
I don’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Hallmark’s holiday filmography, but this definitely feels like an early (2012) attempt to start including more Jewish storylines.
Not all that engaging as a movie, but happy for Emily Hampshire that this predated her rise to fame Schitt’s Creek.
Hap-Hap-Happiest Scene:
Rob lights the menorah - with extensive help from Julie - and then blows out the candles immediately after while saying, “Amen.” Funny little moment in a relatively blah movie.
Wait! Why do I recognize that person?
If you’re old, you’ll likely recognize Joey Lawrence from his time on Blossom a mere 30-ish years ago…
And if you’re, well, any age, you’ll likely recognize Schitt’s Creek’s own Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire)!
SCORE: 4/10
Tell me more!
When commitment-phobe Rob Marino (Joey Lawrence) breaks up with his girlfriend before Thanksgiving, he is criticized by his big Italian family about his inability to keep a relationship through the holidays. Wanting to prove them wrong and fulfill his dying grandmother’s (Paula Shaw) wish to see him happy in love, Rob goes online and finds Julie (Emily Hampshire), another single New Yorker who’s meddling Jewish mom (Marilu Henner), has driven her to seek a temporary boyfriend. Rob and Julie agree to pose as a couple through the holidays to get their families off their backs. But things get complicated when Rob’s Catholic clan and Julie’s Jewish family get involved. With Christmas coming and Hanukkah around the corner, they double their efforts to keep the charade going, only to discover their fake feelings may be a little too real.
