Stream It Or Skip It?

Returning Hallmark talents Taylor Cole and Kevin McGarry are back to star in the Hallmark Mystery romantic-comedy A Reason for the Season. The film follows a privileged heiress whose mother makes her embark on a Christmastime quest to her small-town birthplace in order to earn her inheritance. Is this just another run-of-the-mill holiday movie or is there something here that makes it stick out from the crowd? Read on to find out.

The Gist: It’s Christmas Eve, 1989. A pregnant young woman is driving home for the holidays when a sudden sensation forces her to pull over in the nearest town, Brookswood. She enters a diner, where the “unofficial town council” is quick to pause their holiday celebrations in order to help this stranger as she goes into labor. One of the locals there is a doctor who helps deliver the baby right there in the diner. After a successful delivery, everyone in the diner takes a Polaroid picture with the new mother and her baby before the doctor quickly realizes something is wrong with the newborn and has them rushed to the hospital. The hospital saves the prematurely born baby’s life and the townspeople even pay for all of the medical bills, helping the young single mother to get back on her feet and pursue her dreams debt-free.

Nearly 35 years later, we’re in the present day, where that young mother, Elizabeth Lane (Sarah-Jane Redmond), has grown to become the founder and head of the billion-dollar, multi-national makeup company Lane Cosmetics. She loves her only daughter, Evie (Taylor Cole), enough to be honest with her, confronting the 34-year-old about her flighty, spoiled nature and giving her an ultimatum to prove she’s ready to earn Elizabeth’s hard-earned fortune. Elizabeth shows Evie the Polaroid photo of everyone in the diner from the night she was born and says that Evie must find the people in the picture to repay their kindness from that night. Evie is disgruntled at the idea of helping total strangers, but the threat of losing her trust fund springs her into action. Elizabeth says that Evie must complete this mission before her 35th birthday on Christmas Eve, and she has to do it all under a fake name so she’s treated just like anyone else.

On December 12th, Evie heads to the charming small town of Brookswood, where she stays in a B&B owned by an extremely friendly woman named Evelyn King (Dolores Drake). Evie doesn’t want to participate in any holiday events or town activities, she just wants to fulfill her mission and retain her inheritance. But a meeting with the town’s sole lawyer/hockey coach/most eligible bachelor Kyle Newman (Kevin McGarry) starts to change Evie’s perspective. She enlists his help in tracking down the people in her picture — diner owner Jack Marshall (Eric Keenleyside), sheriff Claire Bedford (Rachel Hayward), fire chief Roy Garland (Peter Bryant), and town doctor Kate Austen (Frances Flanagan) — to grant each one their Christmas wish. In the process, she just might learn more about herself, giving, and love than she ever could have imagined.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: A Reason for the Season shares some similarities with the 2017 Netflix Original comedy-drama film Christmas Inheritance, namely the fact that both titles revolve around a spoiled heiress from New York City confronting her privilege in a small town over Christmastime so she can earn her inheritance. And of course, she’s got a budding romance with a local guy, too!

Performance Worth Watching: Taylor Cole shines leading the way as Evie Lane, turning a character that could come across as bratty and unlikeable in the wrong hands into a warm, charming protagonist you root for. Cole also has a great natural chemistry with her co-stars, making every onscreen interaction entertaining and engaging.

Memorable Dialogue: “I’m what you call a three-strike sheriff. One strike for almost hitting me, two strikes for the cell phone. So, I am going to let you off with a warning.” Wow, Sheriff Claire sure is forgiving. I guess that’s why she has let Kyle accumulate 16 parking tickets. Is the law just a suggestion in this town? Maybe that’s why the residents are so happy.

A Holiday Tradition: The Christmas Tree Jamboree is an annual Brookswood tradition complete with ice skating, a holiday market, and Santa Claus, all put together by a team of dedicated volunteers.

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: I guess so, though it does feel a bit loosely connected compared to some other Hallmark holiday titles. Since the theme of the movie seems to be giving (it’s giving “giving”), I guess that was the real “Reason for the Season” all along.

Our Take: A major staple of many Hallmark holiday movies is something that’s supposed to come across as a charming fictional small town, but A Reason for the Season actually delivers when it comes to Brookswood and its lovable inhabitants.

Every single townsperson from the Polaroid photo was a delight and I genuinely enjoyed spending time with them and seeing their little side stories. I couldn’t help but root for their happiness and feel touched at the completion of their respective Christmas wishes. Even Evie’s baffled acknowledgment that everyone is so happy in this town felt like a winning tongue-in-cheek way of saying “Yes, we know we’re in a Hallmark movie and we’re going to have fun with it.”

But while all of the side characters make a positive impact, Evie, Elizabeth, and Kyle especially pop as the film’s leads. Taylor Cole’s easy chemistry with Sarah-Jane Redmond and Kevin McGarry makes both the familial and romantic moments ring that much truer and pleasant to watch. There’s nothing particularly shocking or ground-breaking about the characters or the plot, but there doesn’t have to be. It’s just pure Christmastime escapism and easy viewing. And I think we can all raise a cup of cheer to that!

Our Call: STREAM IT! A Reason for the Season is good ol’ small-town festive fun wrapped in an easily digestible Hallmark-shaped package. Relax, sit back, turn off your brain, and simply enjoy.