Sadly, made-for-TV movies aren’t exactly what one would call world-class cinema. They tend to be cliché and full of bad acting, which doesn’t help when the narrative is difficult to watch. Hey, it can’t be easy to act out cheesy scenes full of campy, overused tropes. It makes serious scenes difficult to watch, and romantic scenes are nothing short of cringy. Sadly, Hallmark has its fair share of horrible TV movies.
From Santa Tell Me to Oliver’s Ghost, Hallmark is a guilty party when it comes to over-the-top family programming that is straight-laced with ridiculous plotlines, aka career people going back to their country home only to fall in love with their high school sweetheart and get married, finally finding what they were missing from life. They’re very formulaic with unimaginative narratives, and the plots are easy to guess from start to finish. So, here, in all of their cliché glory, are some of the worst TV movies Hallmark has in its catalog.
10 ‘A Cheerful Christmas’ (2019)
Directed By Marita Grabiak
Lauren (Erica Deustchman) and her friend Colleen (Tianna Nori) land their dream job, helping a royal family, the Andersons, get ready for the holidays and promising them the best Christmas ever. Well, be careful what you wish for, because the job is easier said than done when the two women realize the eldest Anderson son, James (Chad Connell), wants nothing to do with the arrangements or celebrations. Of course, that’s when Lauren makes it her mission to get James into the holiday spirit. And, in true Hallmark fashion, she winds up falling in love with him.
Hallmark is no stranger to the royal love story plotlines. In fact, they tend to do them fairly well, bringing engaging characters and narratives to the screen. A Cheerful Christmas is not one of those instances. While it did bring in all the tropes people are used to with royal holiday movies, this particular film just didn’t have any attention-grabbing aspects, lacking the spark other films have, missing the mark, and becoming one of those forgotten Christmas movies in the Hallmark catalog.
Watch On Hallmark+
9 ‘Oliver’s Ghost’ (2011)
Directed By David S. Cass Sr.
In a very un-Hallmark-type manner, one of the worst haunted house movies was brought into the mix in 2011 in the form of Oliver’s Ghost. When Oliver’s (Nicholas Stargel) family moves into an old house, they are unaware that it is haunted by the former owner, Clive (Martin Mull), a grumpy, bow-tie-wearing ghost who does not want the family living in his house. In a very Sixth Sense manner, Oliver can apparently “see dead people.” But that’s where the “horror” ends.
Hallmark really had no business making a family film surrounding a haunted house
and a child who could see ghosts.
Oliver befriends the ghost and even reunites Clive with his estranged daughter by the end of the movie. Yes, it is a sweet concept, but Hallmark really had no business making a family film surrounding a haunted house and a child who could see ghosts. The film might have had a bit more going for it if it actually dove into some horror elements and made it less of a kid’s movie. Alas, it is Hallmark, and a grumpy old ghost is what the network called for.
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8 ‘Mr. Miracle’ (2014)
Directed By Carl Bessai
Harry Mills (Rob Morrow), an inexperienced guardian angel, decides he’s ready for the big leagues. Ignoring the advice of his celestial advisor, Harry travels to Earth to take on his first assignment, helping Addie (Britt Irvin) gain self-confidence, get her life back on track, and learn to love again after the passing of her father. Even though Mr. Miracle is an adaptation based on the Debbie Macomber novel of the same name and, therefore, has an entire base to work from. It didn’t work.
A spin-off of the successful
Mrs. Miracle
, the Hallmark film
Mr. Miracle
completely missed the mark.
A spin-off of the successful Mrs. Miracle, the Hallmark film Mr. Miracle completely missed the mark. The movie’s two leads are irritating and hard to relate to, and the plot is lousy and doesn’t make for an entertaining film. While Mr. Miracle definitely had the intention of living up to its predecessor, it didn’t come close. If people are looking for a feel-good film with the same concept, just watch the original.
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7 ‘A Gingerbread Romance’ (2018)
Directed By Richard Gabai
Starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict as Taylor, an architect who doesn’t have roots and moves from place to place depending on the project, A Gingerbread Romance has the typical Hallmark formula of “city girl meets baker boy and falls in love.” The difference here is the protagonist doesn’t go to her hometown; she only falls in love with Adam (Duane Henry) because he has a place to call home. Okay, and because he’s a good dad and an all-around good guy. But building a life-size gingerbread house for a competition will bring people together, right? After spending time with Adam at his home, decorating for the holidays, and seeing the town in all of its Christmas glory, Taylor starts to think that putting down roots and creating a home wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Even though the concept and formula are one that viewers have seen before, the horrible aspect of A Gingerbread Romance is more so the lack of chemistry between the two leads. As the main plot point is a love story, it is kind of hard to get over the absence of emotional intensity that comes with falling in love with not only a person but a concept. For fans of Mowry-Hardrict, the actress had better projects in the Hallmark catalog, so skipping over this one wouldn’t be a bad option.
Watch On Hallmark+
6 ‘Never Been Chris’d’ (2023)
Directed By Jeff Beesley
What is Christmas without a little drama? In the case of the holiday TV movie Never Been Chris’d, it all boils down to two best friends, Naomi (Janel Parrish) and Liz (Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes), who come home for the holidays, each reconnecting with their high school crush, Chris (Tyler Hynes). Insert the love triangle trope and holiday backdrop, and the movie is a solid account of the meaning of friendship and how a guy shouldn’t come between two girlfriends.
The movie is
full of overused tropes and themes
that could have been expanded on instead of staying at a boring surface level with poor execution.
While the movie does have some Hallmark veterans in its cast, the narrative just doesn’t hit like it should. The chemistry between castmates isn’t there, which isn’t a good sign when the focal point is a love triangle, and the holiday landscape is downright dispensable, since Christmas really has nothing to do with the main story aside from the two women coming home (it could have been set during any time of the year). The movie is full of overused tropes and themes that could have been expanded on instead of staying at a boring surface level with poor execution.
Watch On Hallmark+
5 ‘Santa Tell Me’ (2024)
Directed By Ryan Landels
Following the story of Olivia Spencer (Erin Krakow), a successful interior designer who, when she was younger, asked Santa for the name of her one true love. Years later, she gets her wish in the form of a letter from Santa, telling her that her true love is named Nick. Enter Nick’s A, B, and C (Benjamin Ayres, Christopher Russell, and Kurt Szarka). The three Nicks all begin to date Olivia, and, in true Hallmark fashion, there are silly mortgages, over-poured glasses of wine, and magical letters that change the pace of the narrative.
As many people know, Hallmark has a wide array of Christmas movies in its catalog. Sadly, Santa Tell Me should be on the naughty list for its cheesy, magical concept and poor acting. The narrative is nothing viewers haven’t seen before, with a will-they-won’t-they co-worker and three other men vying for the main protagonist’s attention. For viewers who want nothing more than a fun movie with a One Nick to Rule Them All premise, feel free to watch this TV movie. Otherwise, there is no harm in skipping over Santa Tell Me.
Santa Tell Me
- Cast
- Erin Krakow , Daniel Lissing , Benjamin Ayres , Christopher Russell , Kurt Szark
- Runtime
- 84 minutes
- Main Genre
- Holiday
Watch On FuboTV
4 ‘The Cabin’ (2011)
Directed By Brian Trenchard-Smith
Just because The Cabin stars Lea Thompson, don’t let it fool you. The TV movie follows two families with the same last name, MacDougal, as they are double-booked in a remote cabin during Scotland’s “Mac Fest,” a festival that gathers different clans from around the world, each sporting a last name starting with “Mac.” It only gets better. The two families have single parents, a mom with one family and a dad with the other. As it goes, the two parents are very annoyed with the double booking, but after only a few hours, they have those sly smiles and flirty eyes for one another, and eventually, they fall in love.
The gooey love story tries to mask the strange and somewhat creepy plot of strangers sharing a cabin (with children, nonetheless).
The narrative lacks realistic logic, and the cheesy concept of a “Mac” convention is pseudo-laughable, as people from around the world are gathered due to the prefix of their last names. The gooey love story tries to mask the strange and somewhat creepy plot of strangers sharing a cabin (with children, nonetheless) but doesn’t hit home as the forced proximity trope and bad child acting are at the forefront and very difficult to ignore.
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3 ‘The Town Christmas Forgot’ (2010)
Directed By John Bradshaw
In The Town Christmas Forgot, the Benson family is that typical All-American family. Wealthy with kids and a road trip planned for Christmas, the family did not expect to be stranded in a lumber town after a blizzard forced them to stop their trip and pull over. Now, stranded in Nowhere Town, the Bensons learn that Christmas is more than presents and material things; it is about being together and bringing other people together to enjoy the spirit of the holidays.
The thing is, they didn’t have to make the impoverished town called “Nowhere.”
It is a true Hallmark movie, pulling in morals and family to create a mushy movie about how, even though people might come from nothing, that doesn’t mean they aren’t rich in other aspects of life. The thing is, they didn’t have to make the impoverished town called “Nowhere,” and the wealthy family bringing positivity to the community is an outdated trope that does nothing more than make people cringe and actually feel bad for the family. As far as feel-good movies go, this one isn’t a Hallmark classic.
Watch On Hallmark+
2 ‘Santa Switch’ (2013)
Directed By Dave Cass
Poor Sean Astin didn’t deserve to be cast as the Elf Eddie in Santa Switch, a movie about a struggling dad, Dan (Ethan Erickson). A workaholic who doesn’t have time for his family, Dan soon realizes he’s about to lose his job, wife, and children. Of course, it is the exact time Kris Kringle (Donovan Scott) decides it is the perfect time to take a vacation and hand over his Christmas duties to Dan. Now, with the help of Eddie, Dan needs to figure out how to juggle his responsibilities as Santa while also trying to win his family back.
Does the plot sound familiar? That’s because it is very close to that of The Santa Clause, starring Tim Allen. This wouldn’t have been an issue, per se, if Santa Switch hadn’t made the fun concept of a civilian becoming Santa Claus into a boring narrative of a dad who works too hard and doesn’t have time for his family. It wasn’t one of Hallmark’s best ideas, and it was one of the worst Christmas movies to come out of their catalog. Viewers are better off watching the 1994 film if they feel like an actual Santa switch-up story.
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1 ‘Chasing Leprechauns’ (2012)
Directed By Kevin Connor
Buckle up and get ready because Chasing Leprechauns is unlike any other Hallmark movie out there. In it, an American troubleshooter, Michael (Adrian Pasdar), is sent to Ireland to figure out why his company is unable to build a smelting plant in a small Irish village. The reasoning: there is a law that protects the land because endangered leprechauns live there. Enter Sarah (Amy Huberman), Ireland’s resident “pixie expert,” who teaches Michael all about the mystical ways of the protected land. Eventually, Michael falls in love with the expert, and the land is saved from being built upon.
The plot is a bit over the top, even by Hallmark standards.
Following the typical “city guy falls for small-town girl” trope, Chasing Leprechauns brings the movie a step further by incorporating myths and legends into the narrative (and not in a good way). The plot is a bit over the top, even by Hallmark standards, and sets its conflict right from the get-go, making the climax and ending of the movie very predictable. Needless to say, if viewers are looking for a movie with legends thrown into the mix, there are plenty of others out there with solid plots and good acting; this just isn’t one of them.
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