Hallmark enters fairytale territory with A Fabled Holiday, a supernatural entry in the network’s Countdown to Christmas lineup. Brooke D’Orsay (A Dickens of a Holiday!) and Ryan Paevey (Coyote Creek Christmas) star as childhood friends reunited via storybook magic. But does this movie create a convincing fairytale romance? Or should Hallmark keep both feet planted firmly in it’s own version of reality?
A FABLED HOLIDAY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: Brooke D’Orsay stars as Talia, a bookstore owner whose own dreams of becoming a bestselling author have been put on hold. Her stories just aren’t edgy enough for publishers! Ryan Paevey plays Anderson, a surgeon looking to get away from the stress of his job for a minute. Oh — and Talia and Anderson were childhood friends and fans of the classic Wunderbrook Christmas Story, a fairytale storybook gifted to Talia by her father just before his death.
Now 30 years have passed and a chance (or is it?) run-in at Talia’s bookstore has reunited these estranged pals. Before they know it, circumstances truly beyond their control have brought them and a few other wayward guests to the Gingerbread Inn located in the quaint and cozy town of Wunderbrook. Sound familiar? Will the town’s mayor and family be able to steer Talia, Anderson, and the other guests back on track, or will they check out of the inn unchanged — and potentially put an end to the magic of Wunderbrook forever?!
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Okay, uh, people getting swept up in the happenings of a fictional town that’s suddenly turned factual? A Fabled Holiday is not not Hallmark’s take on In the Mouth of Madness. There’s a real eerie feeling to Wunderbrook — albeit eerie by way of Hallmark. Still, the way that Mayor Miles (John Murphy), Judy (Rochelle Greenwood), Izzy (Daphne Hoskins), and Mildred (Patti Allan) behave feels very Stephen King, or like the Endless in Sandman. They all feel like beings trapped in an endless cycle, forced to play out roles beyond their control… but in a cheery Hallmark way.
Performance Worth Watching: I gotta give it to John Prowse, who plays elderly widower Charles. He may be a supporting character, another one of the inn’s patients, but he really plays the part with lead character energy. I’d even go so far as to say that his character arc — yes, he has an arc! — is more compelling than Talia or Anderson’s.
Memorable Dialogue: It’s not exactly original, but when Judy says to Charles, “You still deserve to experience joy,” oof, it hits.
A Holiday Tradition: Well, everyday is magic in Wunderbrook, but the week before Christmas is Wonder Week. That includes a tree lighting, a Christmas market and festiva — and an ominous sounding “procession” and a “Night of Wonder” celebration that only enhances the movie’s merry Midsommar vibe.
Two Turtle Doves: Hallmark’s Inventing the Christmas Prince also prominently features a fairytale invented by the lead (Tamera Mowry-Housley). Oh — and the lead’s daughter thinks that her grumpy boss is really the prince from said fairytale.
Does the Title Make Any Sense?: A Fabled Holiday does get across a bit of the fairytale feeling, for sure, but it’d be nice to make it a little more specific. Could A Wunderbrook Christmas Fable have worked? Who’s to say?
Our Take: With this year’s Hallmark movies, it’s been fun to pinpoint where the plots venture off the beaten path and into the woods. A Fabled Holiday really starts like a classic Hallmark movie: Talia dreams of being a writer, but instead she owns a small business. Her bestie is, of course, a best-selling author. And the only person who ever really believed in her writing is her childhood best friend Anderson, who’s suddenly come back into her life. There’s another version of this movie where Talia and Anderson reconnect as adults and, as their romance blossoms, Talia realizes that this is the basis for a fairytale romance that could get the interest of publishers. Then, I dunno, Anderson would find Talia’s manuscript and think Talia was only dating him for the story but then she’d turn down the publisher’s offer and they’d get back together and then Talia would self-publish a book and it would become a hit and etc. etc. etc. I’m just riffing here.
Anyway — that is not what happens in A Fabled Holiday.
True to the rest of the Hallmark movies I’ve seen this year, A Fabled Holiday takes a turn towards the supernatural rather quickly and then, well, all bets are off. The town of Wunderbrook, specifically its inhabitants, are so fascinating and raise so many questions — questions far beyond ones I’ve ever asked about a Hallmark movie. In fact, too many questions are raised about the origins and rules of Wunderbrook to be answered in one Hallmark movie, and maybe that will impede your enjoyment. For me, I was just excited to see a story like this told in a Hallmark movie, especially one with a character like Patti Allan’s Mildred. There is a lot of menace in her performance and she actually feels like a genuine, fairytale-style threat. However, Mildred has layers and it’s genuinely intriguing to see them peeled away.
As for the leads, I loved seeing Brooke D’Orsay play a sweet, low-key weird woman with a big imagination who’s determined to solve this mystery. As far as Hallmark movies go, that’s one of the downsides of A Fabled Holiday: if you’re coming to this for a big sweeping holiday romance, you’re not going to get it. Talia is a well-rounded character, for sure, but Anderson falls a little short. Paevey plays Anderson’s disillusionment and fatigue with his work well — maybe too well, because Anderson never really sparks onscreen the way that Talia does.
But if there’s one thing Hallmark is proving over and over again this year, it’s that romance need not be the only interesting thing in any of these movies. Where Talia and Anderson’s storyline may drag, the fantastical elements — especially the Mildred/Charles storyline — of A Fabled Holiday really soars. It’s not your typical Hallmark tale, but then again, none of them are this year.
Our Call: STREAM IT, and I’d even cross my fingers and hope that there’s a followup next year that explores more of the mystery of Wunderbrook.