Stream It or Skip It: ‘An Unexpected Christmas’ on Hallmark Takes a Tired Premise and Makes It Wired

Hallmark’s rollout of Thanksgiving weekend premieres continues with An Unexpected Christmas, another entry in the crowded “we gotta pretend to be a couple so we don’t ruin Christmas!” sub-genre. Does An Unexpected Christmas follow the formula, or are there still some surprises to be found in this traditional holiday movie setup?

AN UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Bethany Joy Lenz stars as Emily, a rising star at a marketing firm who’s working on a big project that could take her career to the next level. The catch: the project will send her to Fulton, Illinois—which is her ex Jamie’s (Tyler Hynes) hometown! Emily is totally nervous because “you can’t swing a candy cane without hitting a member of his family.” Jamie, BTW, is now a speechwriter on the governor of Illinois’ re-election campaign.

So—Emily’s fears were justified because as soon as she arrives at the train station, not only does she see Jamie’s entire family, but Jamie is there too. Making matters worse is the fact that Jamie still has not told his family that he broke up with Emily months ago! Now she’s gotta play along with Jamie’s lie (she has a reason, trust me) while Jamie does some serious internal reflection. Oh—and will these two fall back in love? Or did they ever fall out of love to begin with?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Certainly not other Hallmark movies—which is a surprise because this premise is one of the network’s go-tos. The film’s overall modern, youthful vibe reminds me way more of Netflix romcoms like Holidate or Love Hard (which, TBH, is part of this fake relationship sub-genre). This is still Hallmark’s version of those kinds of films, so it’s still very TV-G—but a cool TV-G.

Performance Worth Watching: Give it up for Alison Wandzura as Jamie’s sister Becca! She’s got a film degree, she’s a single mom, she’s a lesbian (!), and she knows how to put her whiny brother in his place. The way Wandzura and Hynes interact, they really nail the dynamic of adult siblings. And unlike a lot of supporting characters who are mostly just there to listen to and provide exposition, Becca is actually a complex character who drives the plot forward and even gets her own—albeit tiny—romance subplot.

Memorable Dialogue: Jamie: “I’ll tell them.” Emily: “Yeah, you will, ’cause I’m not spending the next five nights on some janky pullout in your parents’ basement because you didn’t have the guts to tell them you dumped me.” Jamie: “Could you be talked into four?”

A Holiday Tradition: Jamie’s family loves their holiday traditions, which include secret Santa and Christmas charades. Fulton has traditions of its own; every couple that gets married in the town writes their initials on a stone and puts it in the town’s big, fancy fountain.

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: Not at all. This title could be applied to pretty much any holiday movie, because no one makes movies about Christmases that go as expected. An Unexpected Christmas was produced by Unexpected Road Productions, but it’s weird to name a movie after a production company. It’s very “Talk Talk” by the band Talk Talk. Anyway—this one could’ve been called, I dunno, The Lie Before Christmas, A Couple for Christmas, or (this one’s weird) A Conscious Christmas Uncoupling.

Our Take: Y’know, maybe An Unexpected Christmas is the right title for this movie because I definitely did not expect this one to be this great. Yes, the entire plot is Hallmark movie Mad Libs, from the fake couple to the Christmas-obsessed small town to the big promotion dangled in front of our leading lady. But what makes this movie feel so unexpectedly fresh is the genuinely witty script and casual yet earnest performances.

It’s not often that I actually LOL at jokes in Hallmark holiday movies, but An Unexpected Christmas has some exchanges that got me good. There’s the one I mentioned above, and another between Jamie and Becca when he asks to borrow her car that get two enthusiastic thumbs up from me. This is a Hallmark Christmas movie with characters that actually talk how people talk—not just people, but millennials. Shoutout to Hallmark mainstay Paul Campbell for stepping behind the camera and turning out a great script.

And then there are the performances! How often can you call the female lead of a Hallmark Christmas movie edgy or even just cool? We get a lot of girl next door types, a lot of Type-A professionals, even some nerdy scientists. Bethany Joy Lenz plays Emily with legit swagger, which makes her feel like a lot of the real women that I know, that you know, that maybe you are. Like, one of the first things she says in the movie, while throwing clothes in a suitcase, is, “Unless it’s a date wrapped in bacon, I’m not interested.” I love her, and her well-played annoyance at Jamie’s cowardice makes the premise work.

As for Jamie, I thought he was really dull at first—and then I remembered that Tyler Hynes often plays the cool and confident role. He can’t here because that’s Lenz’s gig. Then I realized that Hynes actually does a great job of playing a guy who is just a mess of insecurity and anxiety—which is 100% not the kinda leading men we get in these movies! Jamies is handsome because he has Tyler Hynes’ face, but that’s about all he has going for him. The guy has actual, relatable issues that he has to overcome in order for this relationship to work—and those issues have nothing to do the usual hurdles, like not having enough Christmas spirit.

Overall, An Unexpected Christmas really feels like the future of Hallmark holiday movies. It’s inclusive, witty, real (well, real enough), and fun.

Our Call: STREAM IT. An Unexpected Christmas is unexpectedly great.

An Unexpected Christmas premieres on Hallmark on Friday, November 26 at 8 p.m. ET

Watch An Unexpected Christmas on Hallmark