Christmas Reservations Review

“Oh, there’s heat between the two of you, but I don’t think you’re feeling it.”

Love is in the air at Treeline Ski Resort at Christmastime, but all of the guests also seem to have some serious reservations. Holly, the events manager (and daughter of Tom, who owns the lodge), finds herself reunited with Kevin, “the one who got away.”

Meanwhile several other lodge guests find new love. But that’s just the beginning in the Lifetime movie, “Christmas Reservations” (2019).

Our Review: Christmas Reservations

There’s a lot going on in this movie, but not all of it is good. At times, it’s barely even watchable.

“Christmas Reservations” features an ensemble cast, but the main focus is Holly and Kevin, who are reunited for the first time since college. He is a widower with two kids and he’s got some reservations about whether he should sell his business.

They find it easy to fall in love, but there’s a problem: she has no plans to leave her dad and stop working at the lodge, and Kevin doesn’t want to uproot his kids to move. So they have some – wait for it – serious reservations about their future together.

As for the rest of the cast, we’ve got:

• Tom: Also a widower, he develops feelings for Tay. He also deals with countless shenanigans due to all the repairs needed at the lodge, including a busted furnace and the power going out. But, you see, Tom’s wife used to always say that you can’t go through life with reservations – you have to cancel them.
• Tay: She’s worried and has serious reservations about her life – and serious reservations about telling her sister that she may be sick because she didn’t want to spoil their vacation. She’s not (and for some reason, the doctor calls her to tell her that on Christmas, because, you know, doctors work on Christmas).
• Kay: Tay’s sister. She plays it cool with another guest, Duffy, who is quite interested in her. But I think she has some reservations about him.
• Duffy: He is a former Olympian skier who is at the lodge to say goodbye to his old life. He has some reservations about being alone the rest of his life.
• Dadi: An Indian woman who has some serious reservations about being at the lodge for Christmas instead of in India, as well as about her granddaughter, Preena, getting involved with another boy at the lodge, Leo (a.k.a., Dartmouth).
• Preena: She has some reservations about where to go to college.
• Leo: Well, I suppose he has some reservations about getting caught alone by Dadi talking “chemistry” in the jacuzzi with Preena.

The end result: frantic pacing, writing that is so bad it’s almost good, and dialogue that is so terrible that it sometimes actually manages to be funny.

Let’s break it all down.

The Nice List

Christmas Overload

One thing “Christmas Reservations” got right: it felt Christmasy. It looked great and there were lots of great decorations.

There were also lots of Christmas activities (way more activities than “Christmas Camp”!) – the guests built snowmen and snowwomen; played Christmas trivia; built gingerbread houses; made wreaths; and were treated to a reading of “A Christmas Carol” (with Tom going full Dickens).

Plus, Duffy even dresses up as Santa and skis down the mountain, though with somewhat disastrous results.

You’ll Laugh…

• When Duffy, dressed as Santa, tells Leo: “Dude, you gotta quit wishing. Santa didn’t get Mrs. Claus by wishing. Put the hammer down.”
• At Duffy, as he eats a chicken drumstick in the jacuzzi and talks to the dog.
• At Dadi, who is responsible for the quote at the start of this review (and a few other chuckles throughout the movie).

Special Christmas References

The kids dressed up their dog like in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”.

There were also a couple of brief mentions of “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.

Winter Storm Megan Strikes Again!

Well, you’ve gotta give Lifetime credits for continuity. Winter Storm Megan has played a role in every Lifetime movie so far this year.

This time, the band the lodge hired to perform couldn’t make it.

While it’s ultimately just a small detail, this unifying thread is fun for people like us who are watching all the movies.

The Naughty List

Good at Chemistry? Nope!

Holly and Kevin just don’t have it.

We thought Tom and Tay had better chemistry.

Heck, even Leo and Preena had more chemistry than the romantic leads.

Chime Overkill

Overall, the music and sounds were fine – except on Christmas morning.

The chimes were beyond annoying and overwhelming to listen to.

Ending Is Super Cheesy

Everyone runs back to see Kevin try to win over Holly. But it almost turns into a “Benny Hill” moment where everybody is running all around.

It was probably supposed to be fun or funny. But it was neither.

Did Holly & Kevin Ever REALLY Date?

Were Holly and Kevin ever really serious? It was a bit confusing.

Early on, when Holly asks on the microphone during trivia why they broke up, it sounded like they must have had a long, serious relationship. But then, later, they talk about all the other people they dated. And when Holly and Kevin finally did date, it was maybe for a week at college.

The WORST List

You’ll Cringe…

At the Indian stereotypes. From the Taj Mahal gingerbread house, to the Indian snowman, and to the Bollywood dancing. Props to them for trying to have a more racially diverse cast than most Christmas movies – but how did this get a green light in 2019?

Amateurish at Times

This doesn’t look as professional as the better Christmas movies. Usually, you can just tell by the first few minutes whether you’re in for something magical or forgettable.

The camerawork, the acting (Kevin’s crazy science eyes were ridiculous), and the story just aren’t at as high of a level as they could be.

If You Liked Christmas Reservations, You’ll Probably Like:

• Christmas at Holly Lodge (2017)
• Return to Christmas Creek (2018)
• Romance at Reindeer Lodge (2017)