Destined at Christmas Plot Summary
After a fairytale meeting while Black Friday shopping, a couple is separated in the madness of the crowd, but they are determined to find each other again.
Starring: Shae Robins and Casey Elliott
My Movie Grade: B
Image: Great American Media
Destined at Christmas Is a Little Different than Normal
If you've migrated to Great American Family from Hallmark (or enjoy bouncing between the two networks), you'll be pleased to see Destined at Christmas doesn't feature all the usual tropes. Many Hallmark movies have grown stale--the lead pairings change, but the story is often the same.
The plot of Destined at Christmas is inventive. Instead of two people meeting and falling in love within two seconds, they actually lose each other and have to use clues from their conversations to find their way back together. The added sleuthing is a nice touch.
Since the occupation of so many romcom leading ladies is that of a writer or event coordinator, it's refreshing that Kim has a doctorate in Paleontology and works and teaches within the university's dinosaur museum. She's a girl who loves dinosaurs and says if she could ride one, she'd pick a pterodactyl!
The Christmas traditions shared in the movie are also a little more out of the ordinary, aside from the Gingerbread competition. We haven't seen many romcoms that include Black Friday shopping, camping under the Christmas tree, and ice blocking.
It's fun to watch how many times Kim's and Theo's lives intersect without them being aware of it. The timing is always slightly off so they keep missing each other. Theo's daughter, Ashley, meets Kim on a class field trip and then runs into her at the park. Theo's carpentry business is the one remodeling Zach's new house. Kim leaves A Christmas Carol with her sick niece just as Theo and Ashley enter the theatre to look for her. Finally, on the last "lead" Theo pursues, his diligence pays off.
After watching scores of romcoms each Christmas season, fans appreciate any deviation from the status quo, and Destined at Christmas delivers. It's also wholesome and family-friendly, which scores big points.
It Still Has Some Flaws
Despite Destined at Christmas being an enjoyable escape, it has a few kinks that could have been hammered out before airing.
First, would Theo and Kim really have lost each other if the store blackout scene happened in real life? As the store emptied, everyone appeared to be flooding out the same doors. If Kim or Theo would have just stood outside the front of the store and waited, they would have reunited. Instead, they scanned the crowd for mere seconds before bolting.
Second, it's likely that Kim and Theo would have connected at the theatre during A Christmas Carol. When Mia, Kim's niece, becomes ill, her parents agree to let Kim take her home while they stay and watch the play. If you have kids, you know children want their mamas when they aren't well. Good parents don't pawn their sick kids onto others, so it would have made more sense if Kim had stayed while her sister-in-law left with Mia.
Third, the whole Zach situation is a bit askew, especially at the movie's end. Ex-boyfriends are usually jerks in romcoms, but we are given no reason to doubt Zach's sincerity in wanting to rekindle his relationship with Kim. It seems he even tries to put down roots by buying a house with the intent of sharing it with her one day soon. Zach appears at the Santa Send-Off on Christmas Eve to be with Kim and her family, yet when Theo finds her, they are joined at the lips with no thought of poor Zach. Talk about the ultimate blow-off! It would have been better to write Zach out of this final scene.
Finally, although there is absolutely nothing wrong with biracial relationships, it's a little surprising that GAF felt compelled to include one, especially since this is not relatable to 90% of the US population. This is something Hallmark does to an exaggerated degree, and it adds nothing to the story, especially since elements of diversity can be included in so many other parts of the movie.
You Can Buy the Advent Calendar from the Movie!
So many watchers commented on social media about how much they loved the advent calendar on Kim's wall.
The exact same advent calendar is available through Amazon!
Just click on the link below to view or purchase.
Destined at Christmas is a little bit of a Cinderella story. Just as Cinderella spends the evening at the ball with Prince Charming before the two are separated and he uses the glass slipper as his only clue in finding her, Theo and Kim track each other down based on their limited bits of conversation.
Casey Elliott is sweet, but he doesn't have a commanding onscreen presence for a leading man, and the movie lacks in Christmas magic, but it's still an enjoyable addition to the GAF 2022 Christmas lineup and definitely worth the watch.
I thought the Santa was great also.
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