Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Twas The Date Before Christmas’ on Hallmark, Where A Single Woman Brings A Blind Date To Her Chaotic Family Christmas

‘Twas The Date Before Christmas is an early entry in Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas movie rollout. Starring Amy Groening and Robert Buckley, the film is set on Christmas Eve, when a young woman brings home a man she just met for her family’s big Christmas Eve celebration. While her family assumes that it’s her new boyfriend, what they’ll eventually learn is that it’s actually the couple’s very first date – a blind date, in fact. While the premise seems a little contrived, the film has moments of rollicking fun mixed with heartfelt romance and it’s a holly, jolly good time.

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Opening Shot: A man proposes to a woman in a restaurant by surprising her with a ring at the bottom of a champagne flute. “Yes!” she exclaims, as another couple looks on. “Isn’t that romantic?” the woman, Jessie, asks her date, who responds, “I guess.” This unromantic gentleman is one of many that Jessie has dated this Christmas season, each one less impressive than the next.

The Gist: Jessie (Amy Groening) is a single 33-year-old whose fiancé Sean, died. We don’t actually learn that Sean died until 2/3 of the way through the movie, but it helps explain why Jessie is desperate to not spend the holidays – her first Christmas without him –  alone. When her mom says their family has plans to scale back the family Christmas celebration, which they call the “Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics,” Jessie lies and says they can’t scale anything back because she’s bringing her new boyfriend around for the holiday and wants him to experience the festivities for himself. Only trouble there is that there is no new boyfriend, so Jessie has to scramble to find a suitable guy to bring around her family for Christmas Eve. One who’s comfortable with this big family event being his first date with Jessie. So she puts out a call on the dating apps looking for a guy who’s DTK. (Down to Kringle.) “This is a very bad idea,” Jessie’s friend and sister-in-law Shelly tells her. Is it? Or is it the best way to meet a guy who likes fun, spontaneity and holiday cheer, Shelly ?

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Meanwhile, across town, Bryan (Robert Buckley), a real estate developer with no family and is destined to be alone on Christmas, is persuaded by his friends to check out the dating apps to find someone. He spots Jessie’s post where she explains she’s looking for a Christmas buddy, and he responds, game for this fun holiday experiment. Jessie and Bryan meet for the first time on Christmas Eve morning when she picks him up, and when they arrive to her parents’ house he really leans into his role as “Jessie’s boyfriend.” As Jessie’s extended family rolls in and they get flooded with questions about how they met and how serious they are, Bryan and Jessie have to improvise a back story without letting on that they’ve only known each other for a few hours.

As the Olympic festivities get under way, Jessie shows off her competitive side, Bryan gets into the spirit, and they start to get to know each other (and Bryan gets to know and charm her family), even though Brian is essentially supposed to be a date for hire. Everything seems to be going great, until Brian learns that sis-in-law Shelly owns a candle store in a building that his real estate is planning to redevelop, and she’s the small business owner that his company has been trying to evict. (Bryan inherited the business from his father and, while he’s happy to work there, he wishes they weren’t quite so ruthless.) Now that Bryan knows and likes Shelly, he’s going to look like a monster. And worse still, his company’s lawyers have already emailed Shelly the eviction notice. On Christmas Eve . Bryan is struggling with all of this because, after a day with Jessie’s family, he’s never had a Christmas as enjoyable or warm as this, he’s wracked with guilt.

Chaos briefly ensues when Shelly gets the eviction letter and the whole family learns that Bryan is behind it and that he and Jessie’s relationship is actually an elaborate blind date. But the power of Christmas – or perhaps the power of love – ultimately makes Bryan reverse his company’s decision, and make things with Jessie real in the end.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Even though Jessie didn’t pay Bryan to be her date, the film is reminiscent of Can’t Buy Me Love and films of that ilk, as the two unlikely leads get together under false pretenses and then find love.

Our Take: I was wary of the premise of ‘Twas The Date Before Christmas , since the whole “tricking people into believing this guy is your boyfriend” thing is an implausible situation that exists only in movies, but a few minutes in, I was hooked. On paper, Jessie’s logic for wanting to bring a date to her family Christmas party seems weak, but Amy Groening’s performance is so warm and layered that she makes it seem not so far-fetched after all. After learning about the grief and loneliness she experienced after the loss of her fiancé, and witnessing her palpable chemistry with Bryan, Jessie’s whole character arc manages to feel – if not realistic, then at least grounded in real emotions. It’s tricky territory, acting in a Hallmark film. Some actors go big and broad, others keep it grounded. Luckily, the actors here, from Groening and Buckley to the rest of the talented ensemble that join them, evoke the highs and lows of a real family.

And about that chemistry… Buckley and Groening make a great team. Fortunately for us, the script never really places them at odds or pits them as opposites – true to their profiles on the dating apps , they’re both looking for a good time and seem immediately comfortable in each others’ company, and their ease with one another shows onscreen. The film sets a high bar for holiday movies this season on Hallmark and honestly, it makes me want to start a family Christmas Olympics tradition of my own.

Parting Shot: After Bryan and Jessie realize they actually really like each other and don’t want their relationship to end after this first blind date, he asks her out for a proper first date the following week. “Wait, are you asking me out on a first date New Year’s Eve?” she asks him. Before he can respond, she adds, “Too late. I accept,” and plants a big old Christmas kiss on this almost-but-not-quite stranger.

Performance Worth Watching: Lilly, Jessie’s slightly eccentric aunt who is the person we have to thank for the Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics, is played by Mimi Kuzyk, who adds just enough “Oh, you have one of those weird aunts?” energy to the movie.

Memorable Dialogue: “Let me get this straight, you are planning a blind date Christmas ?” Jessie’s sister-in-law Shelly asks when she learns that Jessie is planning to invite a stranger to her house for Christmas.

Our Call: STREAM IT! In a sea of new Hallmark holiday movies, ‘Twas The Date Before Christmas is an early favorite thanks to the fun energy of the family ensemble and the great chemistry between the two leads.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction .

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