Grew up reading @ParadeMagazine ! Big shout outs to @Park_View_HS , @samuelssweets , @AndyOstroy and @phoebejonas , #therudds , @HarperOne , and @lifetimetv . #ItsAWonderfulLifetime https://t.co/6NWZ52MB8a
— Hilarie Burton Morgan (@HilarieBurton) November 28, 2019
My mom loves Hallmark and Lifetime movies and we watch them together every holiday season. Over Thanksgiving we watched a few while playing Christmas Movie bingo – where you check off squares for common cliches like “threat of layoffs,” “snowball fight,” and “carriage ride.” I like those movies because they don’t tax your brain, they’re predictable and sweet (as long as they’re not sexist) and you can fall asleep and not miss much. The two favorites I watched with my mom this Thanksgiving were Christmas 9 to 5 with Tiya Sircar and The Christmas Wish, with Hilarie Burton, both on Lifetime. Lifetime is making more modern and more watchable Christmas movies. Plus they just had a same sex kiss! The Hallmark ones can veer toward boring and predictable, although some are decent.
Hilarie has an interview with Parade Magazine where she talks about her decision to do Christmas movies, how it fits in with her schedule and lifestyle as a mom, and about the appeal of Christmas movies in general. I have followed her for years and am a fan. She just married Jeffrey Dean Morgan, they have two children together and they live on a huge farm in Rhinebeck, New York. They also co-own a local candy shop with Paul Rudd, they bought it to save it for employees and the town after the owner unexpectedly passed away. Hilarie’s life is like a Lifetime movie!
What do you think the fascination is with these Christmas movies?
When I first started doing them, they were still a little bit taboo. I remember getting my first offer to do one and it was like, “Oh, why would I do that?” And then I did it on a dare. My friends, Paul and Julie Rudd were at dinner with me when I got my first offer to do it, and they’re like, “We’re obsessed with them. Christmas movies are hilarious and magical, and really fun, and you should do one.” So, I did it, and, unexpectedly, I found that the production process of it was so female-friendly. I found a safe place in the industry to create and work, and have a good time, and I could still be a parent. The time commitment isn’t extreme, and I think for viewers at home, there’s so much toxic stuff in the real world.Perhaps it’s like a pendulum of content in our country, where when things are really tough and messy in real life, we like happy endings, and we like comfort, and we like family stories, and so, being able to create content that soothes people, gives them hope, and is optimistic, is rewarding. There’s great television out there that’s dark, and that’s valuable, but I think having a counterbalance to that’s important.
Hilarie also revealed in that interview that she has a book about her life coming out in March, 2020. I’m interested in that and am looking forward to learning more about her. She just comes across as an authentic, open person, and she said that’s what she strives for too. She went through so much early in her career and I’m glad to see her thriving and doing well. Sometimes actors feel like they have to explain their career choices, like there’s something less noble about doing TV movies or romance movies. There’s no shame in working in or in enjoying those films, as so many of us do.
This looks like her character’s styling in A Christmas Wish! She plays an art teacher.
photos credit: Avalon.red
I love Christmas movies. We always watch Love Actually, The Holiday and Home Alone 1&2 during the holidays. I also have Vanessa Hudgens’ latest one on queue on my Netflix. It’s like drinking a warm cup of hot choco, makes me all fuzzy and warm inside, great escape from the horrors of everyday life.
I feel like I’m Scrooge today (see Mariah Carey post) but Love Actually is appalling. I showed it to my kids a few Xmas ago and their mouths were agape throughout the whole thing. I did not remember it correctly. Between the sexism and the silliness of not being able to postpone a nice date because your brother is sick it’s really too awful.
My Xmas fave is The Family Stone.
I had the same experience! It’s actually a totally dude-centric movie (the protagonist of nearly every single story is a guy) that treats women like they’re interchangeable /disposable (proposes to a woman he’s never spoken to in her language, reassigns a woman who works for him because he likes her, cheats on his wife with a woman who works for him). It has two good performances: Emma Thompson and Bill Nighy. That’s it.
Along with the taboo of abortion, sex fétiches there is the taboo of Christmas films which is the hardest to beat… 🙃
This lady sounds delightful but the taboo thing made me giggle.
I love Hilarie Burton and *did not know* she and JDM were a couple! How delightful!! Anyway, I’ve watched all the Christmas movies I can stand for the past few years (once the acute phase of grief over losing my husband abated), and Hilarie’s are among my favorites. Adding, the only time I watch Lifetime is during this season because as CB mentions, the movies are less predictable than Hallmark and the acting is better overall. And they allow for POC in lead roles, often in interracial romances, which is lovely to see.
Thread hopping, but I loathe the fact that “All I Want for Christmas” is an ear worm I can’t shake right now. Yeah, it is reeeeally annoying.
I immersed myself in Hallmark holiday movies for the same reason (coping with grief). Pure escapism.
Something about the whole holiday movie package can bring comfort, especially if the casting is well done. I’ve only recently dived into the Lifetime holiday movies, but immediately noticed their movies are much more diverse and realistic.
Warm wishes and holiday hugs to you, Christin. ❤️
She looks like something between the Duchess of Cambridge and Katy Perry. Nevertheless, she looks like a beautiful person.
She looks just like Katie Perry.
Not really, she is prettier than Perry. She is just beautiful!
It’s crazy how far this girl has come. Does anyone remember TRL on MTV? She was just a young kid standing outside cheering. Each show they would ask fans to speak into the microphone and ask them questions or something. She was picked. The producers liked her. They asked her if she wanted to work for MTV. She began working for TRL as an “interviewer” and then she went into acting. Crazy how just being a fan of a show turned into a career for her. Sometimes I wonder if she was planted in the crowd by MTV and it was all staged because nothing on TV is real it seems. Oh well.
I love the classic Holiday films up to and including While You Were Sleeping, but I can’t handle all those made for TV movies. I just can’t. The schmaltz of it all makes me gag and I love the Christmas season so much that I fear that these movies would be offputting.
Sorry.
I too enjoy the Lifetime holiday films more than Hallmark because, let’s be real, the Hallmark films are repetitive and start earlier and earlier (no, I do not want to watch this in July as it is bad enough you start that playing them nonstop starting in October) but Lifetime, oh Lifetime, the change up is awesome !!!! Give me a My Deadly Christmas movie anytime.
Call me a scrooge but I HATE the Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies. I would rather have a pap smear done than watch one of them. I will watch the classic Christmas cartoons along with Christmas Vacation but that is it for me. My best friend will hibernate and watch them all and will be in complete bliss. Give me Harry Potter, Star Wars, or a crazy Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible!
Her husband is my dream man so there’s that……i loathe Xmas movies and xmas songs in general (blame it on my time in retail with the SAME F’ing cd playing over and over and over)….
I started watching them this year for comfort as these are my first holidays since my dad passed. I am extremely picky though so I cannot do a full on marathon (my mom does that!) . I want to watch hers. Saw her promoting it and I was intrigued. I also like what she said about having the opportunity of a OTH reunion without bringing any money to the OTH people after all they’ve been through there. I imagine the cast have great chemistry since they’re all friends IRL.
I love how she describes the movies as comfort food during a turbulent time. When I was in school, my friends laughed that I would read crappy romance novels during the stressful times of finals and more highbrow stuff during holiday and summer breaks. I call these kinds of movies my palate cleanser. Hillarie is one of my favorite actresses on these, and I am glad she has a way to meld family and career that works for her.
My mom loves Hallmark Christmas movies and when I made her watch The Christmas Prince on Netflix, she had the gall to complain it was “too cheesy” and the acting was “so bad.” And I was like uhhhh that is EXACTLY what Hallmark movies are like! I recently saw a Christmas one on Lifetime that had an actor from 7th Heaven (he played Lucy’s husband and was a cop) and oh man the acting was soooo bad. I like to watch them in small doses but anymore than a few in a row and my brain starts to feel stupid haha.
Hilarie Burton is an all-around wholesome person and I love her positivity. I follow her Instagram and she and JDM seem to have a healthy and balanced life outside of showbusiness. More power to her if she can find work she’s happy with.
As far as Christmas movies go, I lost momentum after doing a stage production of A Christmas Carol. I could probably go my whole life without having to repeat that story ever again, but my favorite adaptation is Scrooge with Albert Finney. My yearly tradition is watching Love Actually but I missed out last year; it’s not aging well and the men are truly creepy. I love watching the Rudolph “and the Island of Misfit Toys” / Santa Claus is Coming to Town specials. Christmas Vacation is absolutely redundant. A Christmas Story truly holds up.
I think I need to get into Die Hard as my annual tradition. Lol. I recently watched a cute movie on Netflix called Holly Star that was a surprisingly good film. I want to support more small productions like that. Other than everything listed, I’m getting burnt out by the holidays by mid-November now.