It’s been a past few years since we last saw the Mitchells, and the family has grown. Brandon (Jonathan Bennett) and Jake (Brad Harder) adopted their second child and are now a family of four. Still dating Andy (Anna Ayora), TV star Mike (Robert Buckley) is closer than ever to his son Noah (Mattia Castrillo). And instead of just having a Christmas house this year.
The Mitchells are about to double their number of vacation homes!
All of this is already done as part of a celebrity holiday decorating television contest called Deck This Halls (think The Great Christmas Light Fight, but with the participation of the family of America’s most famous crime star). But when Mike Mitchell’s race – Finn Rockland of Brooklyn Medical to perfection – came out of Deck This Halls, the producers decided to play brother against brother. Yes – it’s “Beautiful Justice” star Mike Mitchell against his brother baker Brandon Mitchell and this Christmas race has never been so tricky!
Duelling Christmas house decorations set the stage for many new complications in the Mitchell extended family. Bill (Truth Williams) and Phyllis (Sharon Lawrence) study their lines for a local Christmas play; Mike tries to find out the perfect way to propose to Andy, but the surprise return of Andy’s ex-husband makes Mike realize his place in Noah’s life. Brandon and Jake try to create unique Christmas memories for their kids, which is hard when the holiday season is remodelling the house from the ground floor to the attic, and it’s just a festive atmosphere. This is another Christmas celebration with the Mitchells, so you know it will be necessary.
How do you continue the holiday romance? After the leading couple kisses and confesses their love, where can you go? Netflix has this problem with its franchise. The sequel to “Christmas Prince” just wanders in the politics of a fictional European country. The Princess Switch franchise was a success, skipping the genre with each new instalment; This year’s The Princess Switch 3 is a romantic/robbery film. Now that Mike and Andy are together, can Christmas House find a way forward? This is a complex problem to solve!
So I’m very excited to announce that Christmas House 2:
He found a truly unique and narratively rewarding way forward. Instead of introducing a new character into a blind encounter, separating one of our favourite couples, or asking Mitchell, I don’t know. The Christmas House 2 makes it rare to see a Hallmarks movie to put together a strong hockey team and hit a regional one: It brings a lot of trouble. Real family going forward while recovering the festive fun from the first film.
It turns out that Hallmark characters can fall in love even more! In contrast, The Christmas House 2 deals with problems after a happy ending. How will Mike propose to Andy, and most importantly, how will he become Noah’s father when Andy’s ex returns to town? And what makes Brandon so competitive with his brother? You are two parents – shouldn’t they understand each other? Does the best Christmas have to be the perfect Christmas? And most importantly, how does the family unit keep its balance as it grows and includes more people?
Most importantly, The Christmas House 2 addresses several issues specific to the gay holiday experience. Again, Christmas House doesn’t treat Brandon and Jake like any other Hallmark couple. They are a Hallmark gay couple, and so much of their behaviour as a couple and their relationship to the more significant Mitchell family centre is factual. And that’s great to see because it’s important to point out that gay couples have more problems than just dating. I never thought a Hallmark film would express the pressures of gay performance so accurately, but I’m so glad it did!
But you don’t choose this movie to see:
What problems will Mitchell tackle before turning on the lights for the Christmas house? Apart from that, you will spend time with these characters and most importantly have fun with them. It’s a lot of fun, especially since Hallmark won gold when they put this line-up together. Buckley and Bennett have a brotherly spirit and sell it in competitive and dramatic scenes. The same goes for any of the combination of actors – like Jake and Andy, who have to deal with their partners and revert to strange childish behaviour. Just like last year, The Christmas House 2 has all the Christmas jokes and Christmas thrills you need.
Overall, The Christmas House 2 is the sequel, and it pushes the franchise forward and brings – and builds on – everything we loved about the first film. We keep hoping that we will be visiting the Mitchells every year from now on. It’s a tradition! The sequel proves that Christmas houses are built to last.
