Ian Forsyth

When I read the synopsis of An Unexpected Christmas, it was clearly a trope-filled, predictable holiday movie, complete with an estranged couple who fake still being together for the sake of his family having the happiest Christmas possible, it being the first Christmas without grandpa, the Christmas crazy patriarch. This, and some plot points that demand you think, “Oh, what the heck, I’ll believe these crazy coincidences because the two leads are just so damn cute”, and suspend any cynical doubts. And the two leads are what brings this tightly written, funny, full of nuts, Christmas pudding to a boil, and keeps it there. The skilled duo of Tyler Hynes and Bethany Joy Lenz as Jamie and Emily, manage to capture the awkwardness and soulfulness of exes, who have split, but still have the big feels for each other. Seeing and liking their work on other projects was what made me decide to take a look at An Unexpected Christmas, and I’m very glad I did. Although I’m really late to the Hallmark Christmas Party, scoffing for years, then getting sucked into them a couple of years ago, I have no regrets. My inner sentimental fool has been let loose, and it’s fun. It doesn’t mean that I all of sudden stopped seeing the clichés, or feel the sometimes glacial pace of the lesser Hallmark offerings, which I can enjoy as much as the next person, but it’s so wonderful to see a holiday film where you can’t see any of the machinery, the motivations are believable, the characters, even the secondary and third ones are all real, and engaging, even the waiter who almost blows the couple’s cover has several lovely moments. The film also has a divorced gay character, the lesbian sister and confidante of Jamie, is real, funny, and smart, very positively adding to the world the film successfully creates. I had the best time watching An Unexpected Christmas, and I know you will to.

I just discovered this show a few months ago, thought it would be interesting but perhaps a bit of a snoozefest. My ability to be really, really wrong has not diminished. From the opening sequence that establishes the location in this perfect, thatch-roofed barn set on an idyllic farm, which is actually in real life a living museum. The structure is dead simple, people come into the barn with a treasured artefact, memento, childhood toy, family heirloom, big and small, with one thing in common, they’ve all seen better days, much better days, and they are greeted in the barn by the gifted artisans and tradespeople that are specialists in restoring what the person has brought in. Every treasure has an amazing story, often coaxed out a bit by the host and the person assigned to resurrecting the item, which often looks way beyond saving. In particular the pottery and china items that often in dozens of pieces, and are, spoiler alert, restored to a point that looks miraculously brand new. The team is the most charming group of Brits you’ll find anywhere, all with an enormous amount of talent, empathy, humour and enthusiasm and love for what they do. The reaction from the owners when their former barely there treasures are revealed has had me reaching for the Kleenex box on more than one occasion. Highly recommended.

I started watching this show last year, so have had a couple of enjoyable evenings with my On Demand service binge watching previous seasons because I find the Wilsons so engaging. There is great chemistry between Dave and Kortney, I know they are for real married, but that doesn’t always transfer onto the screen. Here it does. They’re both able to laugh at themselves and each other, while still getting the job done. As a renovation show, i like the respect they bring to the houses and the care Kortney takes to try to save what can be saved and reincorporate it. We romanticize old houses, but they can be really awful, dark and closed off, with no insulation, substandard wiring and plumbing, and hidden costs that can easily triple a renovation budget. Often I’m really not sure about some of Kortney’s ideas, but I’ve always been made a believer during the reveal. Another aspect of the show I truly enjoy are the supporting characters. Chance was awesome, he was such a great foil as an Uber-American good old boy to Dave’s goofy Canadian persona, without either of them being patronizing or disrespectful. The two Amazon stagers, Angela and the other woman, her name escapes me at the moment because I haven’t seen her as much, are good natured, gorgeous and so talented. The staging of the homes absolutely seals the deal. Kortney’s warm and slightly ditzy assistant Jess, is a delight. I was most impressed that she got more and more pregnant, never stopped wearing the heals, and returning to the show right after looking like she just graduated high school, not just given birth. And a huge shout out to landscaper Jeff...who is unlike ANYone else on the show, and probably in their lives. He adds so much, he and Kortney have wonderful chemistry, his landscape designs ALWAYS improve the house, and it probably doesn’t hurt that he’s as hot as hell. There is a little sexual tension with him and everybody on the show who he has a scene with. The Canadian connection is the icing on the cake for me, even though it is set in Nashville, which I wouldn’t change. My only suggestion would be that I’d love to see and hear Dave and Kortney sing together. They very briefly harmonized on an episode and it was such a sweet sound, I’ve wanted to hear more ever since. It’s an hour show, so I, sure they could carve out a little time. It would also be cool if it could happen with all the cast a part of it. The reality may be the opposite, but the people they work with probably just see them as bosses, Dave the contractor and Kortney the designer. It would be fun to have the cast see them as something other that...particularly because music is so much a part of their story and the reason why they left Canada for Nashville and where they met. Love the show guys, sorry to hear this is your last season. All good things must come to an end, yada yada...