This is without a doubt one of the top ten Hallmark Christmas movies of all time. What mystifies is that, with the repetitious, revolving door of talent that Hallmark insists upon year after year - the mousy, not-quite-pretty heroines drowning in their own insecurities, the mannequin males who don't think and speak remotely like men, the face-lifted women of a certain age who keep cropping up as shopkeepers and mother figures - the network has turned its back on the entire cast of this delightful entry. Everything about A PERFECT CHRISTMAS rises above the fray of the ordinary, cookie-cut Hallmark offering: a plot that thankfully abandons the cloying opposites-attract-but-can't-commit romantic boiler plate for a touching, original tale of financially strapped newlyweds trying to host their first Christmas in a starter house hopelessly unequal to the task, climaxed by a heart-rending O. Henry-inspired twist... a musical score that thankfully diverts from the charmless, paint-by-numbers Hallmark norm... a modest set that is tastefully and realistically decorated as opposed to the standard overdressed Hallmark chalet that looks as though Balsam Hill has thrown up on it... and, best of all, a cast of characters that actually appear to be familial, led by two leads who, for all of their charm and acting ability, were never heard from again on the network. Dillon Casey and Susie Abromeit generate true chemistry as opposed to the exhaustive repairings of the Hallmark stalwarts - think Kellie Martin, Lacey Chabert or any of the nameless, faceless ringleted blondes - who say their dialogue as directed and move on dutifully to their next assignment. With her confidence, winning manner and classic features, Abromeit in particular crashes through the Hallmark heroine prototype, which is typically an offbeat looking almost-attractive type-A misfit with poor self-esteem who treads in indecision until a man points the way to what she really wants. That Casey and Abromeit were never rehired says volumes about where this network lives: in a small one-hour and twenty-four minute box that repeats itself, its plots, its music and its casts to the point where the resulting films are indecipherable from one another. Add to this the blatant way that Hallmark keeps its nose clean by answering to the recent industry demand for equal-opportunity casting by populating people of color in positions of power - bosses, judges, school principals, store owners, real estate magnates - who make their appearance, exert their power over the white people in five lines of dialogue and then disappear into the background. It's jarring, uncomfortable and patently obvious. None of this exists in A PERFECT CHRISTMAS. The kicker here is that, of course, this is one of very few films Hallmark has not released on home video, which means you have to catch it each year when it airs on the channel. If you haven't seen it, check it out, and you'll see where Hallmark has gone wrong ever since. Meantime, where on earth is Susie Abromeit?
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