Directed by: Ron Oliver
Starring: Candace Cameron Bure, Paul Greene. Sarah Strange, David Lewis, Marcus Rosner
Sometimes I feel like such a heel when writing this blog. A Christmas Detour is a sweet film with no lofty expectations and does no harm. All of those involved in making it know not to bother checking out the list of the Emmy nominations to see if their names are on it. Those looking for a simple, bubbleheaded romantic comedy will not be disappointed. See? I've started knocking it already. Giving this movie (shown on the Hallmark Channel) a negative review is like scolding my cat for not being able to learn geometry. But, this is what I do and so I must be honest.
A Christmas Detour's story is surprising only to anyone who has never seen a movie before. It comfortably wears its genre's clichés on its sleeve. An engaged woman named Paige (Bure) travels by plane to New York to meet her future in-laws for the first time on Christmas Eve. She is engaged to a supercilious snob named Jack who doesn't make her laugh. She is seated next to a brokenhearted, good-looking guy named Dylan (Greene), who is traveling east to see his brother for Christmas for the first time in years. The reasons are explained later. A snowstorm forces Dylan, Paige, and an unhappily married couple named Frank and Maxine (Lewis, Strange) to share a rental car to drive to their destinations.
We know what's going to happen eventually and a good romantic comedy is able to hit the familiar points with pizazz. Dylan is a very nice man. Paige is a sweetheart with a wide-eyed, expressive face that lights up when she smiles. Jack only exists to be dumped in the end. His equally haughty parents don't help matters. They would scare anyone with any sense away. Frank and Maxine find a way to reconnect after years of taking each other for granted. All is well at the end before the words Merry Christmas write themselves in colorful cursive on the screen.
You may accuse me of giving away spoilers, but I also assume my readers have seen at least one romantic comedy like this in their lives. If Paige and Dylan didn't get together at the end in the midst of a seemingly unending snowstorm, then I would not be a jerk and reveal that. They realize They Are In Love (or at least in a heavy state of like) during a Christmas festival they attend (after their rental car is damaged following an accident). This festival still carries on despite the now days-long snowstorm and it is one of those festivals you will only see in the movies. There are outdoor booths manned by employees that must be freezing their tushies off and a mistletoe display which Paige and Dylan will inevitably find themselves standing under and have to battle with their respective consciences over whether to kiss underneath it. There are exterior shots of Jack's home which are clearly models. A Christmas Detour is set in the present day, but has a story and production values which would be seen as outdated fifty years ago.
Then, there is the matter of the film's score performed by perhaps the most overworked orchestra in film history. Every single scene has wall-to-wall music, whether orchestral or songs played on the soundtrack. There is not one moment of quiet. Not one instance of people just talking to one another without music droning on. In some instances, the score is so loud it drowns out the dialogue. The audience does not need to cued on how to feel every second of the movie's running time. A proper score knows when to stay quiet and let the actors talk.
The actors deserve credit for giving it their all with material that was covered in films made before their parents were even born. I never gave Candace Cameron Bure much thought, since I may have seen one Full House episode in my entire life, but she has spunk and a winning smile that at least brightens up her scenes somewhat. She is at home in romantic comedies, even those as trite as this one. My expectations weren't high, I assure you, but A Christmas Detour doesn't even reach that already lowered bar.
I also dislike how they insist on playing music all the time when somebody is talking.
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