On the surface, it’s not a surprise that some would consider Forever Christmas‘ Mr. 365 a little off for wanting to celebrate Christmas all-year-round.
But maybe Will was onto something and anticipated the dumpster fire that is 2020. Will wanted the Christmas cheer to carry over every day to make others happy, and if there’s ever a year that we need plenty of that, it’s this one.
And that’s what made this film one of the best.
TV Fanatic spoke with writer Gary Goldstein about this movie adaptation of a Ruth Clampett book Lifetime acquired from PassionFlix, and luckily, the movie fits in with Lifetime perfectly.
In a way, the film was more grounded and not as traditionally cheesy as Lifetime’s usual fare, and that’s what made it so endearing.
Sophie and Will had the best chemistry, and my goodness, I rooted for them from beginning to end. Hobbs and Russell were electric together, and I wouldn’t be opposed to them co-leading in more movies down the road.
Will was warm-hearted, super-sexy, and a low-key type of guy, which is why it was cringeworthy right out the gate that Sophie was able to rope him into starring in a reality-series about extreme Christmas.
It’s not something he was cut out for at all, but Sophie’s earnest determination and the fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous opened Will up to the idea of pushing himself out of his comfort zone.
For Sophie’s part, she did have a set vision when she pitched and took the reins of this series. It’s unfortunate that her concept could only go so far while they were filming most of it.
The industry is comprised of many facets and inner-workings. By the time the execution of an idea is complete, it can look different than the initial pitch.
Sophie’s concept got far away from her, and a hesitant Will almost paid the price for it. Much of it had to do with Paul, who was as close to an antagonist as it got.
Paul would’ve been a perfect character on UnREAL. He had a knack for manipulating footage, and he lived for the drama. He was tailor-made for reality TV.
But Sophie was not, and by the end of the film, I was thrilled that she quit her job. She’s not cut out for an industry or area of focus where she has to mislead and exploit people.
She didn’t intend to do that to Will — not even before their relationship took a shockingly sudden romantic turn– but that’s exactly what happened anyway.
Will wanted to share the things that he and his friend did for the community. Will wanted to focus on the more wholesome, compassionate reasons for why he did what he did.
He wanted attention brought to the happiness of the children and all of the positive things, and he was under the impression that if he participated, that was something worthwhile coming out of it.
But the angle Paul was going for made him look like an idiot, and Will already regretted his agreement seconds after making it.
And Paul’s vision was pretty damn awful. But we already suspected his taste was questionable when he insisted Will wear one of those hideous shirts.
Will did us a favor keeping his black henley on, and they did us a favor by showing him shirtless.
It was the only thing on my most recent Santa wishlist while watching, you know, along with world peace.
It was on Sophie’s too. The abs were the straw that broke the thirsty camel’s back, and it seemed minutes later, Will was on the verge of breaking hers. Yes, I’m going on the naughty list this year, I’ve accepted my fate.
Sophie had better will power than most, so she pressed pause. For a Christmas romance, they wasted no time jumping into the romantic portion of things, and the two of them had shared their first kiss roughly an hour or so into the film.
This reviewer was not complaining one bit, but it did leave ample room for a disaster of some kind to rip these two partridges in a pear tree apart.
The only thing that could come between them was this darn reality show and the crew, who at times ranged from incompetent to insensitive.
Will poured his heart out, talking about Christmas and his grandparents. His passion for Christmas came from such an authentic, warm place that made you want to hold onto the beauty of the season year-round, too.
On its own, it was a remarkable, heartening story that most folks would eat up, so it’s unconscionable to think that Will’s purity, goodness, and honesty wouldn’t be enough to sustain a series.
Knowing Will’s heart and the reasoning behind why he did what he did, it made the angle that he was some Christmas-obsessed lunatic enraging.
Will was the last person to deserve that ghastly promotion edit. They distorted his image and message, and that was the only thing driving him to continue the process outside of Sophie.
They made him look like a fool and a kook, and the worst part about it was Sophie was complicit even if she didn’t want to be with the whole thing. By the time she interviewed the psychologist, she should’ve suspected the direction.
When it was just them, Sophie and Will were a match made in heaven, and they were an irresistible pair, but whenever the show factored in, the tension between them would ratchet up a notch.
It didn’t help when there was footage of the two of them kissing circulating as well. It often felt like Sophie was the only one who had a real interest in respecting Will’s feelings about the ordeal, and they ignored her the second they linked them as romantically involved.
Yes, the reality-show portion of the movie was messy, but it had some perks to it. It was nice to see the parents comment on how much their kids loved how much Will did.
His Christmas decorations were incredible. The suspended Christmas presents dangling from the season were gorgeous. And who doesn’t love a train set?
But Will’s grouchy, Grinch of a neighbor, who spent more time stifling Will’s Christmas Spirit at every turn than succumbing to it came around in the end.
As expected, his adverse behavior to Will was more about his pain after his wife passed away. But I loved how he was able to appreciate how much work Will put into bringing other people joy.
And this film felt different in a way too because of Sophie making the choices that she did. She was an imperfect protagonist, and she wasn’t afraid to admit where she was wrong.
I loved that this movie allowed her to be wrong and take ownership of it. She took control of what her concept was, despite it being a risk for her, by piecing together a different promo.
And then she wrote Will a sincere letter of apology and told him she loved him in it. Did you swoon? Because I swooned over this.
I love the flipped narrative of a woman taking the reins, putting her feelings out there with a gesture of her own. It’s one of the many things that made this film so refreshing.
And it made Will and Sophie’s reunion all the sweeter. The best part about it is, even though Sophie sacrificed her job for love, it wasn’t because of Will that she quit.
She realized she wasn’t cut out for this industry and its expectations. It forced her to compromise too many things which she wasn’t comfortable with while working.
Sophie quitting was about her and not Will. It only took the situation with Will for her to see that.
I, for one, and delighted that Lifetime acquired the rights to this flick. It was another endearing Christmas movie, but it had a more realistic vibe to it than most, and it’s what made it so lovable.
Over to you, TV Fanatics. Did you love this film? How much did you enjoy the chemistry between the leads?
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.