A Keller Christmas Vacation
Writer: Tracy Andreen
Director: Maclain Nelson
Cast: Jonathan Bennett, Brandon Routh, Eden Sher, Laurel Lefkow, Nigel Whitmey, Anand Desai-Barochia, Frédéric Brossier, Jill Winternitz, Harry Ditson
Brandon Routh (DC's Legends of Tomorrow) plays Cal Keller, a recently-divorced college football coach who is ready to move on and confess his love for a longtime friend. The only problem: she's moving across the country. Tomorrow. With her boyfriend. Okay, that's more than one problem — and that's not even what this movie is about!
Jonathan Bennett (The Christmas House) plays Dylan Keller, a property developer who is ready to take the next step with his partner of five years, William (The Outpost's Anand Desai-Barochia). Dylan surprises William with a marriage proposal — but something's up. Is William keeping a secret? Hold that thought, because there's more plot coming.
Eden Sher (The Middle) plays youngest Keller sibling Emory, an aspiring professional photographer who just lost her job as a data analyst to — millennial trigger warning — "artificial intelligence" (which I put in quotes because while that nonsense is definitely artificial, there's nothing intelligent about it!). Is now the right time for her to be set up on a blind date by her friend? If this was any other Hallmark holiday movie, yes. But in A Keller Christmas Vacation? Nope!
So if the movie isn't about any of this, what is it about? Let's jump to the next section ...
Home for the Holidays: This movie is about all three of those kids not going home for the holidays (they all live in disparate American cities and frequent Hallmark hotspots, Portland, Phoenix, and Denver). This movie is about the Kellers' "forced family get together," a "Christmas cruise on the Danube."
'Twas the Night Before this Movie: There's a lot to understand about the Kellers, specifically how unlike any other Hallmark family you've ever seen before and will likely see again. They are not all up in each other's business. They don't tell each other everything (or anything, really). And the parents seem a-okay with going five years without a full family get together. They're cuddling on a cruise down the Danube well before any of the Keller kids arrive. They are good to go. They're also loaded, which Emory's friend hilariously points out when her bestie won't stop complaining about going on a free cruise.
They Brought Presence: All three Keller kids deserve a shout out here, but I am going to give this to JR Esposito, who plays Dylan's employee Trey. His first two lines in the movie, two of his only lines in the movie, made me laugh out loud. That's how you bring presence.
Ho Ho Ho: Trey's opening line: "Marge made this thing called 'jingle juice.' I've had one. I have ... so very many questions."
Exactly As Advertised: A Keller Christmas Vacation is, well, about the Keller family's Christmas vacation. It's a vague title, so much so that I keep calling it "Keller Family Christmas" or "A Very Keller Christmas" in my head. The title gets the job done and doesn't resort to any puns, and I like to think that the lack of the word "family" is a nod to how disjointed this family feels (by Hallmark metrics).
All that being said, I gotta say, A Keller Christmas Vacation is a winner — through sheer force of personality alone. Putting heavy hitters like Routh, Bennett, and Sher in one movie together, it's almost a guaranteed success. The three of them have such natural sibling chemistry, which is hard to fake (as the main challenge on next week's Finding Mr. Christmas demonstrates — teaser!).
The real standout here is Eden Sher, who I haven't seen since I fell off of watching The Middle, uh, 15 years ago? She has a sweet but chaotic energy to her, like if you dialed Jodie Sweetin up to 11. She's great in this role, and I know she has a future as a Hallmark leading lady if she wants it.
But an all-star cast can only carry you so far. Imagine if our leads didn't have solid jokes, or a script with earnest intentions and genuine surprises? Fortunately, Tracy Andreen continues her winning streak; she also wrote Royal-ish and Holiday Crashers, two of the funniest Hallmark movies of the past year. What I love about Keller Christmas Vacation, and any ensemble Hallmark movie, is how by nature of following an ensemble, it's immediately set apart from the typical Hallmark formula. As I say in every review, you gotta love the formula (and I do), but when you have dozens of new movies every year, it helps to shake things up. The Kellers really shake things up, and I was able to watch this movie without a clue as to where it was going or how they were going to get there — and I also mean that literally. The Kellers are not the best with directions.
