Jingle Bell Run
Writers: Tom McCurrie, Stephanie Sourapas
Director: Lucie Guest
Cast: Ashley Williams, Andrew W. Walker, David James Lewis, Teana-Marie Smith, Emilio Merritt, EaeMya ThynGi, Brad Harder
Ashley Williams (Five More Minutes: Moments Like These) plays Avery, a schoolteacher in Chicago who's gearing up to spend the holidays flying solo — or so she thinks. Somehow, Avery's sister (Caitlin Howden) was able to get our girl cast on the new season of The Great Holiday Dash with precisely zero input from Avery. Now, bookworm, homebody Avery has the opportunity to win $1 million by dashing around the country solving clues — and she won't be doing it alone.
Andrew W. Walker (Christmas Island) plays Wes, a former pro hockey player and the (self-proclaimed?) slap shot king of Chicago. His pivot into being a fitness influencer isn't going well, but hey — at least he got cast on The Great Holiday Dash, and I'll give you until the end of this sentence to figure out his partner's identity.
Now Avery and Wes have to dash from city to city. She's brains, he's brawn, but are they a match made in TV history? Or will their hopes of becoming millionaires be dashed?
Home For the Holidays: We have another Hallmark movie that isn't afraid of the big city! Jingle Bell Run calls Chicago home, and the show-within-the-movie takes the cast to Boston, New York City, and beyond.
'Twas the Night Before This Movie: Everyone has plans except for Avery, and the movie lets us know via this mini monologue: "I can't believe my entire family's abandoning me right before the holidays. Mom and dad on a cruise, you and Tim going to Jersey. It's nuts!"
They Brought Presence: We actually get to know three pairs of Dash contestants pretty well, and seeing their characters grow was sincerely heartwarming. Special shout-outs to Brad Harder — one half of Hallmark's first-ever gay kiss in 2020's The Christmas House — and his Dash partner Emilio Merritt for taking me on an emotional journey.
Ho Ho Ho: Avery has not spent much time at the gym, as evidenced when her sister Ruby tries to get her ready to dash. I loved this exchange: "That's a neat braid!" "That's a rope."
As Advertised: Unless the British own the very concept of a "Great Holiday" something or other, I don't know why this movie wasn't just called "The Great Holiday Dash." The movie has plenty of running — and a bell — but Jingle Bell Run tells me nothing about the movie!
That being said, this movie is way better than it has any right to be! To take the "As Advertised" section literally, the promos for Jingle Bell Run made it seem way fluffier, goofier, and more inconsequential than it actually is. I shoulda known better! Hallmark's not going to put Williams and Walker in a throwaway movie! Then again, it's hard to imagine these two Hallmark heavy-hitters giving anything less than stellar performances. They play off each other incredibly well, and they each bring a lot of hidden depth to their characters. Yeah, I said it: hidden depth!
What I mean is: It's incredibly easy for a Hallmark movie with a silly premise to veer off into live-action cartoon territory. There's a slapdash, broad sensibility that can take over these movies if the vibes aren't just right. What makes Jingle Bell Run work is that, while it is very lighthearted and fast-paced, our leads know how to make their characters believably comedic. Walker in particular really has a blast playing what I will lovingly call a himbo.
The wonkiest thing about Jingle Bell Run has to be the reality of the show itself. I love that the people who make Hallmark movies, people who absolutely know how television productions are made, consistently — no, aggressively — chuck all of their professional knowledge out the window in order to make the movie fit into holiday rom-com reality. Sure, all of this Amazing Race-esque show is filmed mere days before it airs. And of course none of the contestants are ever miked. And why would there be camera crews present to record the contestants, you know, actually dashing and accomplishing the tasks that the show is built around? The editors, audio engineers, and camera people who exist in the Hallmarkiverse and put together these fictional shows are miracle workers.
