Christmas with Holly

Hallmark Hall of Fame is a trusted name in family entertainment, and Christmas with Holly won't disappoint viewers who've come to expect the best from the label. The story approaches weighty topics like losing a loved one and taking risks with a delicate balance between reality and rosy optimism. Of course, this is a family-geared movie set against a backdrop of the holidays, so it's pretty clear from the first few character introductions how things will shake out in the end, but that doesn't make the road there any less fitful or the characters' journeys any less challenging.

This is a lovely story whose appeal transcends easy-on-the-eyes characters or pretty scenery. It takes serious circumstances that face average people in the real world and chronicles their attempts to rise above them. In so doing, it offers families the chance to think about the challenges that other people face and to talk about how the movie's messages about relationships, love, and keeping faith relate to their own lives. Even better, the story supersedes the traditional romance to incorporate a love story between a man and his unexpected new daughter, and this connection overshadows even the developing relationship between two adults who find healing in each other's company.