I watch "The Voice" and I find Blake Shelton to be the funniest part of that show. When I heard that he and his mother were responsible for this Hallmark holiday film, I made a point of checking it out. I was not disappointed.
If you are a fan of Hallmark films, this one will seem fairly conventional in the early going. A young woman (Holland Roden) confronts difficult feelings every Christmas, due to past events. This holiday is different, because she becomes involved in a search to solve a romantic mystery. She is assisted by an old friend (Tyler Hynes) who had dropped out of her life years ago.
Together they go on a quest that causes old feelings to re-emerge. But there is more to this story, which is actually a tale of two relationships. Stick around for the final act, because it delivers a narrative surprise and packs an emotional wallop.
The entire cast is good, but Holland Roden has the meatiest role and is the emotional linchpin of the story. She displays a range of emotions and convincingly anchors the complicated but enjoyable storyline.
Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas
2022
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas
2022
Comedy / Drama / Romance
7.9Keywords: christmasbased on song, poem or rhyme
Plot summary
In Seattle, Elizabeth Athens receives a voice message not intended for her, but for someone named Madelyn, the male caller, obviously a former love, who apologies for the past and implores her to meet him in three days on Christmas Eve at "their place". Lizzie embarks on a mission to locate Madelyn, whoever she may be, to pass along the message, with the caller ID only identifying the call originating from a local large hotel. She feels the need to find Madelyn and/or the caller because of her own past and what could have been. That past comes back this Christmas in the form of Josh Hart, the two once best friends up until three Christmases ago when Andrew, the third in their threesome of best friends, died in an automobile accident. That event, including the guilt both felt, combined with a misunderstanding that still exists led to Josh leaving town to Michigan without word rather than his and Lizzie's intended path with both being offered jobs with the New York Times, Lizzie ending up staying in Seattle to work for her mother. As part of that past as painful and unfulfilled as it ended up being, Josh feels inclined to help Lizzie with this mission. As Lizzie and Josh follow different leads, they are forced to examine their friendship, which if they do discover the truth behind Madelyn and the male caller will find it someone mirroring what they did and are going through.
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A Romantic Mystery
Love, love, love this movie. Tyler Hynes is so talented.
I've been watching Tyler Hynes for a few years now on Hallmark and he is wonderful in all of them. He is so down to earth and so talented and I literally enjoy all of his movies and I make sure I catch them all. (He could be my son, lol, I adore him.) This past week, his performances in "Three Wise Men and a Baby" and the one I just watched "Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas" were fantastic and touched my heart. His co-star in tonight's movie was excellent as well.
The subject matter was different and so touching and so true, everyone deserves a second chance.
Tyler you did it again. Happy holidays to all!
Two stories converge in a great sappy collision
I love this Blake Shelton franchise and rewatch most of the entries multiple times. This entry may be the best, but then I love some good sap.
Two mysterious backstories keep the viewer guessing. Elizabeth is on a quest to find the man who leaves a wrong number voicemail. This movie does two unusual things. First we get to see that man and some of his backstory as well as the woman he really left the message for in various scenes throughout the movie. Second, in Elizabeth's story, the traditional overheard conversation which usually creates the ending conflict occurs at the start as part of the backstory.
The acting is good. The dialogue is good. The pace is good. There is a nice twist. And there is Kleenex, I mean on my end. I have to give credit to Holland Roden, as Elizabeth, who has chemistry with Tyler Hynes because Roden is virtually ignored on the acting credits page of IMDb as of this writing.
There is a somewhat anticlimactic performance of It's Christmas by Tenille Townes after the story arcs are all but concluded. And earlier the origins of that song appear to have some revision from what we learned in the original movie.