A Biltmore Christmas Movie Review

Much like the architect of the Biltmore House, Richard Morris Hunt, the screenwriter for A Biltmore Christmas, Marcy Holland, and the director, John Putch, built a masterpiece. Hallmark came through with one of the most spectacular Christmas movies I’ve seen to date.

The infusion of old Hollywood with the iconic Biltmore Estate and the magic of Christmas weaves an epic tale that transcends time. “I’ve got a very good feeling about this little picture. I think it’s going to be the one.” Jack Huston.

The vast estate is like nothing being built today. It’s castle-like appearance, expansive rooms and ornate details highlight everything special and magical about the rich history of that time. The furniture, the tapestries, and that LIBRARY! I could get lost for days just reading, writing, and creating in front of the enormous fireplace.

This Christmas adventure begins when Lucy Hardgrove (Bethany Joy Lenz), a realist, is tasked with writing the remake for a classic Hollywood film, His Merry Wife!, that was filmed in 1947 at the Biltmore Estate. Struggling to come up with a realistic ending to the film, the studio head sends her to gain a brighter perspective and draw some inspiration from the Biltmore House.

After turning over an hourglass used in the original film, Lucy is transported back to the 1947 set of His Merry Wife! and befriends one of the film’s stars Jack Huston (Kristoffer Polaha). She discovers she’s able to hop back and forth between her reality and the past until the hourglass breaks while she’s in 1947, leaving her there until the magical prop is repaired.

While stuck in 1947 she realizes that her appearances has unleashed a series of events that could not only jeopardize the original film’s existence but leave her trapped in the past forever.

As much as I’d love to continue to write about what happens next, I really want you to watch the movie. I laughed, I cried, and I watched it multiple times.

This film was inspiring to me as a writer, inspiring to me as a designer and on a random note may have inspired a mother-of-the bride hairstyle. Lucy’s hairstyle at the Christmas Eve party was amazing!

The performances by the entire cast were outstanding! As much as I love Lenz in everything she does, and she did not disappoint in this film, it was Polaha who stole the show! At the end of the day, if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know what I mean when I write – who needs Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds when you have Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha.

However, if Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds want me to write them a Hallmark Christmas movie, I wouldn’t say no. I’m not sure how I’d even get something like that going … start a petition, hold a town meeting, call Canada?

Okay, my ADD clearly just kicked in. Now go and watch A Biltmore Christmas and enjoy the holiday season! Remember, “It’s Christmas, there is a miracle around every corner.” Jack Huston

xx, Danae