Christmas on Call

I went into this movie with low expectations. After watching the previews, I didn't think I would enjoy it, but not only did I love it, but my husband did as well.

All the storylines were great. We laughed a lot. The chemistry between the two leads was solid, and their interaction was cute.

I even teared up a couple of times.

It was an excellent cast, and her neighbor was a hoot. The karaoke scene with the head nurse was great.

Donna Kelce popping in was great. She was busy this season in Hallmark movies.

I'm happy I gave this one a chance. It's definitely worth rewatching-in fact, we've done so a few times already. It's not a meh movie.

Ser'Darius Blain, who plays the EMT Wes, is the best part of this Hallmark holiday film around first responders in Philadelphia. The film would ask us to believe that Philadelphia is the best city to spend Christmas in...a fact that I would argue, especially with all of it's crime. The main storyline is around a new ER doctor Hannah who is new to town and Wes a Philadelphia native and EMT, who takes it upon himself to show her the city. There are some arguing neighbors that tie into a police storyline, a nurse who is missing her military daughter, and a wife and mother dealing with sending her son to college.

There is a fun cameo at the Philly cheesesteaks sandwich shop by the matron of the Kelce family, Donna.

I appreciated the film taking such pride in Philadelphia and trying to show it off in it's best light. I also really appreciated the showcase of a hospital storyline for those of us who sacrifice family time for the care of others on Christmas and lots of other holidays. It's because of this and of course Ser'Darius Blain that I recommend this to Hallmark holiday romance fans. It was slightly different than the usual formula and it tried to have just a little bit of fun.

Another Christmas movie that I was not familiar with prior to sitting down and watching it here in 2024 as part of my December month of Christmas movie marathon.

And since I had not heard about it, of course I didn't know what I was in for. But I assumed, from the cover of the movie, that it would be an archetypical sappy Christmas movie, for better or worse.

Writers Chris Sey and Jennifer Barrow put together a script and storyline that didn't really particularly capture my interest. The narrative was simply too mundane and uninteresting. And, in all honesty, it was a boring and difficult movie to sit through, especially since the narrative failed to bring that particular special sappy Christmas feel to the screen.

I wasn't really familiar with the cast ensemble, though I do recall having seen leading actor Ser'Darius Blain somewhere before. And I had to look him up here on IMDb, and saw he was in the newer Jumanji movies. I wasn't familiar with leading actress Sara Canning. The movie also failed to entertain me, as there wasn't really any believable chemistry between the leading actor and actress, and with this supposed to be a sappy Christmas movie, chemistry is a key ingredient. I will say, though, that the acting performances in the movie were fair.

"Christmas On Call" just didn't have that special and unique Christmas magic to it, you know, the kind you see in the archetypical sappy Christmas movies. And that is one of the major reasons for why the movie failed to deliver.

This is by no means a movie with the contents to be a Christmas movie. Nor is it even a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time, nor is it a movie that I would recommend you to waste 84 minutes on watching.

My rating of director Jeff Beesley's 2024 movie "Christmas On Call" lands on a three out of ten stars.

Hallmark, we need to talk. Are we making real movies now? Ones with multiple, complex storylines that develop characters and aren't focused entirely on being cheesy? It seems that way! Christmas on Call gives us several storylines from the City of Brotherly Love that dip into real movie territory. It's a recommended movie.

Hannah (Sara Canning) is an ER doctor, which would seem really impressive until we meet her love interest Wes. Wes (Ser'Darius Blain) is an EMT, but also a veteran, volunteer at everything, singer, former firefighter, and all around good guy. Hannah is in her first year in a new city-Philadelphia-and a little homesick. Wes spends December apparently never sleeping, and showing Hannah what the city is all about.

You might remember Canning from Holiday Road (7 stars) or Wes from the Jimanji movies. These are legit actors, who turn in great performances.

We also follow Sanjay (Erik Athavle) and Danielle (Reena Jolly) as police officers who dated once. Despite all the crime in Philly (come on guys) they spend their patrol refereeing a neighborly dispute over lawn ornaments. Athavle is one of my favorites from Santa Summit - and he rocks a great stache in this one.

The cast in this movie is huge, but it's easy to keep track of. We get a father/daughter story (twice), a college-hopeful kid story, an EMT finding her way, an asthmatic patient who is going through a rough time, and a nurse whose daughter is in the military overseas.

You also can't miss Donna Kelce, yes Travis' mom and Taylor Swift's bestie, serving cheese stakes. I love that they actually call her Donna and she's wearing a Jason Kelcee Eagles jersey.

One note I'm sending into the world. Stop making Christmas karaoke a thing. It's not a thing and bad singers aren't fun.

Funny line: In one scene Hannah tells her dad, over the phone "I met someone" and she describes him a bit. And dad replies inquisitively and very loudly, "He?!" Like maybe the last person she met wasn't a "he." It was super awkward. I'm here for it, but the lead couple being two women seems like a million miles from where Hallmark plays. Prove me wrong, Gold Crown!! Prove me wrong.

Measuring Christmas Magic: Absolutely. Lots of establishing shots of Philadelphia, and scenes that are dripping in Christmas lights and joy.

Cast Kudos: Ser'Darius Blain as Wes. This guy does everything!

Alternative titles: Christmas and Cheesesteaks; Philadelphia Christmas; Philadelphia Med, Fire and PD for the holidays.

This movie was well done, the two leads had good chemistry and the story is about our everyday heroes. We take it for granted that the ambulance that comes to give us assistance is a vital part of our society but this movie paints a wonderful portrait of what they do every day. Of course when the emergency vehicle arrives it brings the patient to the hospital. This movie also paints a pleasant but important peak into some of the vital work that is done 24 seven in every hospital in the country. And of course there's the love story. This happens to be a wonderful and beautiful exchange between a white female and a black male. How refreshing to see multicultural leads in a story! Thank you Hallmark for being so brave in presenting the story of our everyday heroes!!