Holiday Movie Picks for Gen X and Baby Boomer Singles Part 2 of 2

I’m here with part two of some movie recommendations for the Baby Boomer and Gen Xer who find themselves single over this holiday season. In this episode, one of the movies has a common dating message, and the other is just great pure comic relief that’ll help get your mind off your online dating struggles.

Today, we look at Love at the Christmas Table from the Lifetime channel and Spirited from Apple TV. As I review these movies, I’ll review the common message our first movie shares about one of the biggest frustrations that many of us go through when it comes to online dating and the awareness the movie can provide. And where our second movie is a nice break from the pressures of being single during the holidays.

Links to the trailers will be at the end of this post.

Love at the Christmas Table – Lifetime 2012

Our first one is “Love at the Christmas Table,” which came out in 2012 on the Lifetime channel. You should be able to find this on any streaming service. The movie brings up many snippets of memories of growing up, which is the first thing that will come to you.

It takes place in Illinois. Kat, played by Danica McKellar, is probably best known for her role as Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years. And also Dustin Milligan, who plays Sam, and also Leah Thompson. is in this, who plays Elissa. I had a crush on Leah in my 20s after watching her in the movie Howard the Duck, a movie we will not be reviewing here. I digress, and I will go back to the plot here.

When the kids were four, Kat and Sam’s fathers formed a furniture business. Elissa, a friend of both families, hosts the annual Christmas party that is attended by the local families and neighbors and is obsessed with Christmas. The movie tracks the lives of Sam and Cat during their annual get-together Christmas party from their formative years, beginning in 1984, starting at age 4, and then on to ages 10, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 32. Each one of these ages has a specific scene that will walk you back in time to what things were like for you at that same age. As the years pass, tension and attraction slowly build and become evident to everyone around them except Kat and Sam.

The Message Love at the Christmas Table Sends:

The message here is that Love at the Christmas table is the antithesis of the fast and furious world of online dating, where snap judgments are made in 15 minutes. It can take several days to see if there’s something there, and if there is, to build upon it. As we discussed on the podcast, the phone call and the meet-up date are where we discern normal.

If normal is present during a meet up, then you go on a few dates and see where it goes. Far too many take the love-at-first-sight approach, which is obviously difficult to find in the first place. And when you do find that, it usually winds up having no substance to it. Like building a successful business, successful relationships take time and effort to build.

After watching this movie, one of my burning questions was, What makes up the drink Christmas Tree No. 2? And I asked Google about this. And Google said Christmas Tree No. 2 from the movie Love at the Christmas Table is a cocktail typically made with a combination of cranberry juice, vodka, a splash of lime juice, topped with a sprig of fresh rosemary frozen in an ice cube, creating the visual effect of a Christmas tree.

Essentially, it is a festive cranberry vodka drink with a rosemary garnish frozen in ice. The time-tested lesson in this movie is anything good takes time to develop, which translates into giving someone a few days to see if there is something there.

         Spirited – Apple TV 2022

Our second movie, Spirited from 2022, has a fun story.

It’s great entertainment. It’s a musical, and it’s got excellent production value. And this is from Apple TV. Spirited is an updated comedic and music take on A Christmas Carol from a refreshing perspective. It comprises a spirit team whose annual goal is to pick out an influential, lost, grumpy soul and turn that soul into someone positive for the betterment of humanity.

In the team’s search, they run across a deeply cynical and influential media consultant, Clint Briggs, played by Ryan Reynolds. The Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Will Ferrell, is nearing retirement and sees Briggs as one of the spirit team’s most significant opportunities to create an everlasting ripple effect of positivity and good for the rest of the world.

Jacob Marley, played by Patrick Page, resists as he sees Briggs as unredeemable. Jacob Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Present come to an agreement, and the spirit team takes on the challenge of turning Briggs for the betterment of humanity. The movie then moves on to the Spirit team’s year-long background research and eventual execution of the Christmas Eve haunting plan.

Things don’t go as well, and the team finds themselves flummoxed and outwitted by Briggs during the haunting on a variety of levels. Briggs demonstrates that he may be unredeemable. While not a dating movie, Spirited offers a welcome break from the season’s typical focus on romance or family obligations.

        Lessons Learned:

So what did we learn? We learned that Love at the Christmas Table demonstrates how time is the master of building deep and solid relationships. It’s a good reminder of why we need to make an effort to slow down the fast and furious dating pace of online dating so we don’t pass over any potential good quality dating suitors.

For those navigating the season solo, Spirited is a welcome, humorous, and musical distraction from dating through the holiday season.

-Paul

Year Released:  2012 – Lifetime Official Trailer

Year Released:  2022 – Apple TV Official Trailer

“Bringin’ Back Christmas” Lyric Video