Holly (Vella Lovell) is from the big city. She's tasked with buying the Clüsterfünke Inne in Yuletown from sisters Marga (Rachel Dratch) and Hildy Clüsterfünke (Ana Gasteyer). It's a love-hate-meet-connection with the sisters' brother Frank Clüsterfünke (Cheyenne Jackson).
Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer are spoofing the standard Hallmark Christmas romance movies. It's an SNL idea being stretched out to a full length feature. I get the joke but it's not coming off as hilariously funny. Everything is done with a nudge and a wink. It needs some good physical humor or smashing through the 4th wall or go crazy surreal to break up the tone. It's just repetitive tonally. This may be a reason why Hallmark romantic movies are considered background TV. They don't tend to be dramatic or compelling. In order to spoof this correctly, they need to go crazy instead of riffing from the genre's basic style and structure playbook. One of the constant joke is the standard Canadian location shoot. The premise is to show the Canadian flag or let slip little Canadiana in the background. Why not go full out with a Canadian scene with Mounties and beavers and overflowing with Canadian flags? There is one lady who lets slip her Canadian dialect. They should bring in the Hallmark police and arrest her and drag her off in a Hannibal muzzle. They hit most of the tropes but they need to hit them much harder. In short, they need to push the envelope when Hallmark is famous for staying within the envelope and sealing it up tight.
Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer are spoofing the standard Hallmark Christmas romance movies. It's an SNL idea being stretched out to a full length feature. I get the joke but it's not coming off as hilariously funny. Everything is done with a nudge and a wink. It needs some good physical humor or smashing through the 4th wall or go crazy surreal to break up the tone. It's just repetitive tonally. This may be a reason why Hallmark romantic movies are considered background TV. They don't tend to be dramatic or compelling. In order to spoof this correctly, they need to go crazy instead of riffing from the genre's basic style and structure playbook. One of the constant joke is the standard Canadian location shoot. The premise is to show the Canadian flag or let slip little Canadiana in the background. Why not go full out with a Canadian scene with Mounties and beavers and overflowing with Canadian flags? There is one lady who lets slip her Canadian dialect. They should bring in the Hallmark police and arrest her and drag her off in a Hannibal muzzle. They hit most of the tropes but they need to hit them much harder. In short, they need to push the envelope when Hallmark is famous for staying within the envelope and sealing it up tight.