Hallmark Channel’s A Carol For Two is a Broadway nerd’s dream, a romantic holiday movie improved by copious jokes about Kristin Chenoweth and Stephen Sondheim. Filled with holiday standards and impressive performances from its lead actors, it’s a delightful gem.
Opening Shot: A woman with a Broadway-caliber singing voice absolutely belts out a rendition of “Joy To The World” at a small music hall in her Idaho town. This woman is Violette (Ginna Claire Mason) and she and her voice are packing up and moving to New York City because she was cast in a musical. The show isn’t on Broadway, not yet anyway, but Violette is about to start living her dream.
The Gist: Violette has been an aspiring actress and singer forever, but she’s only now getting that career off the ground after tending to her ill father. But as soon as she arrives in New York City, she gets word that the show she was cast has been shelved because the investors pulled out, and Violette’s dreams are dashed. With nowhere else to go, she heads to a jazzy cabaret lounge called Fiore’s run by Hazel (Charlotte d’Amboise), a friend of Violette’s dear departed Aunt Carol.
Hazel immediately takes Violette under her wing, offering her a job at her nightclub as a server and singer. Violette is also given a place to stay when another server, Rae, lets her live with her. But not everyone at Fiore’s is so welcoming. One aspiring singer-songwriter, Alex (Jordan Litz), who’s trying to make ends meet while making his dreams come true, is annoyed that Violette is getting so much preferential treatment from Hazel.
Alex is a grizzled performer who’s still pining for success, so it makes sense he’s a little disillusioned, but the one thing he has to look forward to is Fiore’s big Christmas Eve show, where there are usually bigwig agents in the audience. As he hopes one of these agents will pluck him from obscurity, he’s also hoping that his cousin Brad (Gino Anania), a loud mouth obsessed with manifesting his dreams (while also making no money), will move out of his apartment. When Brad hears Violette sing though, he’s instantly smitten, and all he wants for Christmas is a shot with her so he asks Alex to help him. From there, the movie becomes a little bit of a Cyrano rip-off, as Alex coaches Brad about nerdy theater stuff (Brad proves to be hopeless, assuming that when Violette says she wants to go to Into The Woods, she means like, on a hike). But Brad also tells Violette that Alex has a girlfriend, June, who is really just their neighbor. The four of them double date, and the whole time that Brad is trying to impress Violette, it becomes more evident that Violette and Alex have the real connection.
By the time Christmas Eve rolls around, Alex and Violette have been assigned a duet for the big show and as they rehearse and spend time together, it’s clear they have feelings for one another. But when Violette learns Brad was using Alex to get information about her and win her over, she can’t perform on Christmas Eve, and she falls apart, furious at both of the men.
When Alex finally explains himself, it’s too late to salvage their Christmas Eve performance, but Hazel arranges a special Christmas Day show for an agent, who loves the music Alex has written and thinks Vi is gonna be a star. In a brief epilogue, Alex and Violette have become a Broadway power couple because… sure, why not?
Our Take: A Carol For Two is essentially part Christmas revue, filled with carols and hymns and original songs, part romance, with an off-Broadway backdrop. While many Christmas-y movies look the part, with their beautifully decorated sets and twinkly cityscapes, this one also sounds the part, placing beloved Christmas music (and loads of musical theater references) throughout to add to the festive appeal.
The movie is at its worst when Brad, grieving his past relationship to a shallow girlfriend named Chanel, tries to win over Violette just because… he can? He makes no effort to get to know her or treat her well, he simply wants to win her over to feel less lonely, which is, I suppose, the point; his blustery personality is in stark contrast to Alex’s reserved, serious demeanor, but secretly, Alex is the one observing Violette and really seeing her for the woman she is. Despite the obvious, deceptive plotting, the film never gets too bogged down by that, and the talented cast and musical performances ultimately make it shine.
Parting Shot: After singing an original song that Alex wrote, part of the musical he’s been working on, an agent offers Alex and Violette the standard rich and famous contract, telling them he loves their work. The last image of the film is a still photo of Violette and Alex standing on a Braodway stage as we see rave reviews and newspaper headlines fly around them and, presumably, all their dreams have come true.
Performance Worth Watching: Charlotte d’Amboise who plays Hazel has the warmth of a protective den mother keeping watch over her cubs (a.k.a. cater waiters) and the sassy appeal of a woman with celebrity stories to tell. Honestly, let’s make a sequel based on her character.
Memorable Dialogue: “Nepotism. It’s a heck of a drug,” Alex harshly quips when he learns Violette has been hired and given a spot on the stage on her second day. It’s meant to be a withering cut-down, even though it doesn’t make total sense.
Our Call: You don’t have to be a theater nerd to love A Carol For Two (it wouldn’t hurt though), but if you love Christmas for the music and the hopeful shot of happiness it tends to bring, this one’s for you. STREAM IT!
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.