Our Christmas Mural is a new Hallmark holiday movie that’s hoping to leave its mark on your season’s streaming. Alex Paxton-Beesley and Dan Jeannotte take charge as love interests in a family romance that deals with grief, change, and opening one’s heart to new opportunities and people. Keep reading to find out whether Our Christmas Mural is a work of art or a picture worth passing on.
The Gist: Olivia (Alex Paxton-Beesley) is a talented art curator working in New York City and living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her young son, Parker (Viggo Hanvelt), whom she has been raising on her own since the death of her husband, Tom. After getting word from her boss that her position might be axed in the next year, Olivia takes time away from the city to clear her head, traveling to visit her parents Betty (Kathy Laskey) and Mack (Neil Crone) in her hometown of Wellington, New Hampshire for the holidays.
At a crossroads in life and struggling to overcome the creative block that has been preventing her from painting since Tom died, Olivia finds herself winning a Christmas mural contest she never entered and then having to paint a mural on a big brick wall in town as a result. With the help of a local art teacher and budding romantic interest, Will (Dan Jeannotte), her childhood friend Ivy (Sarah Booth), Wellington’s director of community services Cory (Tristan D. Lalla), her son, and her parents, Olivia has the potential to create something lasting and wonderful that goes beyond just the mural.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Oddly enough, the first thing that Our Christmas Mural reminded me of was the teen drama series Dawson’s Creek, specifically in the third season when Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) created a mural for Capeside High and then gets a whole wall to paint in downtown Capeside after Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson) rents it for her. Beyond that, it’s kind of reminiscent of the single parent trying to find love aspect of the 1996 romantic comedy-drama film One Fine Day.
Performance Worth Watching: Viggo Hanvelt is so darn cute and impressive as little Parker. For being just 10 years old he does a good job conveying the difficult emotional journey that comes with portraying a young character struggling to work through grief whilst also still acting like a believable regular kid in the process.
Memorable Dialogue: “Yeah but I’m not the bragging type. I’m just your average humble, down-to-earth, handsome, talented, selfless public educator who is changing children’s lives one at a time.” Humble indeed, Will.
A Holiday Tradition: The movie showcases some newer Wellington town traditions that have been spearheaded by Cody, like the ornament exchange and Christmas mural designing contest.
Does the Title Make Any Sense?: It’s not the most fun or catchy title out there but it is as straightforward as can be. The Christmas mural truly is at the center of the story, so it definitely does make sense.
Our Take: Our Christmas Mural is… fine. It’s not bad but it’s also pretty predictable and unexciting. There’s no big moment that really hooks viewers from the get-go and I found the romance a bit too lacking in chemistry for me to feel that invested.
There were ingredients for an interesting and affecting story (family drama, death of a loved one, rediscovering one’s passion) but the characters and world lacked some of the depth and fleshed-out personality to fully deliver. For example, side characters like Cory and Ivy had potential but ultimately were as much like tools to serve the main characters and plot as the paintbrushes Olivia used to create her mural.
However, something I really appreciated about Our Christmas Mural is its pro-therapy stance, especially with men and boys. I know that men’s mental health awareness isn’t always talked about openly or taken as seriously, so it was nice to see this grown man in Will taking young Parker under his wing to show him the benefits of therapy through creative expression as a way to process grief and other big emotions. Vulnerability like this, plus family dynamics and open communication were where the movie showed the most promise, but in the end, even these things weren’t enough to make Our Christmas Mural feel like an engrossing and resounding success.
Our Call: SKIP IT. It’s a decent movie but unfortunately not as vibrant, lasting, or memorable as a high-quality mural.