Scouting for Christmas is one of the first films to premiere as part of Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas. The film features Tamera Mowry-Housley as a single mom whose work-life balance features no room for a man, despite her daughter’s attempts to set her up. While the film is full of good-natured characters and a dash of Christmas spirit, unfortunately the characters’ lack of chemistry and manufactured drama is a lackluster way to kick off the season.
Opening Shot: Children’s hands color, glue and hang Christmas decorations. The school bell rings and kids run out the door, and one student stands out front waiting for her mom to arrive.
The Gist: Tamera Mowry-Housley is Angela Bates, a busy realtor and single mom to daughter Brooklyn. Angela is divorced but still good friends with her ex, Dakota, though he spends most of his time traveling the world as an archeologist and won’t be able to come home for Christmas. (Some back story: Brooklyn is Dakota’s daughter that he had with his first wife who died. Angela adopted Brooklyn, and now with Dakota out of the picture as much as he is, selfless Angela has assumed all motherly duties, which has left her with not time for a personal life.)
Brooklyn is a member of a troop called the Sunny Scouts, and they’re putting on a holiday ball on December 23. Den Mother Elizabeth, the woman who runs the troop, really reinforces every stereotype of traditional femininity, expecting her proper young scouts to behave like ladies and know their place in society as…party planners. That’s also why she doesn’t like to assign any Scout Mom duties to busy, single Angela, who wouldn’t be able to live up to the exacting standards she expects of other moms.
Brooklyn realizes how hectic her mom’s life is, and all she wants for Christmas is for Angela to have a date. A man. Someone who will take care of her. So she plots to get the owner of the local bakery called Sir Bakes-a-Bunch, William Glass, interested in her. Brooklyn volunteers William and his bakery to provide treats at the scout ball as a sneaky way to bring her mom and William together, but Den Mother Elizabeth – I really can’t believe this is how we/I have to refer to her but it is the only name anyone uses for her – has to approve of William’s baked goods first. Angela pushes for William to be a part of the day, and as she collaborates with him, they grow closer. Brooklyn is shipping them hard, to the point where she draws a picture of her Christmas wish, and it’s of her mom and William dancing together at the ball.
Angela really wants something to happen with William, and he likes her, too, but she tells him she shouldn’t, life is just too hectic. To make matters worse, her ex, Dakota, surprises Angela and Brooklyn by showing up unannounced to stay with them for Christmas. As if that wasn’t enough, he declares that he still loves Angela, but she doesn’t reciprocate the feelings back. But Angela doesn’t go after William, either, because she’s just not the type of woman who needs someone to help her or take care of her. At least, that’s what she keeps saying. So she tells him that there’s just no space in her life for him. She – and Brooklyn, and William – are disappointed by all of this, but Angela is stubborn and is really sticking to this.
When the ball finally rolls around, Den Mother Elizabeth, having hired a baker who is not William, finds out that the other baker can’t make it because his appendix burst. This, in turn, makes Dem Mother Elizabeth’s brain also burst, and she has a panic attack in front of all the girls and their families as they’re setting up for the ball. Angela suggests that William can help, and he swoops in to save the day. In the end, Den Mother Elizabeth eats crow, realizing Angela can be helpful despite the fact that – lol – she’s simply a single mother, William and Angela realize maybe it’s okay to drop some of their protective boundaries and let each other in, and they all have a great time at the ball.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Brooklyn definitely is pulling some Parent Trap business trying to get her mother together with William.
Our Take: Scouting for Christmas does for feminism and women’s unity what Katy Perry thought she was doing for the same cause when she released her video for “Woman’s World” this summer. Okay, that’s harsh, nothing set the women’s movement back more than that video. My point is that Scouting for Christmas spends an inordinate amount of time pitting Angela, a working, busy, single mom, against Den Mother Elizabeth, a stay at home mother who openly pities Angela, fears for Brooklyn’s development, and sneers at anything that’s not rooted in “traditional family values.” The movie might think that it’s winking at these warring women and the values they represent, but it’s just an odd feud that feels manufactured and outdated.
And then there’s the romance between William and Angela. While these two characters are portrayed as lovely people and there’s absolutely nothing to dislike about them, there’s just no real chemistry between the actors. Their characters are both so apprehensive and cautious about taking the next step in the relationship that they – and we – really don’t get to know who they are, other than the fact that they’ve both been unlucky in love, dedicated to their work, and really love little Brooklyn.
While Scouting for Christmas certainly has most of the obvious charms of a Hallmark Christmas movie, the festive holiday backdrop, the likable characters, the boundless hope and optimism of single-parented children, it falls into the unfortunate category as one of the more generic, forgettable entries in the genre.
Parting Shot: We hear Angela, William, Brooklyn, and Dakota celebrating Christmas eve at Angela’s home. The camera zooms in on the drawing Brooklyn made that says “My Christmas Wish” of Angela and William at the ball.
Performance Worth Watching: Marci T. House plays Angela’s sister Sara; her winning performance grounds the movie ever so slightly with her non-nonsense advice and dry humor, usually directed at Angela.
Memorable Dialogue: “What do you want for Christmas?” a fellow scout asks Brooklyn. “I was hoping that my mom could find the time to be fun again. She’s always working,” Brooklyn responds, really delivering on that “abandoned child of a single parent” vibe. “Wow, that’s deep. I was hoping for an electric scooter,” the other scout responds.
Our Call: SKIP IT! Scouting for Christmas manages to be so inoffensively bland that I’m actually a little offended.