Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
Hallmark’s original Christmas content is doing well this July.
There’s nothing better on holiday than a trip to your local pub to make you feel at home.
A Very Vermont Christmas takes viewers to Maple Valley, Vermont and makes them feel like they are part of the Mogul Joe family.
While the movie delivers the typical Hallmark holiday romance we’ve come to expect, it also delves deeper into themes of grief and community.
Hallmark has recently strayed away from typical tropes in favor of more meaningful messages. A Very Vermont Christmas has a nostalgic feel to it, which also helps that Katie LeClaire and Ryan McPartlin have both starred in Hallmark movies before.
Why is Tycoon Joe so important?
Mogul Joe’s always makes customers feel right at home, and that’s evident from the start. Wall-to-wall dollar bills add charm and tell stories of where customers have been.
Many local restaurants tell their customers’ stories through their décor. A local restaurant near me has signed wooden wine bottles hanging on the wall, similar to those signed dollar bills.
These restaurants strive to build relationships with their customers so that they become friends. Tycoon Joe once held Christmas celebrations at the bar and collected gifts for needy children.
The pub has been in financial trouble since the death of its owner and Joey’s father Joe a year ago, and it’s hard for Joey and her mom Mary (Joanna Herrington) to get into the festive spirit.
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Joey’s ex-boyfriend Greg (John Forrester) takes advantage of their failure, gloating that he can buy the bar to help. He then mentioned that he was hosting a Brew-Ski contest. Mary thinks this could be their Christmas miracle and help them succeed.
Their main problem is that Tycoon Joe specializes in authentic craft beers from Germany and Austria. Typically, the beers Joey brews are not from Vermont. She had her challenges.
Joey and Zach bonded instantly
Joey (LeClair) and Zach (Ryan McPartlin) have a cute meeting. While she was clearing her head on the slopes, he bumped into her because he couldn’t ski. She couldn’t help teasing him and gave him a beginner’s ski lesson.
Much to Joy’s dismay, she learns that Zach is Frosty & Greg’s Stoltz beer distributor. Surprisingly, instead of rejecting him, she allowed him to go to Tycoon Joe’s house for a beer.
Joey and Zach turned everything into a fun game, starting with him identifying the taste of her beer while blindfolded. She owed him more ski lessons since he won.
After a few lessons on the slopes, he nicknamed her “The Diamond Queen.” While they started out cute and flirty, they both opened up about their relationships with their fathers. Joy wants to keep Mogul Joe in business because her dad makes everyone feel at home.
Zac invested in Hoppy Holiday because he helped create it and named it. This is their beer.
They were so cute and Zach left Joey lots of diamond gifts. They relax by the fire pit or go skiing.
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Things seemed perfect until Scholz Brewing asked someone from their company to win the Brew-Ski contest, and Greg’s jealousy reared its ugly head.
When Joy is betrayed, she struggles with who to trust
Since Guyger had already betrayed Joy and stolen some of Mogul Joe’s recipes, she figured it made sense for Zach to sell her hoppy Holiday IPA to the highest bidder.
But in fact, it’s not. Zach cares about Joey and protects his reputation for doing the ethical thing, while everyone at Stoltz Brewing Co. only cares about whether one of their beers wins.
Initially, I doubted Kevin’s (Ivan Cecil Vox) loyalty because he accidentally blurted out the secret ingredient when Greg was around and never admitted it when Joey got angry, thinking Zach takes responsibility for this.
However, Kevin proves loyal and useful when he goes undercover to taste the Spice of Seasons at Frosty’s. He even secretly placed some in an insulated coffee mug so Joey could compare their rivals.
Hallmark is known for hosting suspense dramas, so it’s fun to see Joy using her detective skills to trap Greg and discover that he stole her beer recipe.
Greg is one of those exes who hates that Joey has managed to live without him and has now found love again.
Joey realizes he was wrong and spends the entire day looking for Zack to apologize.
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The film focuses on morality and forgiveness
The core message of “A Very Vermont Christmas” is about doing the right thing and forgiveness.
Zach challenges his boss Bob to compare the Hopi Holidays to the imposter Spice Season and make the right decision or he will resign.
Bob usually cares about money, but he has some moral boundaries and he doesn’t want Zach to reveal all the details.
Although they won the Brew-Ski competition, Joey refused to work with Scholtz and hoped that simply selling the Holiday IPA would increase their sales.
Their customers found them because Kevin reached out to them, and many donated with their annual holiday cards.
This shows that if you treat your customers like family, they will return the favor when you need help.
Overall, the movie was charming and a great opportunity to enjoy a spiced beer and snacks.
Over to you, Hallmarkies. Do you like “A Very Very Vermont Christmas?”
Is there a bar in your local area that treats customers like family like Mogul Joe’s? What’s your favorite holiday IPA?
Do you like Katie LeClaire and Ryan McPartlin’s connection? Would you like to see them together in another movie?
We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share them with us in the comments.
