“We’re Family. If It Happens to One of Us, It Happens to All of Us.”
So, apparently, this year I’m giving in and watching Hallmark Christmas movies. I’ve got multiple on my DVR. Who knows if I will get them all watched before Christmas (I’m betting no). I started out with one that isn’t from the 2024 crop of new movies – 2022’s Three Wise Men and a Baby.
The movie introduces us to three Brenner brothers, all of whom still live with their mother. The most successful is Luke (Andrew W. Walker), a fire fighter who is trying to build his own house so he can move out. Meanwhile, there’s Stephan (Paul Campbell), who is a pet therapist and lives in the house behind his mother’s house. Finally, we have Taylor (Tyler Hynes), the video game programmer who lives in the basement and has just been fired from his job. Again.
Things change when someone leaves a baby boy at the firehouse with Luke’s name on it, asking to help take care of him for a few days. Since it’s almost Christmas, the family takes in the baby, at least through the holiday. But when their mom (Margaret Colin) has to go out of town, the three brothers have to take care of the baby by themselves. Can they do it? What will they learn along the way?
Obviously, this isn’t the typical Hallmark movie set up. So maybe this wasn’t the best one for me to start with since it would be a nice break from the formula later. But I completely enjoyed it. There were lots of laughs at watching the brothers try to care for the baby, especially as they started to fall into the typical complaints that parents of babies make.
While the set up might not have been predictable, the plot pretty much was. I did figure out where most of the storylines were going to go early on. But, as I always say, I don’t mind as long as I’m having fun, and that was definitely the case here.
On the other hand, I did feel like the characters were a little stereotypical at times, especially the men who never move out thing. But this is a minor complaint.
Yes, this is a Christmas movie, which means there are quite a few Christmas moments. There’s even a late breaking Christmas plot that comes into play. And they completely worked. I was decorating while I was watching, and this just helped put me even more in the Christmas spirit.
This is a Hallmark movie, which means there are some low budget cheese moments. But these are kept to a minimum. The acting and writing are both mostly good and really pull us into the story. Having said that, there are some pretty big plot holes we have to accept in the premise of the movie. But if you aren’t willing to do that, then Hallmark Christmas movies probably aren’t for you.
I was curious about this movie since I knew it was getting a sequel (which premiers this coming Saturday). Having watched it, I can easily see why they decided to revisit these characters. The story is fun, the characters are charming, and the movie will make you laugh and tear up even when you see those moments coming.
So if you’ve missed Three Wise Men and a Baby, you really should fix that this year. I’m glad I kicked off my Hallmark Christmas movies watch for the year with it.
I watched this when it was first released and then I watched the extended cut in July. (I don't think it was much different than the original.) I agree with all of your thoughts on it. I do think Hallmark has improved in making the plots different, especially with Christmas movies. Sealed with a List, A Biltmore Christmas, and Take Me Back for Christmas were my top favorites from last year. I also really liked Round and Round (which is a Hannukah movie) and Christmas on Cherry Lane. Those plots were all different than the norm. I can't even begin to tell you how many Christmas movies I have recorded on my DVR, mostly from Hallmark, but from other channels as well. I don't think I could finish them all even if I watched one each day. From January through October I watched all of the Hallmark premieres, but there's no way I'll be able to do that for Countdown to Christmas. I'm looking forward to see what else you watch and review. :)
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