Casting Mayim Bialik as a shiksa in a Christmas movie is like casting Fyvush Finkel as Santa Claus, a potentially controversial observation that might alarm new readers who don’t yet know I’m Jewish. Despite their likability, neither actor would be particularly believable to some viewers (raises hand) as an evangelical Christian or devout Catholic. The producers of Lifetime’s The Flight Before Christmas (2015), including Bialik herself, compromise by making her character, Stephanie Hunt, the product of an interfaith marriage.
Stephanie has a Jewish mother (of course) and a Catholic father. Jennifer Notas Shapiro’s screenplay makes this clear first when Stephanie’s mother guilts her about holiday plans over the phone, and again when Stephanie clarifies the matter for anyone who struggles to tell ethnic moms apart. To best friend Kate (Roxana Ortega), she mentions her “meddling Jewish mother” in the context of a familiar joke: “I swear, one of these days I’m gonna find out she called my gynecologist directly to inquire about my waning fertility.”
As is customary in this genre, Stephanie’s a thirty-something career woman who lives far away from her family. Unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend after giving up an apartment for him, she impulsively books a flight from California to visit her parents in Connecticut. At the airport, she engages in a one-sided clash with Michael Nolan (Ryan McPartlin), who is mild-mannered and quite tall. A merry stranger, Noel (Brian Doyle-Murray), contrives to make their paths repeatedly cross. Inevitably, they’re seated next to each other on the plane, where turbulence frightens them into holding hands.
Michael is making his monthly trek to Boston, where he visits a high-maintenance long-term girlfriend who insists on keeping things long-distance. His primary function in the film is to watch with a slight, appreciative smile as Stephanie causes scenes; his willingness to tolerate her breakup-induced outbursts is meant to be virtuous and charming. When their flight is diverted to Montana due to winter storms, we breathe a sigh of relief that Stephanie is destined to fall in love with a city slicker who resembles a menswear model and not the Brawny paper towel lumberjack.
After another of Noel’s interventions, the two of them, still standoffish, find accommodations at a charming inn owned by the parents from Family Matters. That’s right, Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton are triumphantly reunited as Joe and Marie, who reclaimed their failing marriage 20 years prior by rejecting the corporate grind and buying a cozy bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere, in one of the whitest states in the country. (To each her own, but I found that twist less believable than Santa Claus meddling in Blossom’s love life.)
“Nice to meet you, officially,” Michael says as he and Stephanie begin this second part of their adventure.
“We both know that’s not true,” she replies, but soon they’re enjoying flapjacks at Dinky’s Diner, visiting a country and western bar with their merry hosts and taking in the sights of the Charles Peak Christmas Fair. “Who are you, Oliver Twist?” Stephanie asks when Michael reports that his fussy girlfriend keeps him on a strict diet. Bialik and McPartlin are smooth in their roles but lack romantic chemistry. We nevertheless accept their coupling much earlier than they do, from the moment she generously pours syrup on his breakfast, because—and this isn’t standard in holiday romances—neither has to change that much to bring out the best in each other.
Directed by Peter Sullivan, The Flight Before Christmas is like a plate of holiday cookies, easily consumed and instantly forgotten. Much of its sweetness is provided by Payton and VelJohnson, who kindly offer relationship advice in lieu of mints on their guests’ pillows. In a second bit of casting that I thoroughly enjoyed, Candice Azzara plays Stephanie’s mother. Fans of Curtis Hanson’s In Her Shoes will recall her as Sydelle, the “My Marcia”-squawking stepmother of Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz. She’s given no similarly memorable hook here but sports an impressive red wig that almost qualifies as a holiday decoration itself.
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Streaming and DVD availability
The Flight Before Christmas hasn’t been released on DVD. It’s available for streaming on Amazon and is currently a free offering on Lifetime’s YouTube channel.
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Cranky Lesbian is a disgruntled homosexual with too much time on her hands. Click for film reviews or to follow on Instagram.
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