“It’s Christmas, Eve” Recap & Review

Okay, before I start this recap, allow me to let this out–

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

eeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Phew, finally, I can inhale! Just so you know, I have never ever started a recap with an ear piercing squeal, but I haven’t stopped squealing since the last 45 seconds of viewing It’s Christmas, Eve, so it only seems right to share that squeal with you. It’s just so good, wowza.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about 🎶 you and me and Christmasssssss! 🎶

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Eve Morgan (LeAnn Rimes) is back in her hometown of Franklin, AnyState USA. She is

• a drifter
• surprisingly warm and cheerful for a woman whose sole job is to SLASH ART AND MUSIC PROGRAMS from schools
• single and beautiful.

Okay, Eve’s less of a drifter and more of an interim school superintendent. And, sure, she is less of an arts program murderer and more of a budget genius. She is in Franklin to help with the district’s money problem. It is a bonus that she gets to spend Christmas with her mom and stepdad.

Liam (Tyler Hynes) is a guy who

• loves wearing fingerless gloves.

That probably just could’ve been a sentence.

I’ve never given a character just one bullet point, but I thought that was the most important thing to note about him. Like, yeah sure, he’s a charming, divorced, music teacher super dad, who just so happens to be way cool and friendly and funny and was once in a band called Bingo Jones, but

he’s just really into fingerless gloves and you need to know that about him. I mean, he’s gotta be ready for impromptu piano jam sessions even when it’s cold outside, so I get it.

Eve and Liam’s meet cute is literally talking about meet cutes after witnessing a meet cute unfold in front of them. While avoiding running into Eve outside of a cafe, a man smashes into a woman and spills coffee all over her. Instead of screaming about her 3rd degree burns, the woman–now drenched in scalding coffee–winks and blushes and tucks her hair behind her ears. Because this is a Hallmark Christmas movie, her hair doesn’t get staticky from running her gloves through it, and she isn’t sent to the ER because her skin isn’t blistering at an alarming rate. Instead, she probably just met the hunk of her dreams! You go girl!

But, because she avoided a coffee bath, Eve now gets to talk about the spilled beverage with a hottie of her own. Liam is a meet cute expert because he watches romantic comedies with his 11 year old daughter, Abby. The two talk about

• the universe
• fate
• of course, meet cutes.

Ya know, just all the casual things people talk about the first time they meet.

(By the way, my meet cute with my husband happened in a Denny’s parking lot. I dare anyone to top that!!!!!)

Help, I have now typed meet cute 7 times.

Eve and Liam’s interaction ends when they both meet their friends at their respective tables. All that I get from this is that Eve doesn’t sing anymore. Also, that her friend, Darcy, casually says you have a beautiful voice like Eve sings like any ole Betty and doesn’t have the same voice as LeAnn Rimes–whose voice is at least 10 steps above beautiful.

No one, except her family and friends, seems to be happy that Eve is in town. To everyone else, she is the super villain ⚡️Slasher Superintendent⚡️chopping off the heads of Mozart and Bach and scribbling all over Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. In reality, she is just trying to save the school from going under. She tells a school board member that she thinks the only way to help the school is to cut the music and art programs, but she is obviously very torn over this. She says she will do everything in her power to try to find another solution.

When Liam hears that the meanie superintendent is at the school, he decides to give her a talkin’ to! Instead, he finds Eve talking to his daughter in his classroom. They are both a little shocked and disappointed to find out that one of them has a job that the other one is probably going to cut. Maybe their meet cute was actually a meet ugly (this is not a Coyote Ugly reference, I swear!!!!!!).

Okay, that was a Coyote Ugly reference.

Here are some important things:

• 30 minutes in and I am committed to the idea of Tyler Hynes and LeAnn Rimes being paired together in at least 5 more Hallmark movies.
• Eve’s father, who taught her about music, passed away years ago, and she has distanced herself from it ever sense.
• Liam used to write songs, but can’t find or make time for it anymore.
• Eve’s friend and husband have the prettiest interior glass doors ever!!
• They use gloves when boxing up cookies at Eve’s mom’s bakery!!!!!!! I am a germaphobe so this is very important to me. This is great progress because there is a scene in Dater’s Handbook where Meghan Markle licks the icing knife they are using for desserts that they are taking to a BAKE SALE OR SOMETHING.

Eve goes out with her mom, Nella, to find a Christmas tree for the bakery. They find the perfect tree, but as Eve reaches for it, a fingerless gloved hand does too. That hand obviously belongs to the old frontman of Bingo Jones.

⚡️insert mega cool guitar riff⚡️

Eve decides to let Liam keep the tree–not because of his cool dad vibe, but because Abby wanted that tree and she is not the heartless superintendent that everyone assumes she is. Okay, maybe it is a little bit because of his cool dad vibe, because she flirts it up! She even flirts her way into his house and winds up helping them decorate the tree. They hang ornaments, sing carols, and it is over the top, but I accept it.

While going through Christmas decorations with her mom, Eve comes across a box of her dad’s things. Inside the box is handwritten sheet music. It is

• a song her dad was writing for her
• unfinished because he never knew how to end it
• entitled It’s Christmas Eve
• 😭

Oh my gosh. It’s just really sad and sweet, and that’s all I have to say about that.

I’m going to title this next section like those Clickbait articles you find on Facebook.

You Will Never Believe What This Woman Finds Her Stepdad Doing When She Follows Him Into a Man’s House!

Eve has noticed her stepdad, John, sneaking in and out of Liam’s house. She decides to do some Nancy Drew-ing and boldly enters Liam’s house to see what is up.

She finds…

…………

………….

…the two men sitting on a couch, playing the guitar. Scandal!

Eh, but, like, not at all. It is almost John and Nella’s 4 year anniversary and he decided that he wants to write and sing her a song as a surprise! This is great if you’re into that sorta thing. I once had a guy write a song for me after knowing him for about a week, but instead of singing it to me he had me read the lyrics while waiting in the hall for class to start? Or he read it out loud to me? I think I half blocked it out because I was insanely uncomfortable. Either way, no thank you.

But, you do your thing, John! I’m sure you’ll sing to her in an overly-candled room and she’ll love it!

Eve is struck with an idea in that super genius superintendent brain of hers! At Franklin’s tree lighting ceremony, she thinks there should be a fundraising concert for the music and art programs. She is sure that the community will donate if they show off all of the talent that these programs help cultivate! She enlists Liam to help, and they only have 9 days to plan it, so they must work quickly! They

• bribe the mayor
• ⬆️ I’m not kidding
• ⬆️⬆️ seriously they bribe the mayor
• have Darcy’s husband, Brad, set up a donation website that’s kinda like a bridal registry.

They also name the event Christmas Under the Stars even though I was very partial to Liam’s suggestion of Fa La La La Franklin.

Eve presents the fundraiser idea to the board, and even though they’re like…ehh would you be going above and beyond like this if the music teacher was ugly? and we don’t think it’ll work but we’ve really got nothing to lose, so go ahead?

So, they go ahead!

I usually am not a montage person, but I really appreciate this one. It’s a fundraising and event planning montage which means that the movie doesn’t spend an exhausting amount of time on fundraising and event planning!!!! Instead, we get to focus on the relationships and growth of the characters. And it actually leaves us time for the ACTUAL FREAKING EVENT! We rarely get to see much of the big events and festivals in these movies. This movie, I swear, is a Hallmark miracle.

While the pair were ❤️ bonding ❤️ over event planning, Eve opened up about why she is an interim superintendent and just hopping from school to school. Truly, she always wanted to stay in Franklin. When her dad passed away, however, she wanted nothing more than to get the heck outa dodge. She hasn’t been able to find a place that feels like home since.

Her next stop, if they hire her, is San Diego.

…okay, so…

…here is where I got full body chills. I am not exaggerating. I was moved. Like moved all the way to San Diego.

Eve asks Liam to play Its Christmas Eve for her. Not only does he play it, but he and Abby sing it. Eve watches them read from her father’s handwritten sheet music with tears in her eyes. I watch Eve watch them with tears in my eyes. Our jerk cat that lives outside of our house watches me and smiles because he sees that I am at a weakened state and that it’s time to attack. (Sorry, I felt I was getting too vulnerable and had to change gears!)

There is even more bonding!

• Eve encourages Liam and Abby to perform Liam’s original song You and Me and Christmas at the concert.
• The three watch A Christmas Carol outside where they eat popcorn with gloves on!
• Liam reveals to Eve that he stopped writing music because he let his ex-wife chase her dreams and didn’t let himself chase his.

(Good grief, they’re cute.)

Time for Christmas Under the Stars, and, it too, is very emotional.

First of all, while backstage, Eve gets a phone call from San Diego. They are offering her the job. Liam almost kisses her, but instead asks her if she is taking the job in California. She doesn’t answer him because she doesn’t know herself!

Second of all, Abby is too nervous to sing, so Eve sings with her. Oddly, the crowd is just like…oh how nice, eve sings well…and no one offers her a record deal? I just don’t get it. The best part, though, is that Eve only looks into Abby’s eyes as she sings. She cares about keeping her calm, and doesn’t project to the crowd and start strutting around the stage like a peacock. The second best part is the way Liam looks at Eve.

Third of all, the event makes over $160,000?!?! The board is so pleased, she is offered a full time superintendent job in Franklin.

Eve is torn if she should settle in Franklin or make a stop in San Diego. When she gets home, all of her questions are answered.

Eve opens a gift from Liam. I knew this was coming at some point, but it did not lessen the impact. The gift? Liam finished writing her dad’s song, and it is beautiful. She sings the new lyrics and longingly looks out the window at Liam’s house.

Here is where I start squealing.

The music changes from her singing acoustically to the record version as she races to Liam’s front door. She sees Liam and Abby (still…?) decorating their Christmas tree and knows this is where she wants to be.

When Liam comes to the door holding a mug, Eve confesses that she’s staying and I kid you not asks him if the beverage is hot, takes it from him, throws it on his shirt and declares that they now have had a proper meet cute.

Ahhhhhh!

They kiss! Like they legit make out! No, seriously, it is a gooood kisssss, I need you to understand that. And…they’re happy! I’m happy too!

The End!

But…like…omg…looks like it is time (because of his watch lol) to give this movie a perfect score 😍

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I rate It’s Christmas, Eve When People Wear Gloves to Prepare Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! which is a 5/5 on my scale of Gloves.

The Scale

1. Using socks for gloves (I’ve done this)
2. Fingerless gloves
3. Those Magic Gloves that are only ✨magic✨ because they stretch
4. The Hamburger Helper Oven Mitt (he actually has good music)
5. When people wear gloves to prepare food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Oooooooooooh, man. Woah boy. Golly gee.

My first perfect score of the season! It’s Christmas, Eve is great.

Let’s just say, if you are a movie that I don’t think I’ll be super into, chances are you’re going to be one of my favorites. Rarely do movies I am pumped about live up to my insanely high expectations.

I was so excited and overwhelmed after watching it that I tweeted this:

And, you know what? I still don’t know if I’m being coherent about my love for this movie. This recap is probably A MESS.

I really did squeal during the last scenes of the movie. After about 45 seconds, my husband said “okay that’s enough” and put a blanket over my head.

Just–I just. I just loved it. The acting was great. LeAnn and Tyler had effortless chemistry. Honestly, the entire cast had effortless chemistry with each other. I was very impressed with the pacing of the script. Every part of the story got just the right amount of attention that it deserved. AND the ending was not rushed. It, truly, might be my favorite ending of a Hallmark movie ever. I’m serious!

Ugh, I have so much to say that I don’t know if I should say much more.

Except, I will say this: after Eve stopped singing It’s Christmas Eve, my husband exclaimed “That song is the balls!” which apparently is a very good compliment from my thirty year old husband. Lol, so there’s that.

Also, if you want to talk about Liam’s sweaters, go to Girl Gone Hallmark’s review, because she’s the expert.

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Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought about It’s Christmas, Eve by connecting with me on Instagram or Twitter @thehallremark, commenting below, or emailing me at thehallremark@gmail.com.