Back to You at Christmas
When Georgia (Rachel Boston) was at High School she was a success at everything she did and she was in the most popular clique. But High School was 10 years ago and not only has she struggled to make any headway as she tries to be a fashion designer but she has been unlucky in love. Returning home to her mum's (Marilu Henner) for Christmas she not only discovers that her High School reunion is a week away but bumps into all her old friends including her best friend from back then, Ben (Jonathan Bennett). But as Georgia thinks back to those High School days she thinks about the one that got away, her boyfriend from back then Craig (Jon Prescott), except maybe he isn't the one who got away.
"Holiday High School Reunion" is one of those movies, in this case a Lifetime Christmas movie, where it is entertaining but only if you have a love of High School movies. If you watch without that passion and knowledge of older High School movies all "Holiday High School Reunion" ends up is the obvious movie where the woman, in this case Georgia, realises that really her best friend is the guy for her, not the guy she thought she wanted. It is no spoiler to say that because it is completely obvious and never attempts to disguise it. In facts it dresses it up in another cliche which in this case is Georgia not being a successful fashion designer and keeping it from her friends.
But as I said "Holiday High School Reunion" is entertaining if you know your High School movies. As such we have a touch of "Mean Girls" with Georgia having been part of a clique and now realising how shallow and bitchy they were and still are. We have some "Grease 2" with Harry Hamlin paying a sweater vest wearing teacher. Throw in some "13 Going on 30" with Jonathan Bennett playing the best friend with a secret crush. And on top of that there are some John Hughes style characters as well as some typical John Hughes use of slow motion. It really does add something to the movie and rather than feeling cliche it ends up more of a comical homage to High School movies and even manages to toss in a musical element to it which surprisingly isn't that cheesy.
But "Holiday High School Reunion" is a made for TV Christmas movie and as such features a few familiar genre faces such as Marilu Henner and Harry Hamlin. But most significantly it features Rachel Boston and Jonathan Bennett two of the most likeable actors you will come across in the TV movie genre and bring all their easy going likeability to this.
What this all boils down to is that "Holiday High School Reunion" is one of those Christmas TV movies which whilst being obvious works because it embraces the famous High School movies of the past and pays homage to them.
Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies
