''A Christmas Melody'', also known under its working title of ''Mistletoe & Melody'', is a 2015 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

, who co-stars with

Lacey Chabert Lacey Nicole Chabert ( ; born September 30, 1982) is an American actress. One of her first roles was playing Erica Kane's daughter on ''All My Children''. She was the third actress to play Bianca Montgomery, playing the part from 1992 until 1993. ...

. It was filmed in Ohio during October 2015, and premiered on the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...

on December 19, 2015. The film was viewed by 3.95 million people upon its debut.

Plot

Widowed mother Kristin has recently moved back to her home town of Silver Falls, Ohio with her daughter Emily after her fashion business in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

folded. The process has been difficult for both of them, especially as the move brings Kristin face to face with Melissa, her former rival from high school and the current president of the local Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). However, things change when Emily finds a mentor in her music teacher Danny, Kristin's former classmate who was secretly attracted to her.

Cast

as Melissa *

as Kristin *

Brennan Elliott Brennan Elliott (born March 24, 1975) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Dr. Nick Biancavilla in the Lifetime medical drama series, ''Strong Medicine'' (2000-2004). Elliott later had recurring roles on ''The 4400'', '' Cedar Cove'' ...

as Danny * Fina Strazza as Emily *

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...

as Sarah Credits adapted from Hallmark Channel's official website.

Production

In September 2015, the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission stated that Carey would be filming in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

for an upcoming film, ''Mistletoe & Melody''. Carey was confirmed to be serving as the film's director and as one of the film's stars, and Stella Bulochnikov, Jonathan Axelrod, Alan Ett, Eric Jarboe and Kevin Connor were named as the movie's

executive producers Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

and

were also later confirmed as actors for the film, which had been re-titled ''A Christmas Melody''. Child actress Fina Strazza was brought on to play Chabert's daughter and to sing "

Oh Santa! "Oh Santa!" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album and thirteenth studio album, '' Merry Christmas II You'' (2010). Carey wrote and produced the song in collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and Brya ...

", which Carey re-wrote for the film. Filming began on October 6, 2015 in the Cincinnati area suburbs of Wyoming and Hyde Park it was expected to wrap on October 16, but did not finish until October 26. On November 17, 2015, the

released a trailer for ''A Christmas Melody''. ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...

'' poked fun at the trailer, writing "Only time will tell how much holiday cheer can be stuffed into one movie, but if this trailer is any indication, ''A Christmas Melody'' will be pushing the boundaries."

Release and reception

''A Christmas Melody'' first aired on the Hallmark Channel on December 19, 2015, as part of the annual "Countdown to Christmas" holiday programming. It was seen by 3.95 million viewers upon release, more than any other show that day. VH1 wrote a mixed review for the film, stating "Sure, the film has an abrupt, saccharine ending, but that doesn't make the journey to it any less fun to watch. In terms of Mariah Carey shade, ''A Christmas Melody'' is Oscar-worthy. It's just the so-bad-it's-good trainwreck slosh you need to liven up your ''It's a Wonderful Life'' coma." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' was also mixed in their opinion, writing "In telling the story of Kristen (Lacey Chabert), a widowed single mom whose Los Angeles fashion boutique goes bust, the movie is as blandly watchable as everything else in Hallmark's Christmas lineup, which includes titles like ''I'm Not Ready for Christmas'', ''Merry Matrimony'' and Tis the Season for Love''. But Ms. Carey's participation makes the generic badness of ''A Christmas Melody'' a touch better than its neighbors. She treats herself like a woman who's come to family entertainment from Venus."

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

praised the film as a "delightfully bonkers addition to the firmament of holiday madness".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Melody 2015 television films 2015 films American Christmas films Hallmark Channel original films 2010s Christmas films Mariah Carey