Somehow, My Sweet Austrian Holiday is the second Hallmark Channel movie to come out in as many weeks that feature a businessman with a heart of gold who tries to prevent the real estate company he inherited from his father from evicting a quaint small business at Christmas. And you know what? I love them both. This film, a nod to the beauty of Europe at Christmas, is charming and sweet and, yeah, maybe thematically a little repetitive, but so is “The 12 Days of Christmas,” and that song’s a classic.
MY SWEET AUSTRIAN HOLIDAY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A children’s hospital fundraiser is being held in Vienna. Two of the most important people there are Henry Broadbent (Will Kemp), a British billionaire developer who donated a ton of money, and Charlotte Dobler (Brittany Bristow), the chocolatier helping to cater the festivities.
The Gist: Though Charlotte and Henry cross paths at the fundraiser, they don’t immediately hit it off, but it serves as their introduction to one another. We learn that Charlotte has inherited Dobler Chocolates, an artisan chocolate shop housed in a beautiful (maybe historical) Viennese building, from her grandmother who died. Charlotte, a former lawyer from Cincinnati, moved to Vienna to take over the business and this year, she not only wants to win the prestigious Chocolatier of the Year award, but she also has to fight to keep the business in its current location, as a large development firm – owned by Henry, as it turns out – is planning to redevelop it.
The thing is, Henry is himself a nepo baby, having inherited his company from his recently-retired father, and he’d much rather be off attending charity events than doing corporate stuff like growing the business. Instead, he leaves much of the heavy lifting to his head of development, Morgana (Suzanne McKenney), who behaves in an almost cartoonishly evil way, deriding wimpy small business owners in her Austrian accent and saying things like “Everysing ees for sale.”
When Henry runs into Charlotte at a Christmas market, they get to talking and find that they really enjoy one another’s company, so they begin to date, but while Charlotte mentions the fact that she’s trying to keep her building from getting taken over by an “evil developer” it never comes up that Henry’s company might be responsible. But soon, Henry finds out from Morgana that they’re the evil developers trying to put Charlotte out of business, and he’s livid. Morgana is literally like [shrug emoji/dollar sign eyeballs emoji] and Henry is disgusted, but he’s also helpless since he gave her control of the project. Henry tries to stop Morgana and prevent the company from evicting Charlotte, but as he continues to see Charlotte, he never lets on to her that he is ultimately the big bad boss she’s been telling him about.
Soon enough, Charlotte does a quick Google search and makes that realization for herself which leads to a rift, but ultimately, Henry (and even Morgana) realize that destroying Charlotte’s business is in no one’s self interest, so they all find ways to turn their project around so she won’t have to close shop, and ultimately, she forgives Henry and they live happily ever after, Edelweiss and all that jazz.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? There are shades of this year’s ‘Twas The Date Before Christmas lurking within My Sweet Austrian Holiday, as both films conveniently feature kind-hearted developers who try to shut down their company’s attempts to destroy the woman small business owner (who happens to be the lone business holding out against them). Ultimately, all of this David and Goliath romances can ultimately be held up to You’ve Got Mail though, the movie that romanticized what would happen if greedy but kind corporate honchos and small-businesswomen fell in love.
Our Take: I’ve always assumed that the main point of movies like My Sweet Austrian Holiday is to offer some Christmas romance. In this current climate, where the world is generally a dumpster fire and late-stage capitalism is destroying us all, I’m turning a corner in understanding the broad appeal of Hallmark movies like this one. See, the real point of these movies is to appeal to the audience’s sense of right and wrong, good and bad, to the idea that even the world’s greediest people haven’t completely sold their souls. Ain’t nothing more romantic than that.
Henry was never meant to be a greedy monster (that honor goes to Morgana), instead, he represents what we wish corporate bros would behave like. Men who aren’t only beholden to the almighty dollar, but who want to use their power for good. It’s heartwarming because it feels so fictional, you know? But if living in this cinematic world full of fancy chocolates and people who do the right thing is fiction, it’s hard to want to live in the real world where billionaires only want to conquer space while their 20-something girlfriends breed a small army for them. I think I’m getting off track.
My point is that My Sweet Austrian Holiday is a truly appealing film on several levels; the characters themselves are all layered and interesting, and Will Kemp and Brittany Bristow are well-matched with a warmth that’s hard to resist. Also, CHOCOLATE. So much melted, drizzling chocolate everywhere, Augustus Gloop would not know how to behave. But the film wants us to hope that everyone will will live happily ever after because they all do the right thing and look out for one another. The fictional Hallmark billionaire who looks out for the little guy is a common trope this holiday season, we’ve run across him in a couple of films now, and I can only assume it’s something the good people at Hallmark are manifesting for us all.
Parting Shot: Charlotte, having won her chocolatier of the year award, hangs it on her wall. She then tells Henry that she’s thrilled with the new plans he’s drawn up to incorporate her building into his new retail development, which means they’ll both be able to stay in Vienna with each other...forever.… And then they kiss.
Performance Worth Watching: Brittany Bristow has a natural ease with the role of Charlotte, convincing as a corporate lawyer whose real dream is to run a chocolate shop, but even more believable as a woman wary of love, who gives into Henry’s charms.
Memorable Dialogue: “Henry, I trusted you!” Charlotte cries to Henry once she finally figures out who he is and that he owns the company that’s trying to destroy her. It’s a cliché, but how else is it going to get through to Henry that honesty would have been – and always is – the best policy?
Our Call: My Sweet Austrian Holiday brings together the best of Christmas: gorgeous B-roll of Vienna at the holidays, tons of food porn, truly likeable characters, and feel-good optimism. STREAM IT!
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘My Sweet Austrian Holiday’ on the Hallmark Channel, About A Woman Who Falls In Love With The Man Whose Company Is Trying To Evict Her Small Business… At Christmas! appeared first on Decider.
