"Staging Christmas" is one of Lifetime's 2019 Christmas marathon movies and one of the better ones. Like many of these, it is a romantic drama. The main actors Soleil Frye and George Stults as Lori and Everett, have a good script to work with even if he isn't emotive. She is charming in her subtle emotion which drives the film forward beyond the limitations of the script. Her face effectively conveys the emotion the story requires at that time.
What also grounds the movie is the story between Everett's daughter and Lori. The little girl is at the age where she really wants a mother to be a part of her life. As is customary in the genre, Everett's mother is deceased. The child actor isn't exploited just for the sake of being cute. At one point in the story, she and Everett have a frank conversation about how he is working too much at his coffee company and she feels lonely. The raw display of emotion is rare in these films and much appreciated. Soleil Frye as an actor interacts well with Mia Clark as the child actor, Maddie who conveys genuine excitement at the "family" activities Lori and Everett take her.
Lori works for a realty company who needs a venue for its Christmas party. She recalls staging a house a few years ago for a Christmas sale. She contacts the owner and asks if they can work a deal. Everett tells her he hasn't put of Christmas decorations since his wife died so they work out a deal where she will "stage" the house and he will let her use the house as a party venue.
Jaleel White has a supporting role as Lori's boss. He does a good job at being a plot device. He isn't given much script to do anything else. I would have liked more of a focus on his interaction with Lori and the other people competing for a promotion with her. Instead the script focuses on the interaction between Everett and his sister in the family coffee business. Those two have an interesting dynamic. She is more interested in building a corporate empire than he is. He just wants to make coffee. They love each other enough to heed the other person.
Special mention should be given to Winter Storm Megan. If you have been watching a lot of the 2019 Lifetime Christmas movies, you'll notice that Megan appears to be everywhere. It's a nice touch just as the film as a whole.
What also grounds the movie is the story between Everett's daughter and Lori. The little girl is at the age where she really wants a mother to be a part of her life. As is customary in the genre, Everett's mother is deceased. The child actor isn't exploited just for the sake of being cute. At one point in the story, she and Everett have a frank conversation about how he is working too much at his coffee company and she feels lonely. The raw display of emotion is rare in these films and much appreciated. Soleil Frye as an actor interacts well with Mia Clark as the child actor, Maddie who conveys genuine excitement at the "family" activities Lori and Everett take her.
Lori works for a realty company who needs a venue for its Christmas party. She recalls staging a house a few years ago for a Christmas sale. She contacts the owner and asks if they can work a deal. Everett tells her he hasn't put of Christmas decorations since his wife died so they work out a deal where she will "stage" the house and he will let her use the house as a party venue.
Jaleel White has a supporting role as Lori's boss. He does a good job at being a plot device. He isn't given much script to do anything else. I would have liked more of a focus on his interaction with Lori and the other people competing for a promotion with her. Instead the script focuses on the interaction between Everett and his sister in the family coffee business. Those two have an interesting dynamic. She is more interested in building a corporate empire than he is. He just wants to make coffee. They love each other enough to heed the other person.
Special mention should be given to Winter Storm Megan. If you have been watching a lot of the 2019 Lifetime Christmas movies, you'll notice that Megan appears to be everywhere. It's a nice touch just as the film as a whole.