Tonight's Movie: Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up (2023)

One of the Hallmark films I most enjoyed watched in 2023 was HAUL OUT THE HOLLY (2022), which I reviewed in November.

The film about a wild and wacky HOA's elaborate Christmas traditions was very popular, even meriting a rare Hallmark Blu-ray release, so of course this year Hallmark Channel gave us a sequel, HAUL OUT THE HOLLY: LIT UP (2023).

It's set a year after the previous film, and Emily (Lacey Chabert) and Jared (Wes Brown) are now a serious couple.

Along with the neighbors, Emily and Jared are busy prepping Evergreen Lane for Christmas when new neighbors move into an empty home on the cul-de-sac...and as it turns out, Jane (Jennifer Aspen) and Joe (Seth Morris) are "Christmas reality show" TV stars.

Jane and Joe initially seem an ideal match for Evergreen Lane...but unfortunately they prove to be endlessly competitive and controlling (and Emily thought the HOA rules were bossy!). It finally gets to the point that even the endlessly tolerant, kind, and bemused Emily has had enough and decides it's time to battle back...will peace reign again on Evergreen Lane?

This was a mostly fun film which is more of the same; if you liked the first movie, you'll like this one. The only issue which makes it less appealing is that the new neighbors are really jerks, to an extent we don't typically see in a Hallmark film.

That's balanced by the fact that quirky neighbors like Pamela (Melissa Peterman) and Mary Louise (Ellen Travolta) are now Emily's friends, and it's a lot of fun to see them again, along with Pamela's husband Alan (Eric Mabius), Jared's mother Belinda (Laura Wardle), and the rest of the neighborhood.

Only Emily's neighbor Ned (Stephen Tobolowsky) disappoints, as he's so taken with the new neighbors that he lets down his longtime friends.

Chabert is charming as always, with Brown appealing with his deadpan charm as the Christmas-obsessed HOA president.

There are a number of amusing moments, including an inside joke where Mary Louise mentions Joey Travolta (Ellen Travolta's real-life brother). And I love that Hallmark star Eric Mabius turned up again in this one. As expected, the film builds to a very nice conclusion.

All in all it's a fun 84 minutes which I enjoyed. Just prepare to be as annoyed with Jane and Joe as the residents of Evergreen Lane.

HAUL OUT THE HOLLY: LIT UP was directed by Maclain Nelson. It was written by Christopher Sey, based on the characters created by Andy Sandberg for the prior film. It was filmed by Lisa Wiegand with exteriors filmed in Utah.

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