Recipe for a Perfect Christmas

Movie / Show Details

Amazon.com

A charming holiday story about relationships, Lifetime’s Recipe for a Perfect Christmas stars the incomparable Christine Baranski (The Good Wife, Falling for Grace), paired with Carly Pope (24, Outlaw) and Bobby Cannavale (Cold Case, Third Watch). For food critic J.J. Jenner, “Christmas is nothing but high expectation and big disappointment,” so getting a big promotion that will mean lots of extra work right at holiday time is nothing but good news. But when J.J.’s mother shows up unexpectedly and moves in for the holidays, J.J. is unable to get anything done and quickly becomes desperate to find something to occupy her mother and get her out of the apartment. Setting her mother up on date with a struggling restaurateur who will literally do anything to get J.J. to review his restaurant seems like the perfect solution, but things don’t work out quite like she’s planned. J.J. eventually finds herself not only completely distracted, but reexamining her attitude toward the holiday season, her rocky relationship with her mother, and even the extent of her dedication to her profession. Each character grows and changes through their interactions with one another, and in the end, all three find that they definitely have something unexpected to be thankful for this holiday season. A feel-good film along the lines of Shopaholic and When in Rome, Recipe for a Perfect Christmas is a great choice for mother-daughter night or a girls’ movie night around the holidays. (Ages 10 and older) –Tami Horiuchi

Product Description

First-time food critic JJ Jenner is a cute but bookish 24-year-old whose transformation from low-level magazine writer to coveted food columnist faces just one roadblock–her free-spirited, scene-stealing mother, who shows up unannounced for the holidays. Low on energy and patience, and desperate to get some work done, JJ sets her mom up with Alex, a sweet and ambitious young chef, in exchange for reviewing his struggling restaurant. When writer s block suddenly hits, JJ begins to recognize that her true feelings for Alex may be the problem. As Christmas nears, JJ learns that her mother is just as vulnerable and insecure as she is, and that love and family are worth risking everything for.

Starring Carly Pope, Christine Baranski, and Bobby Cannavale.