Holiday in Handcuffs

A desperate young waitress named Trudie takes a handsome stranger hostage, with the intention of flaunting him as her boyfriend at her family's snow-covered cabin for the holidays.

Sprinkled with clever quips, and hilarious bits of tastefully placed adult humor, this movie succeeds in highlighting many of the deep archetypes of your typical family with grown-up "kids" - who are in their 20's and so are really adults, yet have to answer to the ever-appraising (and ever-loving) eyes of their parents.

The direction of the plot plays out like the tried-and-true holiday storyline, but it is variegated with modern flourishes and hilarious dialog. Altogether, this is a heart-warming and knee-slapping enjoyable watch.

It seemed like an impossible premise but I get the feeling that Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez could make any movie work. Add in some Kyle Howard and just a bit of Gabrielle Miller and it was just a fun movie.

It has heart, character growth and really likeable people. This is what Christmas movies are supposed to be. Mostly just fun, with a bit of watching the people learn and grow.

And that's my review but they want more words so here are a few more words about the movie which was definitely a movie with people in it and a script and a story. It had snow and a cabin and handcuffs........

Parents want their children to be successful. Children want to please their parents. Everybody puts on a happy face and are miserable inside. That is Trudie's (Melissa Joan Hart) problem. How to make her parents happy so they will love her. Things are not going her way, so she flips out and grabs Mario López to pass off as her boyfriend.

"Saved by the Bell" and soap star Lopex and Hart eventually manage a truce that leads to love, as the rest of the family lets their skeletons out of the closet.

Great family interaction, and holiday silliness. Destined to be one to watch every year.

As far as ABC Family movies go, this one was at the top! Everyone could act and practically none of the lines made me even close to cringing, which is what normally happens when I watch a TV movie.

Miss Hart did a great job and wasn't in the least a cliché character. I was a little dubious at first about Mario Lopez being her love interest in the movie, but it worked out really well.

Another thing that I was happy about was that it didn't to the boring, repetitive "Christmas is about spending time with your family" failed plot. It actually had interesting characters and a funny plot line.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to have a good time watching a movie.

The plot to this Christmas television movie is pretty flimsy. It relies upon characters to act completely illogically. For those of you don't know it already, I'll give a rundown. Basically, Melissa Joan Hart is a screw-up whose parents nag her about her life. She somehow manages to snag a rich, good-looking boyfriend. He dumps her right before they are supposed to meet her parents at a cabin for Christmas. So she has what I would call a psychotic break and kidnaps Mario Lopez. How she does this is the beginning of many far-fetched happenings in the movie. Basically she plans on using Lopez as a stand-in for her boyfriend at Christmas with her family.

The movie is surprisingly funny and the characters likable. However, prepare yourself for lots of convenient lapses of logic in order for the plot to work. Lopez allowing himself to be taken prisoner. Lopez not trying very hard to escape. Hart's family believing her ridiculous excuse for why Lopez is claiming to be kidnapped. Lopez getting a phone and not calling 911. After alerting his girlfriend about what happened, he decides to go along with Hart's plan. His reasoning made no sense really but it's needed to allow his hostility towards her to cool for the inevitable happy ending. Still, it works more than it should, in large part due to the likability of the cast.

Give it a shot if you see it on TV. It's better than most TV movies these days. But if you have ever been in a relationship with someone as unstable as Hart is here, you might feel less generous about the film and its premise.