by Jeff Shaw
Last month, the Chatham Orpheum Theater held a screening of the 2021 holiday film, A Cape Cod Christmas, including a meet and greet with the Cape Cod-based director, John Stimpson. Somehow [perhaps in the midst of pandemic chaos] I missed this movie announcement all together, and just the other night, watched it.
As Jennifer Sexton-Riley wrote in The Chronicle, “A Cape Cod Christmas,” promises an opportunity to rediscover romance with an ocean view. Margot, a children’s book author, comes down to Cape Cod for one last Christmas dinner with her disagreeable siblings before they have to sell their family beach house – a home base of family tradition while their parents were alive. Margot doesn’t want to sell, the other two siblings do. Further, her sister Meredith is in a tough financial situation faced with a looming college tuition bill for her son. A plan is devised to try and get the sister and brother to change their minds as well as a childhood romance is rekindled.
The film was shot in Falmouth during the pandemic, and features many prominent locations throughout town.
I am not a movie critic, in fact, I don’t recall ever reviewing one, but a few observations stood out. Please feel free to agree or disagree:
Props
A reindeer-themed throw blanket on the couch was a little too Green, White or Rocky Mountains. I would bet 9/10 beach house homeowners have a marine-themed holiday throw.
B-Roll Shots
The brief aerial shots of the people walking the beach* was so Cape Cod. Same for the (quiet) shots of the harbor. Nailed it.
Storyline(s)
While the story circled back around to the original premise neatly, I cannot help but think a secondary plot line should have been established, about Meredith, the sister. Her character was underdeveloped, but you could see a path where she, not Margot, was even more torn between the emotions tied to losing a connection with your late parents/happy beach house memories and the practical reality of using a third of the house’s sale price to pay for your child’s college tuition.
It wasn’t clear where Meredith and her family were currently living, but she recalled not being at the family beach house in two years, so that seed of longing was planted early. Since the painting ended up being for Meredith, not Tom, the older brother, or somehow split among both siblings, this would have made the painting unveiling scene twice as powerful as well as the second-to-last scene, a bit more joyful [Spoiler alert…knowing that Meredith could have it both ways].
A Little Life Advice
I love the in-your-face message Christian delivers during the sunrise walk along the beach…to paraphase…put down your friggin’ phone and look around and actually see, dare I say appreciate, the natural beauty that surrounds many of us! Indeed, we’re the lucky ones.
Word Play
Later in that scene, Margot and Christian run to the dock where their initials were carved and…to paraphrase…he says something to the effect of, after all these years, it’s still there. “It” being their love/connection, which gets a bit lost as Margot recoils at his advance.
Bottomline
If you have a soft spot for Cape Cod, it is going to be hard to turn off the movie once started. The brief b-roll shots of coastline, downtown shops, and holiday decorations, especially of a cozy, waterfront beach house, are satisfying. Like all Hallmark- or Lifetime-esque movies, there is plenty of cheesiness, but endless coffee runs keeps you grounded [coffee bean pun intended].
While far from a holiday classic, it may be sniffing the rewatchable conversation. Regardless, there is an important lesson, hard to ignore, for many families who will find themselves in a similar situation – what to do when multiple children inherit a family [or beach] house and do not agree with what to do with it [keep or sell]. For that reason alone, the film may be worth watching.
*I know of no one who wakes up before sunrise regularly to walk the beach. Do you?
January 1, 2024