Review

Movie Review: Making Spirits Bright
Subtitle: “When Love is a Family Feud Wrapped in Christmas Lights.”

Making Spirits Bright is Hallmark’s electrifying dive into the world of competitive Christmas decorating, where two families’ decades-long feud lights up the holidays—literally. It’s a festive tale about love, rivalry, and how many extension cords are too many. (Spoiler: The answer is “never enough.”)

The plot follows Grace (Taylor Cole) and Tony (Carlo Marks), star-crossed decorators whose families have been locked in a Christmas light war for as long as anyone can remember. As Grace and Tony try to bring their feuding parents together to compete in a high-stakes Christmas decorating contest, sparks fly—both romantically and electrically. Because nothing says “holiday romance” like tangled lights and passive-aggressive tinsel placement.

Taylor Cole’s Grace is the perfect mix of sweet, determined, and just a little too invested in synchronized light displays. Carlo Marks’s Tony is the charmingly reluctant hero who somehow makes climbing ladders and hanging garlands look like Olympic events. Their chemistry is like a freshly lit tree—bright, warm, and occasionally flickering when a fuse blows.

The humor in the movie comes from the over-the-top decorating antics. Watching two families one-up each other with increasingly ridiculous displays (think animatronic reindeer and light-up snowman armies) is like Home Alone meets a holiday Home Depot commercial. And the contest itself? A hilariously chaotic showdown that will make you question the sanity of anyone who owns 50 inflatable Santas.

The supporting cast includes bickering parents, nosy neighbors, and a competition judge who takes their job way too seriously. The families’ grudges are played for laughs, with every passive-aggressive comment escalating into a decorating duel that somehow manages to involve power tools and candy canes.

The small-town setting adds extra charm, with streets decked out in so many lights it’s a miracle the power grid doesn’t implode. Between the festive parades and the inevitable snowball fights, you’ll feel like you’re walking through a Christmas card—one with a lot of unresolved family drama.

Of course, the romance is the real star of the show. Grace and Tony’s journey from “our families are mortal enemies” to “maybe we should kiss under the mistletoe” is peak Hallmark. By the time they team up to create the ultimate holiday display—complete with perfectly timed snowfall—you’ll be rooting for them harder than their parents rooting for victory.

The grand finale is as cheesy as it is heartwarming: a spectacular light show, a family reconciliation, and a kiss so bright it probably caused a blackout in the next town over. It’s everything you want from a holiday rom-com: predictable, sweet, and glowing with Christmas spirit.

Making Spirits Bright is a funny, feel-good holiday movie that delivers romance, humor, and enough holiday lights to make Clark Griswold jealous. It’s perfect for anyone who loves festive family chaos, over-the-top decorating, and the idea that love really can outshine everything—especially when there’s a 12-foot-tall light-up Santa involved. 🎄💡❤️