A Christmas in Tennessee (2018)
My plane left Boston more than two hours late, so I’m covering a lot of geography today! This movie took us viewers over to White Pine (White Pines), Tennessee, a real, small town in the Smoky Mountains.
Synopsis: Single mom runs small town bakery with her mother. She’s struggling for cash because she keeps giving pastries away. A company wants to turn the town into a ski resort. Businessman from Miami remembers the meaning of Christmas can only be found in small towns, he’s from Vermont, after all. He and possibly Santa and Mrs. Claus save the day.
Guest stars: I don’t watch a lot of network television, so it may have well-known actors I didn’t recognize, but the mom is Patricia Richardson of Home Improvement fame, and Mrs. Claus is one of the aunts from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. (There’s a Melissa Joan Hart connection to every holiday movie).
Was this filmed in White Pine, Tennessee or anywhere in the Smoky Mountains? I’ve only seen the Smoky Mountains a couple of times in my life, and even I know the mountains seen in this movie are not the gentle Smokies. A Christmas in Tennessee was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Stonewall, Manitoba. CANADA, approximately 1,432 miles from White Pine, Tennessee.
How Tennessee was this movie? A couple of businesses were named Rocky Top and Patricia Richardson sang “A Tender Tennessee Christmas,” which I always thought was written by Alabama. TIL it was penned by Amy Grant. You learn something new every day. This movie had a small town > big city theme running through it, but this movie could have been called A Christmas in Any Small Town.
Who‘s dead in this one? Patricia Richardson’s husband, who built the bakery for her back in the day. I can’t remember if we learn how he died. Also, Miami guy’s former small town love was killed in an accident.
What quaint hobby does the Miami businessman have? We see him whittling something for most of the movie, and it mostly resembles something they wouldn’t be making in a family movie. We learn at the end that he carved a new angel for the manger. He also whipped up a customized chair for the bakery in no time.
Would you buy the product(s) they’re selling? We see the baking process take place and there’s not a hairnet in site. Get the health inspector in there ASAP! So, no.
What are your takeaways from the film? This is another movie that has the main characters generally being nice to each other from the beginning, which I think works much better for the storyline. The lady in A Christmas in Vermont basically told the dude to get f*cked, then said it only took her three seconds to fall in love.
Is the real White Pine super Christmasy? According to Visit Jefferson County, TN, there’s excellent antiquing to be had around the area, and fun shops if you’re trying to shop small. And I love how they dressed up the logo for the holidays.
