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Holiday in Handcuffs

Holiday in Handcuffs

  • Status: Released
  • 09-12-2007
  • Runtime: 90 min
  • Score: 6.3
  • Vote count: 185

A ne’er-do-well thirty-something attempts to appease her family by kidnapping herself an attractive boyfriend for the family Christmas. Despite unlikely odds and dysfunctional family moments, the two fall in love and share a magical Christmas.

Melissa Joan Hart

Gertrude 'Trudie' Chandler

Mario López

David Martin

Timothy Bottoms

Dad Chandler

Markie Post

Mom Chandler

June Lockhart

Grandma

Kyle Howard

Jake Chandler

Vanessa Evigan

Katie Chandler

Gabrielle Miller

Jessica

Layla Alizada

Lucy

Cedric De Souza

Taj

Marion Eisman

Mrs. Barber

Karen Hines

Maria

Maureen Jones

Barbara

Marty Hanenberg

Mr. Portnoy

Matt Embry

Slick Guy

Andrea D'Amours

Office Worker

Benjamin Ayres

Nick

Stafford Lawrence

Old Man

Greg Lawson

Officer #1

Rod Heatherington

Officer #2

Gerrick Winston

Steve

Nkechi Odina

Clerk

Travis Milne

Ryan

Christian Fraser

Cute Guy in Car

Taison Gelinas

Kid

Raymond Yu

Diner Patron

Faith Louissaint

Diner Patron

Wuchak

***'Misery' if it were a romantic comedy / Christmas movie*** “Holiday in Handcuffs” (2007) stars Melissa Joan Hart as the underachiever of a liberal family in the Seattle area. When her beau breaks up with her right before her family’s Christmas get-together, she kidnaps a man and forces him to go to the rented cabin as her boyfriend (Mario Lopez). The plot takes “Misery” (1990) and “Buffalo '66” (1998) and morphs them into an amusing romcom / Christmas flick. Melissa was pregnant during shooting, but still cute & winsome. Markie Post appears as the mother and it’s nice to see her again. Layla Alizada as the girlfriend is attractive in a semi-exotic way while June Lockhart is hilarious as the grandmother. I realize this is comedic fluff, but the idea of Stockholm syndrome surfaces. This is a psychological response sometimes seen in hostages in which the captive shows signs of loyalty to the kidnapper, regardless of the peril in which the abductee has been placed. I enjoyed the movie, but the first half is funnier than the second half, which understandably takes a more serious romantic turn. The movie is also seriously marred by the blatantly contrived way the script checks all the idiotic PC boxes. Get Real. The film runs 1 hour, 26 minutes and was shot in Calgary, Alberta. GRADE: C