Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday (2021 TV Movie) User Reviews

structure leads to messiness

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 12 December 2021]

Jennifer (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and Meg Swift (Ashley Williams) are sisters and best of friends. Jennifer runs a restaurant which got a coveted spot in a contest. She comes home for Christmas and grows concerned over the sale of their beloved late uncle's theater.

I've always loved the Williams sisters. They are great at being positive which plays well against some comedians. They have been great partners to many TV male comedians. It's rare that they do stuff together. That's the intriguing twist to this Hallmark partnership. Their real-life sisterhood makes it easy for them translate it into on-screen chemistry. The problem is that the structure of the premise leaves them mostly in separate movies. It loses the power of that something new. The constant dive into the off-screen other movie just cuts down the time for their own story. It doesn't really matter anyways because the story isn't that worthwhile. Hallmark should just put the two sisters in the same movie and leave them together. They could solve murders if they want. They would probably do it with big goofy smiles.

"It's ridiculous, and perfect"

[Jackbv123 · 7/10 · 13 December 2021]

My title is a quote from the character Simon about a bow tie. If you stretch your imagination a bit, you could think of these two movies that way. I'm a fan of Ashley Williams so I was ready to enjoy the pair of movies no matter what.

The hook in this movie is the multiple relationships. The story is nothing great. Have to sell our family ________ (movie theatre). The lead couple are working together to repair it. The premise is especially a bit of a stretch which is where "ridiculous" comes in. In this movie, the family relationships are just as significant as any romance. The sisters (real life sisters) love each other and it shows. Jennifer's son, Simon, forms a kind of fraternal bond with Eric's much younger daughter. Plus Meg and Jennifer's parents. There is a romance story, but it has to share the spotlight with all the other things.

I would think the story encompassing both movies could have been squeezed into one movie. As it is, the sister movie (yes it's a pun) steals several scenes from this one while a few of the same events are shot from different perspectives and maybe changed slightly. The stories run parallel and the other movie continues a little past the ending of this one. But combining the two into one who have squeezed everything a bit too much.

There's a lot of fun and energy in both movies. It's strange, but I don't think the two movies should be separated, but it also creates some confusion a little like mental whiplash. Also, while this movie is broader than a simple romance, the second movie is a little more focused on the corresponding romance.

I liked both movies, but not as much as I anticipated. I got the fun and energy I expected, but as another reviewer said, it's kind of all over the place. The two movies together use a lot of the common tropes which are overused this time of year. On the other hand, the parallel stories and how they are combined give a different feel to it. When it comes down to it, I think each person's enjoyment will be influenced by their predisposition to the two main actresses.

a lot of chaos

[taylornan0909 · 5/10 · 6 December 2021]

I am a fan of the Williams Sisters and Mark Deklin. I watched this movie but I really don't know what it was about. I could not figure out any story line and it seemed like people and the story line was all over the place. I am hoping the sequel next week will be better.

Sister Act

[rebekahrox · 7/10 · 6 December 2021]

This is the first of a two-parter which will conclude next Sunday with Sister Swap: Christmas in the City. Presumably we will be treated to the antics of Ashley Williams who was running her sister Kimberley's restaurant while Kimberley was having her own adventure in their hometown. It was a good idea to have the real-life sisters in the same movie as they are both very popular. They were both a little frantic and over-caffeinated in this, but at least Ashley, whose smiley perkiness is almost legendary, was off-stage through much of the story.

Kimberley, a widow and busy restaurateur with a teenage son returns to her hometown for Christmas for a short visit. The family movie theatre is being sold, and she gets involved with providing one last movie night for her family which turns out to be for the whole town. I won't go into it much, but I was initially very confused over who dead Uncle Dave was, who her parents were, was the guy in the wheelchair her father or her grandfather, Was Uncle Dave the husband of the older lady, who were Nan and Pop, etc. This was probably my fault for not paying better attention at the beginning? I did get it straight pretty quickly, but it was a distraction.

I thought this one was pretty decent with a plot that seemed to hang together pretty well, with a believable solution to the problem of saving the vintage theatre from modern renovation or worse. The resolution will provide a reasonable foundation for the story to move forward in part 2, unless part 2 will be solely contemporaneous with part 1. I appreciated that the corporate overlords were not portrayed as evil or unreasonable, and the sisters did not overdo the sacrifice the future to "save the past at all costs" mentality that is so prevalent in these things. I have always liked Kimberley Williams and the romance with her old school friend provided the main appeal for me. This was largely due to the actor who played him. He was very attractive and charismatic, I thought. He reminded me of the old time movie star, Richard Egan. I also appreciated the character of her teenaged son as well as the actor who played him. He provided some calm balance and sense.

I don't have as high hopes for the sequel because Ashley Williams, although once a favorite, has worn out her welcome with me over the years. The second part with her taking the lead, may be a little too much for me to take. Stay tuned.

Wait, is that Kevin Nealon?

[Racingphan2 · 6/10 · 12 December 2021]

Okay, so Kevin Nealon is now stooping to Hallmark movies for a paycheck?

I love Ashley Williams, but she's overshadowed by her manic sister Kimberly in this effort. Take it down a notch Kim, you're overacting by a lot!

Poor Mark Deklin is stuck as her love interest.

Hopefully the second movie in this series is better.

Lots of potential

[innerlooper96 · 7/10 · 17 December 2021]

I loved the chemistry between the two real-life sisters, Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. I had no idea that they were sisters, but I also am not typically a year-round Hallmark movie person. Christmas is the thing for me!

These movies are not meant to have massive plot-twists, nor are they rivals for the complexities of say, 'Inception', but I'm realizing how a shortcoming of development can really set movies back. (Novice movie critic here.) I don't think there is enough character development, and there is something missing in terms of relationships. Why was Dave so missed by his sister, which is an atypical 'trope'- usually movies are focused on main relationships, because they tend to reflect real-life. Siblings are always important, but there is not a connection that helps the audience understand why his passing was so devastating for his sister (the Mom).

Likewise, why don't we hear more about the loss of Jennifer's husband?

And also: why did they swap cities...what made that something that was helpful to the end goal of the plot?

And as far as grief is concerned, it seems that Meg (the younger sis who typically lives in the small town, Hazelwood) is in a phase of 'healing from grief'. Is this from her uncle passing, or...something else? If that was addressed, I missed it.

These are the questions that still remain unanswered.

I agree with the other reviewer that Jacob Buster is a star- he is so incredibly impressive, and resonates as an atypically sweet/sensitive teen. I hope that he continues his career, because he has the same charm and charisma as someone like Freddie Highmore, etc.

7 stars for beautiful scenery, natural chemistry between the two leads, and Jacob's efforts.

3 stars missing for lack of plot development, character definition/relationships, and some unanswered questions in general.

Not very good, I'm afraid...

[toddsgraham · 4/10 · 24 December 2021]

'Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday' is the first of a two-part Christmas movie. The twist is that the two storylines run parallel, each from the perspective of one of the two sisters, who are our protagonists in the two films. Adding to this, the two sisters are played by the William sisters (i.e., real-life sisters). So, it's a great concept, what could go wrong? Although there is plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer in this first installment of 'Sister Swap' (there is a lot of energy in this one as well), the story itself, I'm afraid, is not very good and the acting is mixed. In 'A Hometown Holiday', the story revolves around Jennifer (played by Kimberly Williams-Paisley), a successful restaurant owner in Salt Lake City who lives with her teenage son Simon (played by Jacob Buster). Her sister, Meg (played by Ashley Williams), lives in their hometown of Hazelwood where she helps run the family bakery. This Christmas Jennifer and her son head home to spend Christmas with the family, while Meg heads to Salt Lake City to help out at her sister's restaurant. Jennifer soon learns that her mother wants to sell their late Uncle Dave's movie theatre (who recently passed away, played by Kevin Nealon). And so, our story begins as we watch Jennifer and her son (re)connect with their past through their Uncle's beloved movie theatre, and maybe, just maybe, they can have one final movie night for the community during Christmas. As other reviewers have pointed out, there are several issues with the story. The writers do a terrible job of setting the scene when it comes to who the (supporting) characters are in the story. I am referring to Luke (played by Jim Byrnes) and Uncle Dave. Though minor, it is unnecessarily annoying. The story itself lacks focus, often drifting in and out of scenes, some of which become clearer in the second film. The writers could have done a better job of integrating these parallel stories in a more coherent narrative here in the first movie (to avoid such pitfalls). That said, the writers do a decent job of conveying the closeness, the friendship, the love the two sisters have for each other. But, again, some of this gets lost in this first movie, as you only get part of the story. It is not until the second movie that you start putting it all together. The acting is a bit of a let-down. I am sorry to say, but Williams-Paisley's performance is not very good or convincing. As others have pointed out, there is too much overacting in her performance that doesn't come across well on-screen. I found myself struggling to engage with her performance throughout the movie. Simply put: it turned me off. Though the romance in this one is not central to the story, as is the case in the second film, it still isn't very good. There is no real chemistry between Jennifer and Eric on-screen. I feel sorry for Mark Deklin (playing Eric). Leaving aside the chemistry, he has a strong performance. The rest of the cast is pretty good, especially Buster, who has a lovely performance as the son. All in all, although a fresh concept, this first installment of 'Sister Swap' is a disappointment, I'm afraid.

Double fun!

[tracyhaunjones · 8/10 · 13 December 2021]

I really enjoyed both of the Sister Swap movies -- I will say that this first one is more enjoyable when you've seen the second one. If Hallmark does this next year, I hope they show them on one night. The Williams sisters are so much fun and so charming -- yes, they are a little buzzed up on sugar and cocoa, but tis the season! I also LOVED the kids in this movie, both very calm and natural. There is also an interesting if brief subplot about food banking and food insecurity. Bonus points for the diverse cast, and great parts for Kevin Nealon, Jim Byrnes, and soap star Anna Holbrook.

Less objectionable than Christmas in the city.

[cgvsluis · 7/10 · 3 January 2022]

This movie seemed to gel a lot better than Sister Swap: Christmas in the City. Maybe I watched them out of order, but this storyline made more sense. The real-life sisters were more natural together, there was less of the social agenda and more attention to the story.

Their favorite uncle and owner of the local family theatre, Dave, has passed away and this will be the first Christmas without him. The sisters' parents have decided to sell the theater and Jennifer Swift (Meg Swift's sister) convinces local handyman and town council member Eric to help her do one last Christmas at The Madison...for just the family, but then the whole town gets invited. The two single parents (and former high school debate nemesis) bond over fixing up the theater. Lots of family and town Christmas memories.

"The Madison is famously romantic."-Pops.

"What, do you just walk through town with a later?"-Jennifer.

"You know I meet the best people that way."-Eric.

Squeak Overload

[vintagegeek · 4/10 · 12 December 2021]

We love these two actresses. But they never stopped talking. The rest of the characters never got a word in edgewise. And the girls voices were like listening to a squeaky record. There was no balance between male and female voices. We gave it 30 minutes and just couldn't take listening to those voices another second.

Really Really Good!

[robby77777 · 10/10 · 6 December 2021]

This one worked on every level and Kimberly was incredible. Two hours of total entertainment. I loved this move. Maybe the best Hallmark movie this year.

Usual dead-end dialogue

[MickyG333 · 7/10 · 19 November 2023]

6.6 stars.

What is the deal with these Hallmark movies and the endless drivel dialogue. It's a psychobabble situation, two sisters talking about nothing. There is no substance, no drama, just a story about extended family hanging out over the holidays. So they try to fix up an old movie theater owned by the family in order to surprise people, but they hit some road blocks. There is such a lack of fun with the whole ordeal. I don't know, maybe not in the mood for this fluff the last few days.

The minor side plot is the other sister stays in Salt Lake. I can see that the point of these two films is to focus on one sister at a time. This one focuses on the sister with a son and she owns a restaurant in Salt Lake City. She goes home to hang out with her folks for Christmas, visit memory lane, maybe take another chance with love and, like I said, endless conversation about memories while walking around town, fixing a building, and decorating the tree.

Finally we get to the movie theater, will the fat cat movie chain owner buy it, or can they sell to someone who wishes to preserve it as it was? This theme has been played out a million times, whether it's about the rich uncaring developer buying a restaurant, bakery, lodge, hotel, you name it, this time it's a theater. Only so many ways to skin a cat. Hallmark cranks out a hundred movies a year and evidently we the audience will continue to feed the Hallmark holiday beast. I enjoy the sappy stuff, but I wish they would stop creating repetitive movies with no substance.

what a mess

[montgomerysue · 3/10 · 6 December 2021]

I agree with reviewer Taylornan.

Hallmark took a couple of normally very good actresses (Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Ashley Williams) and stuck them with this script that is confusing, meandering, and sometimes incoherent. To compensate for these problems, the two actresses ham it up so much that they come across as almost maniacal. And who cares ? Just show the movie at the parents' theater before they sell it and get it over with. Talk about much ado about nothing ! The only performer who comes away with his reputation intact is Jacob Buster, who was so good in "Christmas Wonderland" and some other Hallmark features. Here, he is quite good as Kimberly's son and rises above the hackneyed material. Otherwise, a waste of time from beginning to end. Hopefully, these two good actresses will recover from this disappointment. I guess next week's sequel will tell us - but really ? Talk about a movie that doesn't deserve a sequel.

Great Concept For Two-Movie Story, But Not the best Christmas Movie

[Rayvyn · 6/10 · 31 December 2023]

When I saw the listing for Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday and it's counterpart Sister Swap: Christmas In The City I noticed they came out in the same month and wondered why so close.

They are actually the same movie taken from two different perspectives. I was confused about the viewing order until I figured this out. SS: AHH is centered on the small town and one sister finding someone and SS: CITC is centered on Salt Lake City and that sister finding a man.

SS:AHH looks like a Christmas movie, it has all the colors and the lights. The production values are fine. Everything looks good.

The acting is fine but the plot is predictable and so is the ending. But there are enough little twists that make things the kept me interested.

The good things that make it worth seeing is relationships to the sister's uncle played by Keven Nealon and his relationship to each of the sisters.

All in all SS:AHH is worth seeing along with it's sister movie SS:CITC.

Strange use of real sisters

[grablelisa · 5/10 · 11 December 2021]

I was a whole hour in before I figured out who Dave was and the man in the wheelchair. And I watch Hallmark movies every day! I think the writers wasted the two Williams sisters. Did they not want to act together? The son was very good in this one. Unbelievable that the city sister would leave her big restaurant competition to her sister!

Pretty Good

[mjpatterson-20085 · 8/10 · 16 December 2021]

Really like both the Williams sisters. This movie was fairly entertaining with a wholesome theme, in the whole. Scenery was nice, but definitely not Utah. Overall pleasurable movie.

Lore or boredom?

[gfrasmd · 3/10 · 9 December 2021]

Two sisters swapping life should create intriguing situations for a movie yarn. Think how great it would be if, instead of the same actress doubling in the roles, the movie cast two actual sisters , both renowned actresses on their own merits! Double the flavor, double the fun! So, Hallmark picks Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley for a project with so much potential it is worth two full movies. Watching "A Hometown Holiday" I realize that the sister swap is unessential in the story. The city girl decides to return to the hometown for Christmas, while the hometown girl spends it in her city. The first movie tells us about the time the older sister has in the hometown and I suspect the second one will tell the story of the younger one in the city. The only connection is that, here and there one calls the other one on the phone for updates, with the result of further diluting and confusing the action. The first installment wanders, almost aimlessly, like an episode of a vapid soap opera. At about half time, it felt so uninteresting that I could not take it to the end. Now comes my dilemma. Should I dare to watch the next one, coming next week? Ashley Williams is one of my favorites. Should I let watching her in a likely insipid sequel spoil my fondness for her? I think I'll skip it. There was a time I longed to see the next Hallmark production.

ENJOYED at our house!!

[jmwolken · 10/10 · 16 December 2021]

This movie is absolutely delightful!! I did not realize these gals were real-life sisters. We were entertained completely the following weekend when we saw the interconnected sequel to this fun movie. I hope everybody enjoys these movies as much as we did.

This is a fraud

[me-05501 · 2/10 · 20 December 2021]

Expected to see a true sister swap. Got really frustrated. 90 minutes before the unexpected happy end.

I would have liked to see these two sisters share more than smiles. Don't watch it.

Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday

[JoBloTheMovieCritic · 5/10 · 26 December 2021]

5/10 - contrary to the average IMDb score, I actually liked this movie's companion (A Christmas in the City) a bit more and felt like this one was frankly a little superfluous.

More please

[Loribinoc-16-335478 · 8/10 · 13 December 2021]

Loved these sisters together. My sister and I are 7 years apart as well and we watched these together. This was the better movie of the two but I think it's because that's where I am in life. Married with a family and my parents are gone so the storyline with the uncle being missed hit a note. I'd definitely watch more of these movies. The cast felt like they were a family and the movie was just so sincere.

Why?

[bellsauf-57493 · 2/10 · 22 December 2021]

I have no idea why anyone gives this a high rating. No plausible storyline, Meg was annoying, no chemistry between the leads and the whole side story with the theatre was sloppily handled. Just a lot of saccharine with Xmas backdrop. Hard pass.

Loved this Movie

[rosierose71 · 10/10 · 11 December 2021]

This movie was well done its always fun when Hallmark films in Salt lake I was looking forward to this Movie all week these two real life sisters always have a lot of energy I loved the story line I thought it was a feel good story and heart felt and I'm really glad they Mentioned Salt Lake in this movie and they didn't say it was somewhere else can't wait to watch the Second part .

Messy

[jakethesnake-42007 · 4/10 · 11 December 2021]

Ugh hallmark what did you do. Again hallmark screwed up a good idea. The plot idea was good but it was done all wrong and boy was it bad. Why do successful women that have great jobs give it up for the man in the end or question where they are it's life ugh. The acting is good but the plot is long boring and done bad.

Sister Swap 1

[haa4 · 5/10 · 31 December 2022]

This was on my Watchlist last year but never got to it. I liked the idea of this but the execution of parallel stories across 2 movies didn't quite work. I'm not sure if it was the focus on telling parallel stories or the fact that there were 4 scriptwriters but this was an uneven mess.

This movie focuses on Kimberly Williams' side of the story. She's a widow with a teenage son who leaves her busy restaurant to go home for the holidays for 2 weeks. There she decides to throw one more movie night at the family theater which is about to get sold to a chain. She also reconnects with an old friend played by Mark Deklin. He also seems to be widowed and has a young daughter. He ends up helping restore the theater for movie night and of course he and daughter bond with Kimberly Williams and son.

The chemistry between Kimberly and Mark was fine. The issue is the writers are trying to do so much that they don't develop the love story well. Not a single bonding moment between the parent and the SO's child. We see the kids bonding several times but never with the SO. That's important in stories like this in order for them to be believable. It should be noted that this aired in the same year that Hallmark inexplicably destroyed a potential blended family on one of their series. So this did not sit well with me.

The save the theater story was fine and I liked seeing the sisters bond. But there was a really strong dependence on the uncle's death driving story and we never quite understand why he's so important to this family. Lots of plot holes.

Given that Kimberly and Ashley are both great at comedy, I'm surprised that this series was more of a drama. And not a very well done one at that.