Here’s a new series I’ll be updating whenever I see a Hallmark movie that gives me something to say.

Some people don’t understand my obsession with Hallmark. TV movies are a goldmine for societal anxiety, and everyone within the sound of my voice needs to know. Scroll to read or click to listen.

Let’s talk about the new Hallmark Christmas movie, Forgotten Holiday.

This one surprised me. It’s a movie about a man who gets amnesia after proposing to his girlfriend and can’t remember the year that they’ve been dating.

The doctor says that she’s got to recreate some of their dates in order for him to get his memory back. So it’s not really magical or fantastical, unless it is, and that doesn’t track with how people’s brains work and amnesia works.

Amnesia is one of those things, because I grew up in the 80s watching soap operas, that I thought was more common than it is. It actually indicates, say, traumatic brain injury, and this character, Rob, doesn’t act like he has a traumatic brain injury other than that.

Before the amnesia, he was faking how much he loved Christmas and how perfect he wanted everything to be with him and his girlfriend, Kathryn. And after the knock on the head, he becomes more cynical in a normal sort of way. He would rather go for a hot dog than out to a fancy meal. That kind of thing.

I thought, actually, through the process of watching this, that I wasn’t gonna like the movie, but at the end it came out that I really liked it because of two things.

First of all, Kathryn comes from a family where the father has been divorced and remarried several times, and so has her mother, who we don’t see on screen. Her father now has a girlfriend, and it’s not going well. And that’s not something that you see in a lot of Hallmark movies, but that’s something that you see in a lot of people’s lives: that people are messy, and they have a long string of relationships.

And Kathryn was briefly married in college, which isn’t something you see with a lot of these characters who seem to start their lives at 35 or 40 or however old most of these people are.

And the other thing is that I thought that Rob was going to be unforgiving of Kathryn for the misunderstanding, but he actually realizes that he’s been wrong for pressuring her, but not in a cliched sort of way.

And there’s something I’ve noticed with a couple of the new Hallmark movies this fall and winter, that the writing is sort of getting better in that there’s not just one fight and breakup. They’re having more than one.

And I’m not saying the writing is great in these movies by any means. The dialogue suffers at times, but I think they’re going through some growing pains there, having people have more than one fight or misunderstanding, because that’s very realistic.

And this movie was awkward. A lot of modern movies tend to be awkward, too awkward, in terms of the way that the relationship goes. But this one was not too awkward. It did not make me too uncomfortable and have to turn it off.

And again, life is awkward, and it’s getting more so, especially as people communicate a lot in text and not face-to-face. We’ve known this for years, but nothing is happening to solve it. And will it be a romantic movie from Hallmark that solves it? No.

Is this a classic? Probably not. But I don’t know, it got to me in my feelings, thinking about being authentic with each other is something that I struggle with sometimes, even after being married for 20 years.

So Forgotten Holiday, I only chose it because it had a silly poster of Daniel Lissing’s giant head that was partly transparent, like one of those 70s double exposure shots from TV. But I got something that I really was compelled to finish, even when it made me feel uncomfortable, much like the thing that the actors, the characters, were going through.

And the last thing: this is listed as a romantic comedy, but it’s not. It’s a drama, and that’s what I want to see more of on Hallmark.

So they could improve some things. Everyone is so incredibly financially privileged in these movies, unless they’re poor to make a point. So I’d like to see more movies about middle-class or working-class people.

Everyone can’t necessarily go to an auction and outbid someone as their grand gesture, but it’s a Christmas movie. It’s a fantasy, and I enjoyed seeing the shots of New York City at Christmas, lit up at night. I’m sure the rest of it was shot in Canada, but they did make use of some locations, and that’s nice to see because I wouldn’t want to travel to New York at Christmas, but I like seeing it on film.

So Forgotten Holiday, Janel Parrish and Daniel Lissing. He’s very charming, and so is she. And she seems to be making a niche for herself in playing someone that has a quirky shop or does antiques, and those plots are always welcome.

At one time in my life, I was friends with an antique dealer, and met a lot of their friends who were antique dealers. A bunch of very interesting people.

So I’m glad that Hallmark has chosen to make that a central part of their plots.

And that’s all I have to say about Forgotten Holiday. Make sure that you’re honest with other people from the get-go, and also honest with yourself.

And have a merry Hallmark movie season. Bye-bye.