Three Wiser Men and a Boy (2024)
The Curse of the Sequel
Following 2022’s Three Wise Men and a Baby was never going to be easy. That one earned a solid 8/10 and was a bonafide hit, setting viewing records when it aired and surpassing expectations of a “Hallmark movie.” The follow-up… meh… not so much.
The sequel picks up about 4 years later, with the 3 brothers in roughly the same positions as they were in the first movie - a Fire Chief (Walker), author with a girlfriend desperate for a proposal (Campbell), and a struggling game designer newly evicted at Christmas (Hynes). An ill-fated attempt to support the boy, Thomas, in his school Christmas pageant results in abject chaos and the brothers required to fill the gap left by a departed teacher. Compounding their need to support their son & nephew, these three grown men are struggling with the knowledge that their mother has started dating and is now in a serious relationship with a local pastor and all-round good guy who they can’t help but despise.
A handful of standard Christmas movie tropes play out - the pageant, building gingerbread houses, and they still live in the Christmassy-named town of Spruce Grove (nope, not the real one… though wouldn’t have that been a good opportunity). But despite the kitschy candy cane striped spandex outfits, this movie was missing some of the pizzaz that allowed the first entry to take off as it did.
Serviceable, with decent pacing - a testament to the work of seasoned pros and co-writers, Paul Campbell, Kimberly Sustad, and Russell Hainline (Hot Frosty!). Lacking some of the cringe factor from other Hallmark movies, this is definitely on the better side, but the winky “it’s hard to follow up a hit with another hit,” most definitely rang true in this case.
On a (hopefully) positive note - in the grand tradition of hit movies, this one is destined to be a trilogy, with the third installment planned for 2025’s Countdown to Christmas. Here’s hoping that #3 is our Empire Strikes Back, and not another Phantom Menace.
You’ll like this if…
You appreciate the efforts of seasoned Hallstars who genuinely look like they’re enjoying themselves.
