Russ and I watched “Rescuing Christmas,” a Hallmark movie this weekend that is set in my home of Duluth, Minnesota. The movie is available on the Hallmark Movie Now Channel. If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you can get a week-long free trial membership, which we opted for to view this movie.

I know, I’m so cheap!

Hallmark shot another Christmas movie in my fair town last year. It was called “Merry Kiss Cam” and dealt with a Christmas romance between a bar owner and an artistic painter. I don’t recall that “Merry Kiss Cam” ever specifically mentioned the setting was Duluth, but that was refreshingly clear in “Rescuing Christmas.” This was one reason I liked it better.

I also liked it better because it didn’t try to make Duluth look like something it’s not. There were plenty of local landmarks included in the shots, from OMC Smokehouse (a restaurant whose name stands for oink, moo, cluck – very meat-centric, but vegetarians can find something to eat there, too), and other Lincoln Park businesses including the Dovetail Café and Frost River, which is an outdoor clothing and equipment store. Those familiar with Duluth will also recognize the Aerial Lift Bridge, Bayfront Festival Park, the train Depot, and one of the red brick mansions that are frequent sights in the eastern part of town.

The movie follows several days in the life of Erin, a talented photographer whose Christmas spirit has been ruined by a past breakup. She’s granted three Christmas wishes, her final wish being that Christmas would just disappear. To her bewilderment, it does! Can Sam, her potential (and rather generic-looking) suitor who is a wood-carving lawyer, help her bring back Christmas to the world?

Other things I liked about the movie are that it wasn’t too smarmy and that it attempted a bit of diversity. Get this, there was a Black Santa. Plus, a Black Santa overlord, who had Star Trek tendencies. She was rather like a combination of Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura. Good for Hallmark to at least try for some diversity.

Yet another thing I liked about this movie is that an ornament similar to one we happen to have on our own Christmas tree plays a pivotal role! The ornament is a birch tree slice that features a painting by Kate Kebbekus, a local artist. It depicts a grove of white birch trees with a red heart etched into one of them. (What the movie doesn’t show you is that there’s another painting on the back that features a red Christmas ornament.)

I bought the ornament at a local Christmas fair a couple of years ago. I could not believe it when a similar ornament showed up in the movie! Sam gives the ornament as a present to Erin when they celebrate their first Christmas together. Sam said that the ornament was one his family used to hang, and it was his favorite. Erin reacts favorably, giving him a big smooch in front of all their relatives and friends.

It’s a Hallmark movie, so, of course, everything ends happily for all.

If you’re a “Marie’s Meanderings” devotee, you may remember that I created my own Hallmark Movie Drinking Game during the pandemic. The rules involve imbibing varying amounts of alcohol depending on what formulaic scenes occur in the movie.

In the case of “Rescuing Christmas,” there are not as many formulaic scenes as usual, but there are a few. The Christmas kiss between the main characters is the biggest one. According to my game, that is on the highest level and involves a whole shot of liquor.

Lessor imbibing results from the scenes where “a cynic is filled with the Christmas spirit” and “a Christmas-themed food is mentioned.” In this movie, the food are pizzelles, or Italian cookies. In my game, these require finishing your drink.

One sip is required whenever the town mayor appears, hot chocolate is on screen (lots of those scenes are in this movie, usually with a peppermint stick), mistletoe makes an appearance, and a character makes a deal with Santa or one of his minions.

Russ and I did not play the drinking game during this movie, but if you do, there’s probably enough for a proper buzz.

Even if you don’t play the drinking game, the movie could help you get into the Christmas spirit. We watched it after a day of decorating amidst a gentle snowfall that provided the required ambiance but did not amount to enough to shovel. Now that’s something everyone can get behind.

Happy Holidays, everyone!