Smallscreen Reviews
Review: ‘Holiday in Handcuffs,’ absurdly serendipitous Stockholm syndrome
By April MacIntyre
Dec 5, 2007, 3:10 GMT

Melissa Joan Hart, Markie Post and June Lockhart star in “Holiday In Handcuffs”, during the ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas celebration.

The movie premieres Sunday, December 9, at 8-10 PM ET on ABC Family.

“Holiday in Handcuffs” is part coming of age, part acceptance, and part off-kilter kooky tale of a kidnapping with the best of intentions.

Trudie comes from a type A high-strung WASP family, and her parents have expectations. 

When her snobby, cruel and completely inappropriate boyfriend dumps her prior to the big reveal at Mom and Dads holiday homecoming, Trudie goes into a classic family sit-com style abyss and goes to plan B: Kidnap unsuspecting cute guy at her miserable diner job.

Her failure to bring the intended trophy boyfriend home is the catalyst behind Trudie’s mini breakdown, making her kidnap (at gunpoint!) her victim: Handsome David Martin, the “perfect” boyfriend to fit the immediate bill demonstrating to her parents she’s just as accomplished as her older siblings.

The pace of the film matches the whirring turbines in frenetic mind of artistic Trudie, at age 27 she’s not quite cutting the mustard in the growth chart that her siblings seem on surface to be acing.

The surprise for me while watching “Handcuffs” was discovering what a really good actor “Dancing with the Stars” Mario Lopez is.

Sis is a perky Pilates pre law picture of perfection and brother is on surface a fey and fit fellow, until he lowers the boom later in the film in a predictable twist.

Mom, played by Markie Post, needs to drink the spiked Egg Nog she is whipping up, pronto.  Her high strung ways make everyone around cuckoo.

Grandma is an ex Broadway star and a great beauty during her years past, her vanity still intact.  Now the great June Lockhart is Norma Desmond-ing it up and playing the boozy sassy Nana to the hilt.

Dad (Tim Bottoms) is played as a befuddled and obtuse soul caught in the estrogen filled tidal wave of his dominate wife. 

Despite being held at gunpoint, whisked to strangers on Christmas of all times, and denied any phone or access to escape, David begins to fall for Trudie.  He’s a very forgiving guy, anyone else I think would have gone for the Henckels knives and forcibly made off with the family car.  Not so in hairbrained scheme-rich family TV land.

The movie is perfect for teens and dopey romantics, but anyone looking for a real Christmas movie may do best to stick with some tried and true classics.