The storyline is fresh and not something banal as you would see in a holiday film. Definitely one of the better holiday telefilms I have watched in 2022 so far! “An En Vogue Christmas” is recommended!
Click here to watch “Ghost of Christmas Past” on Amazon
TITLE: Ghosts of Christmas Past
FILM YEAR: 2021
DURATION: 87 Minutes
COMPANY: Lifetime Television
Directed by Virginia Abramovich
Written by John Hartman, Shannon Latimer
Produced by Adam Gowland
Executive Producer: Tom Berry, Suzanne Chapman, Barbara Fisher, Lexi Lewis
Edited by Ben Lawrence
Production Design by Patric Gauthier
Set Decoration by Richard Brooks-Racicot
Costume Design by Estee Mancini
Starring:
Annie Clark as Ellie Sanders
Dan Jeannotte as Charlie Brenson
Morgan David Jones as Hunter Sanders
Connie Wang as Carolilne Sanders
Brigitte Robinson as Paula Sanders
Andrea Carter as Lanma
Jamaal Grant as Todd
Lynne Griffin as Rhonda
Joey Belifore as Kevin
Ellie (Annie Clark), a serial “ghoster” on dating apps, is told by a fortune teller that she must resolve her past and make amends with all of those she ghosted before Christmas, or she is destined to never find true love!
For day 31, I am checking out the 2021 Lifetime Television holiday telefilm “Ghost of Christmas Past” directed by Virginia Abramovich and a story by actor John Hartman and a script by Shannon Latimer.
The film stars Annie Clark (“Degrassi: The Next Generation”), Dan Jeannotte (“The Bold Type”, “Reign”), Morgan David Jones (“Jupiter’s Legacy”, “Spiral”) and Connie Wang (“Tokens”, “The Boys”, “Odd Squad”).
“Ghosts of Christmas Past” revolves around a game developer Ellie Sanders (portrayed by Annie Clark) who is always busy with work and is not good at dating. In fact, everytime she has an opportunity to date someone, she ends up “Ghosting” them.
At her company’s Christmas party, the company has a fortune teller who Ellie visits and she is told about her habitual ghosting habits.
Wanting to change, she decides that she will try to not ghost men and go out on dates. Meanwhile, at the gaming company she is works for, her co-worker Charlie Brenson (portrayed by Dan Jeannotte) becomes her gaming interface engineer for Christmas game and the two must work closely together.
Will these two co-workers discover that they have an attraction towards each other?
While I do love video games and I enjoy the holiday season, there was a touch of realism that kept gnawing at me thinking “no relationships in the workplace” but of course, “Ghosts of Christmas Past” and most holiday telefilms is not about hardcore realism and romance during the Christmas time defies logic at times and so, you have these two individuals getting closer during the holidays working on a gaming app, while Ellie tries to follow through with these guys she ghosted and change her ways.
I know there are some people who get on their friend’s cases about not being in a relationship but I thought it was weird to see her older brother being the one that was getting on her for “ghosting”. Usually, in a holiday film, it’s one of the friends or even a mother, not an older brother, so that was interesting to see.
I do like the overall production design with the Christmas setting. I noticed a few holiday telefilms in the past two years (possibly due to the pandemic) feeling they were lacking some Christmas spirit, as a few films and their production design looked as if they had a lower production budget. So, it’s good to see that this film really showcased that Christmas setting!
But for the most part, I found “Ghosts of Christmas Past” to be a nice diversion but the storyline not as stronger as other holiday telefilms. But for the most part, it’s OK.
