Lisa recommended Holiday in Handcuffs to me.  I said, “I need a break from Hallmark Christmas romances.”  She said, “A.C. Slater in handcuffs.”  I said, “I’ll hold onto the key.”

It’s Christmas time but Trudie (Melissa Joan Hart) doesn’t want to go home.  She fears that she’s disappointed her parents (Timothy Bottoms and Markie Post) because she’s only a cook in a diner and she doesn’t have a rich boyfriend.  Then she sees the obviously successful David Martin (Mario Lopez) having lunch at the diner so she decides to kidnap him, take him home for Christmas, and tell everyone that they’re a couple.  That’s a crime, by the way.

I’m almost embarrassed about how much I enjoyed this movie.  I respect the law and I don’t think you should break it, even to get a boyfriend.  You shouldn’t kidnap anyone, especially at Christmas.  Trudie and David won me over, though.  This was made for ABC Family so even though it involves a kidnapping, it’s a very nice kidnapping.  Trudie may have committed a felony and, at first, David isn’t happy about being kidnapped but soon, Trudie and David are falling in love.  David goes from calling the cops to getting down on one knee. June Lockhart plays Trudie’s grandmother and calls the police “pigs.”  That’s the power of Christmas.   It’s a cute movie that features a heroine who does the exact thing that you should not try at home and who gets Mario Lopez as a result.  Maybe it’s just the holiday spirit getting to me but I loved this unhinged Christmas romance.