A holiday triple threat
MELISSA JOAN HART PRODUCES, DIRECTS AND STARS IN THREE NEW LIFETIME FILMS
Melissa Joan Hart may have found herself wearing a pointy black hat on occasion for her role on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” But in real life, one hat would never be enough for this talented actor. That’s because Hart, who starred in the popular sitcom from 1996 to 2003, is not just an actor. A married mother of three, she’s also a director and producer with her own production company, Hartbreak Films. The longtime Westport resident is involved in many projects, including a trio of new holiday movies airing this month on TV’s Lifetime channel.
“Feliz NaviDAD,” which stars Mario Lopez as a single dad, premiered Nov. 21; Hart wore her director’s hat for that one. “Dear Christmas,” in which she stars, airs Friday, Nov. 27, at 8 p. m. And “People Presents: Once Upon a Main
Street,” which she produced, airs Sunday, Nov. 29, at 8 p. m.
All of them were filmed in Nevada. ( She and her family moved to their Lake Tahoe chalet last year, and have a third home in Los Angeles, according to architecturaldigest. com. Hart told the magazine they use them all, depending on where she needs to be for work.)
Hartbreak Films had a hand in all three films. Although Hart was unavailable for an interview, we can tell you she’s “always been really into the holidays,” according to westportmoms. com. No surprise, “The Elf on a Shelf” was spotted in her Westport home in previous years.
The actress is also no stranger to holiday films; she starred in “Holiday in Handcuffs” in 2007 and “A Very Merry Toy Store” in 2017 with Lopez. She also starred in “The Santa Con” in 2014 and “A Very Nutty Christmas” in 2018 with Barry Watson, as well as “Broadcasting Christmas” in 2016 and “Christmas Reservations” in 2019. In addition to her holiday flicks, Hart recently starred in Netflix’s family comedy “No Good Nick,” opposite Sean Astin.
We also found out some details about the story lines and stars of these new films, courtesy of aenetworks. com. ( Lifetime is a subsidiary of A+ E Networks.)
“Feliz NaviDAD,” the one she directed, stars Lopez as David Morales, an Arizona high school principal who’s lost the holiday spirit after losing his wife a few years prior during the Christmas season. He’ll do anything to avoid Christmas, so he moonlights as a delivery driver during the holidays.
“This year his 14- year- old daughter, Noel ( Paulina Chavez), and his live- in sister, Marissa ( Marycarmen Lopez), are determined to bring the yuletide spirit back to the family and, with a little luck, also help David find love again via online dating,” says aenetworks. com. “So when Sophie ( AnnaLynne McCord), a witty musician and customer on David’s delivery route, swipes right on him, something magical happens between them.”
Natalie Morgan is the character Hart plays in “Dear Christmas,” the movie she stars in Friday, Nov. 27. Natalie is the host of a popular podcast, “Holiday Love,” which shares true stories of holiday romance with its listeners.
The outside world sees Natalie as an expert on romance, but the truth is that she’s never actually had a romance of her own. “As Natalie prepares to embark on a promotional tour for her new book, she stops back home to spend Christmas with her family, where she unexpectedly begins to experience her own holiday romance as sparks ignite with local firefighter, Jack ( Jason Priestley),” aenetworks. com says.
“Dear Christmas” also stars Robin Givens, Ed Begley Jr., Faith Prince and Nicky Whelan, and includes cameos by Jamie and
Doug Hehner (“Married at First Sight: Couples Cam”) and Hilarie Burton and Antwon Tanner (“One Tree Hill”).
“People Presents: Once Upon a Main Street,” which Hart produced, stars Vanessa Lachey as Amelia Lewis, a woman who is super excited about her plan to open a year- round Christmas shop in a vacant storefront she’s found.
Her celebration comes to a halt when she discovers Vic Manning ( Ryan McPartlin) has also bid on the property. “Amelia and Vic have the same idea, get to the seller — Elder Dubois ( Patrick Duffy) in the next town — and convince him to sell his space to them.”
The thing is, Elder is down in the dumps. “It’s the first Christmas without his wife, and he’s in no mood to chair the decoration committee for the ‘ Battle of the Main Street’ yearly holiday competition with the neighboring town. Hoping to win favor with Elder, Amelia and Vic volunteer to take over his duties.”
After bickering and trying to one- up each other, the two learn to work together and even get the merchants on Main Street to put aside their differences for the greater good. Everyone realizes compromise is the key to a happy ending.
There’s a romantic surprise, too. But if you’ve ever watched a holiday movie on Lifetime, you probably knew that.