Hallmark Holiday Movie Pitch 2022

Since I shared my Hallmark holiday movie pitch from this year, I thought it would be fun to post my submission from last year (it did NOT win).

Whole Latte Love

Great career, albeit at the expense of meaningful relationships, check!  Lavishly furnished downtown apartment, although by swindling the less fortunate, check!  Gorgeous fiance, but with a heart even darker than his own, check!  Life had been going according to plan for Mr. Scourge until one fateful Christmas Eve.

Mr. Scourge is a creature of habit and always stops at the same coffee shop, Whole Latte Love, on his way to work.  He always orders a large black coffee with no room for cream or sugar prepared by the same barista.  But on this Christmas Eve, when Mr. Scourge approaches the register to place his familiar order, he notices that the lady behind the counter is new–and there is definitely something different about her.

Instead of simply accepting his order, she offers him an alternative, which he quickly dismisses.  She offers another suggestion, and another, and another, all dismissed by Mr. Scourge as he grows more and more impatient.  Finally raising his voice demanding his regular order, the new barista responds, “it’s your life,” and provides Mr. Scourge his regular order while the rest of the cafe watches in dismay.   

This interaction, outside Mr. Scourge’s regimented routine, starts a ripple effect of events and encounters, ultimately ending with a devastating night before Christmas where he is single, homeless, and unemployed.

Mr. Scourge wakes up the next morning to find that it is not Christmas, but Christmas Eve, again.  Confused and bewildered, he approaches his morning routines with slight apprehension.  Not sure if he is going crazy or if it was all just a dream, Mr. Scourge leaves his apartment.  

When approaching the barista at Whole Latte Love, again, Mr. Scourge orders his usual, to which she responds, “How did that workout for you yesterday?”  With the sudden realization that yesterday was not a dream, and that he is not going insane, Mr. Scourge pulls the barista to the side and bombards her with questions and accusations.

The barista finally gets Mr. Scourge to compose himself.  She takes him back to the register and states, “If you are looking for a different outcome, maybe you should try something new.”  Reluctantly, Mr. Scourge puts in an order for a new drink.  

With a new drink in hand, Mr. Scourge tries to return to his typical routine.  Although he does not experience the same events as his first-lived Christmas Eve, things still play out with dire consequences for his job and love life.

Mr. Scourge proceeds to wake up each morning reliving Christmas Eve.  Still stopping at Whole Latte Love, each interaction with the barista becomes more and more like a therapy session, and each one ends with Mr. Scourge ordering a new drink.  

As Mr. Scourge lives out dozens (maybe hundreds) of Christmas Eves with the help of a potentially magical barista, he re-examines his life choices.  Maybe, just maybe, it’s not too late to “change his order” and have a merry Christmas.