Being a Chicago Bears fan and being a fan of Hallmark Christmas movies have the same thing: predictability. For most of my life, I knew bears would give me little moments of joy, but eventually, it would end in disappointment.
With Hallmark movies, I know what I’m getting before the movie starts: a beautiful holiday tableau, cute people who seem like they don’t work but are passionate about their jobs, and a love story that gets a little messy around the hour and forty minute mark but is resolved by the end. A fairly chaste kiss follows the solution.
When Hallmark decided to make their third NFL movie in Chicago, I was really excited. The first two films in this series, shining a light on the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, were great at showing what’s fun and unique about the teams’ fanbases.
However, Hollywood doesn’t always do a good job portraying Chicago, so since I was born I’ve been worried about what my fans would say about “Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story.” The film premiered Saturday night on Hallmark. (If you missed it, don’t worry. Hallmark reruns their movies again and again this season.)
The film is based on Chicago firefighter Matt. Matt’s grandmother, Darlene, is a die-hard Bears fan about to attend her 500th game, and Avery is hired by the Chicago Herald to do a story on her. Darlene Avery shows off her world and does an incredible job as a matchmaker. Surprise, Surprise: Matt and Avery fall in love. It was a solid B+ for how it handled the bear fandom.
What Hallmar got right about Bears fans
Being a Bears fan is all about hope and perseverance.
At the beginning of the movie, Avery asks Darlene, “Why bears?” he asked him. Darlene gives a well-thought-out answer to how the Bears teach fans hope and perseverance. I was in the first grade when the Bears won the Super Bowl. Since then, I’ve had a lot of fun being a Bears fan, especially watching games with the family. But I’ve also had years of heartache and disappointment, especially in the last quarter of finding hope. However, I never considered not being a Bears fan. I can’t even imagine how someone could do that. Unfortunately, Darlene was right. Being a Bears fan has taught me more about hope and perseverance than accepting apathy.
We will let the newcomers shoot Jepson Mallort
Seeing Avery’s sour face after taking Malort’s shot made my heart sing. The Wormwood flavored drink is more than bitter, but it is still the pride of Chicago. To break the record, our governor shot 750 people. Celebrities from Kelly Clarkson to John Oliver to Jason Kelce have been trying to take Malort’s shot. Any Chicago native watching this should have had some fun seeing the yellow marked bottle come out.
Beyond Bears players and alumni, including nods to other Chicagoans
Chicagoans love cheering on Chicagoans, so it was smart for Hallmark to give our people a little nod. Donny Hathaway was born in Chicago, and his film debut was in “This Christmas”. Marilou Henner – and her legit Chicago accent – appears in the film. She was born in Chicago, went to the University of Chicago, originated the role of Marty Maraschino in the original “Grease”, which was set in Chicago before moving to sunny Los Angeles for the film. Proud Chicago native Jennifer Hudson’s “Walk in a Winter Wonderland” stars Avery and her mom making cookies.
The Bears bring Chicago together, and everyone is welcome to join the party
During the summer, Chicagoans are divided into two camps: Cubs fans and White Sox fans. Some people say they are both, but I can’t believe them. When both teams are doing well, games between them like summer The two can be argumentative and even violent..
Come September, though, the two factions came together to cheer on the Bears. Even though baseball is not mentioned in the movie, it shows how the bears we collect are. The north side, the south side, the west side, the suburbs, even the region in northwest Indiana – Where the bears might be headed soon. – We are a bear town. Darlene, the old lady, and her friends, a same-sex couple who work in a hardware store, are spotted by fans. (Note: This is the shop where my knives were sharpened.) People of different colors are seen cheering on the bear. Who are we?
Braised Italian beef never falls apart.
At a large family feast, Avery is served Italian beef. Deep dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs, as well as our nationally known Italian beef sandwiches – commonly referred to as “beef” are my favorite Chicago-based foods. If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating Italian beef, roast beef is thinly sliced and cooked to perfection in a seasoned jus or sometimes served with peppery French, sweet bread.
They say the beef served is Avery dipped, which means the sandwich is made and dipped in the juices. This is a delicious, soft sandwich, dripping with juice and sometimes even destroying the bread. The frustration over a toasted sandwich is unimaginable.
Chicago doesn’t have the kind of food carts you like to stick to in Chicago movies.
With so many TV shows and movies set in Chicago, some director or set designer has to make people go to the food carts you see everywhere in New York. There is one big problem – we don’t have it. We don’t have pretzel carts on Michigan Avenue or people selling hot dogs on State Street. The closest are the palateria carts that push throughout the summer serving cold and icy foods and the people selling tamales and tacos at permanent stands, but not downtown. And if you’re really lucky, the bar you’re at will be visited by Tamale Guy Claudio Velez. But as traditional food carts always show? is not.
Outside of Washington, D.C. and televised music, newspaper reporters didn’t wear that much.
This is my beef with the images of reporters and newsrooms in TV shows and movies. We don’t wear skirts in the newsroom. When Avery walked into the Chicago Herald, everyone was dressed as if they were in a law firm. Except maybe for picture day, that’s not happening.
Those controversies aside, it was the predictable cute movie I was hoping for from Hallmark, with my favorite town and my favorite team injected into it. Hopefully, Caleb Williams’ Bears are just as successful this season.
