''Holiday in Handcuffs'' is a 2007 American
crime comedy
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
that originally aired on
ABC Family
The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...
on December 9 as a part of the network's
25 Days of Christmas
Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chann ...
programming block. The film stars
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, producer, and director. She had starring roles as the title characters in the sitcoms ''Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991–1994), ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003), and ''M ...
,
Mario Lopez
Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Sa ...
,
Markie Post
Marky or Markie may refer to:
Nickname
* Marky Cielo (1988–2008), Filipino actor and dancer
* Marky Delgado (born 1995), American soccer player
* Markie Mark (born 1974), BBC Radio director
* Marky Markowitz (1923–1986), American jazz trumpete ...
,
Timothy Bottoms
Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...
,
June Lockhart
June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on ...
,
Kyle Howard
Kyle Alan Howard (born April 13, 1978) is an American actor.
Early life
Howard grew up in Loveland, Colorado. He has worked in both film and television. His film career includes '' House Arrest'' alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, ''Skeletons'' with ...
and
Vanessa Lee Evigan
Vanessa Lee Evigan (born March 18, 1981) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and model and actress Pamela Serpe. She is also the sister of actress Briana Evigan and singer-songwriter Jason Evigan.
In 2001, Evigan a ...
.
Plot
Trudie is an aspiring painter working as a restaurant waitress. With the pressure to please her parents building, she misses a job interview and gets dumped by her boyfriend just before Christmas, and she has a nervous breakdown. Stressed about going home for the holidays without a boyfriend, she kidnaps David Martin, a random customer at the restaurant in which she works and introduces him to her parents as her boyfriend, Nick. Trudie's family is vacationing at a very isolated log cabin away from anyone else, so David is unable to escape, although he makes several attempts. He finally decides to play along until the police come, but ultimately falls in love with Trudie and understands the family pressure that made her feel forced to kidnap him in the first place.
During Christmas dinner, the holiday comes to an abrupt end when Trudie's parents begin to fight, her brother Jake announces that he is gay, and her sister Katie says that she has quit law school and bought a
Pilates
Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...
studio with her parents' tuition money. The police then arrive and arrest the family during Christmas dinner, revealing that David is not actually Trudie's boyfriend. Before he was kidnapped, David had a successful job and a beautiful, rich girlfriend; however, during his time with Trudie and her family, he realizes his life has developed into something he did not intend. After the family is released (except for Trudie's grandma Dolores for attempting to resist arrest), when David decides not to press charges, Trudie does not see or hear from David for a few months, but learns that he will be engaged.
Trudie is invited to show her art at a local gallery, which her family attends and she reconciles with them, and is stunned to see one of her pieces sold during the show. As she is leaving the show, she is kidnapped by David and taken to a nearby building. He tells her he bought the building and is making it into an architecture/art studio. He decided to turn his life around and do something he really loves: owning his own architecture business. His business also includes an art studio, and his first art piece is Trudie's painting, which he purchased. David admits his love for Trudie and Trudie admits her love for him as well, before they kiss.
Cast
*
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, producer, and director. She had starring roles as the title characters in the sitcoms ''Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991–1994), ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003), and ''M ...
as Gertrude "Trudie" Marie Chandler
*
Mario Lopez
Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Sa ...
as David Martin
*
Markie Post
Marky or Markie may refer to:
Nickname
* Marky Cielo (1988–2008), Filipino actor and dancer
* Marky Delgado (born 1995), American soccer player
* Markie Mark (born 1974), BBC Radio director
* Marky Markowitz (1923–1986), American jazz trumpete ...
as Katherine Chandler
*
Timothy Bottoms
Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...
as Richard Chandler
*
June Lockhart
June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on ...
as Grandma Dolores
*
Kyle Howard
Kyle Alan Howard (born April 13, 1978) is an American actor.
Early life
Howard grew up in Loveland, Colorado. He has worked in both film and television. His film career includes '' House Arrest'' alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, ''Skeletons'' with ...
as Jake Chandler
*
Vanessa Lee Evigan
Vanessa Lee Evigan (born March 18, 1981) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and model and actress Pamela Serpe. She is also the sister of actress Briana Evigan and singer-songwriter Jason Evigan.
In 2001, Evigan a ...
as Katie Chandler
*
Gabrielle Miller
Gabrielle Sunshine Miller (born November 9, 1973) is a Canadian actress who, since the start of her career in 1993, has appeared in many television films and series episodes, including leading roles in two of Canada's most popular concurrently-r ...
as Jessica Barber
*
Layla Alizada
Layla Alizada ( fa, لیلا علیزاده; born August 10, 1977) is a Canadian actress, who is best known for appearing in guest roles in some well-known American television shows, including ''The Muppets'' and ''Jane the Virgin,'' as well as r ...
as Lucy
*Marty Hanenberg as Mr. Portnoy
*
Ben Ayres
Benjamin James Ayres (born January 19, 1983) is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Zach Miller of the CTV series ''Saving Hope''. He also recurred on the Gemini Award–winning HBO Canada series ''Less Than Kind'' for which he w ...
as (the real) Nick
*
Travis Milne
Travis Milne (born July 18, 1986) is a Canadians, Canadian actor, best known for portraying Officer Chris Diaz in the drama series ''Rookie Blue''.
Life and career
Milne is from Lac La Biche, Alberta. He was a student in J.A.Williams High Schoo ...
as Ryan, Jake's boyfriend
Production notes
''Holiday in Handcuffs'' was filmed in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, in 2007.
Ratings
The movie received 6.7 million viewers and a 2.4 in adults 18 to 49, making it the most watched telecast in ABC Family history.
DVD releases
''Holiday in Handcuffs'' was released on Region 1 DVD on October 7, 2008. The movie was re-released along with the television movie ''
Snowglobe
A snow globe (also called a waterglobe, snowstorm, or snowdome) is a transparent sphere, traditionally made of glass, enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a town, neighborhood, landscape or figure. The sphe ...
'' on October 13, 2009.
See also
*
List of Christmas films
Many Christmas stories have been adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television; since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year d ...
References
External links
''Holiday in Handcuffs''at
ABCFamily.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holiday In Handcuffs
2007 television films
2007 films
2000s English-language films
2000s crime comedy films
ABC Family original films
American Christmas films
American crime comedy films
Christmas television films
Films about kidnapping
Films about dysfunctional families
Films directed by Ron Underwood
2000s Christmas films
American Christmas comedy films
2000s American films