The More the Merrier is about community. A film about finding the silver lining, using positivity and human connection to overcome emergencies. Criticizing a film that tries to do good or improve the world feels wrong, but part of the problem is that it often strays too far from reality to feel a real connection. It's a sweet and pleasant idea, but it doesn't carry much weight (except for one scene). 2025
The film is set in a community hospital in a small town. It's supposed to be a very small rural community where everyone knows each other. It's very rare for a town like this to have a hospital, let alone one so beautiful, large, spacious, modern, and cutting-edge, with, count them, at least four enormous, fully decorated Christmas trees.
Director: Peter Benson
Writers: Caroline Farah, Zac Hug
Stars: Marlie Collins, Cai Holm, Jecca Beauchamp
This town is also home to five doctors and three pregnant women who give birth on Christmas Day, the second least common day for birthdays. They say that as if it meant something about the likelihood of giving birth, but the only reason it's just behind February 29th in terms of birthdays is because scheduled births, like C-sections or inductions, aren't scheduled on Christmas Day; all other natural births are just as common as any other day of the year.
The two main characters are doctors. Dr. Rogers (Rachel Boston) is a very sweet, cheerful, and respected doctor who radiates warmth despite having a closed-off, nonexistent personal life. And the first half of the film focuses on the other characters describing her exactly like that over and over again. Dr. Grant (Brendan Penny) is a cardiologist who has just moved from the big city to be near his parents and sister; he's a very conventional doctor who doesn't have time for human relationships, even though he flirts with Dr. Rogers in every scene. It's easy to sympathize with these characters, even if the writers think they're more complex than they actually are.
But then comes the scene with real emotional weight, which undoubtedly elevated the film to a higher level. As Hallmark fans will recall, last week they released a Buffalo Bills-themed movie, set in Buffalo, featuring real Bills players. That connection has returned, and in a special way. Damar Hamlin is a Bills player who suffered cardiac arrest during a football game and eventually made a full recovery. He's back playing for the Bills and also appears in Hallmark movies connecting with children who have also undergone heart surgery. It's a real program that the movie promotes.
The More the Merrier is an inspiring film about love for community, and thanks to one scene, I ended up feeling a little less cynical.
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