Podchaser Logo
Home
Episode 5: Christmas In Rome

Episode 5: Christmas In Rome

Released Friday, 6th December 2019
Good episode? Give it some love!
Episode 5: Christmas In Rome

Episode 5: Christmas In Rome

Episode 5: Christmas In Rome

Episode 5: Christmas In Rome

Friday, 6th December 2019
Good episode? Give it some love!
Rate Episode

On the latest Hallmark for the Holidays, Michelle and Peter breakdown “Christmas in Rome,” a story of love, romance and the holiday spirit blooming in the beautiful Eternal City.

An independent-minded American tour guide named Angela (Lacey Chabert) loses her job in Rome just before Christmas. She crosses paths with an American executive named Oliver (Sam Page), who wants to buy a high-end Italian ceramics company.

Oliver hires Angela to be his tour guide around the city, as Mr. Fermengetti — the owner of the ceramics company — won’t sell it to him until Oliver learns “the heart and soul of Rome.”

But is there another heart and soul that he may win?

First impressions:

— Great Nat King Cole song at the beginning. Rome is beautiful during Christmas ... watch it just to see Rome.

Meet cute?

— Oliver bumps into Angela while texting — Angela scolds him to put down the phone and enjoy the beauty of Rome. He ends up asking Angela for help finding his business meeting. Angela walks him to his business meeting.

What's the dilemma? Is it believable?

— Oliver needs to close the deal to acquire a high-end ceramics company, but the owner is very old school and will only sell to someone who knows the “soul of Rome.”

— Angela is trying to start her own tour guide company and needs investors to start.

Christmas events:

— Making gingerbread houses with the neighbors — Oliver makes a gingerbread Colosseum.

— Picking Angela’s Christmas tree — Oliver is apparently an expert on Christmas trees.

— Baking Panettone as a gift for Mr. Fermengetti — Luigi.

— Christmas concert in St. Peters Square.

Christmas magic?

— No. But there is plenty of magic in Rome!

Main events:

— Angela gets fired from her tour guide job for being too creative and spending too much time on tours.

— Oliver is focused on quickly closing his business deal and Angela encourages him to slow down and enjoy Rome.

— Angela points out the nativity scenes to Oliver — Romans take great pride in nativity scenes.

— Angela tells Oliver that business protocol in Rome isn’t like in the states — there are cultural differences.

— Luigi insists Angela join the business meeting and Angela stays because “she’s always wanted to eat at that restaurant.”

— Luigi also insists on Oliver touring Rome, so Oliver hires Angela to be his tour guide for the week.

— Angela takes Oliver on a real Christmas tour of Rome, not checklist tourism like so many other guides do. (Let’s say she wouldn’t be a Schorsch tour guide.)

— Angela cautions that Christmas cocktails are lethal in Rome.

— Pay it forward coffee!

— Angela needs help writing a business plan, and Oliver offers to help her with one if she helps him close the deal with Luigi.

— Oliver throws three coins into the Trevi Fountain — which brings true love. Angela’s parents had done the same thing.

— Oliver gets Forlengheti.

Cringeworthy moments?

— Angela’s apartment is HUGE! Is working as a tour guide that lucrative?

 — Oliver ends up taking a business call and learns he’s being promoted to VP, but he must leave Rome tomorrow. He tells Angela he can’t stay for Christmas, so Angela ends things with him.

Swoonworthy moments?

— Oliver gives Angela the day off to work around her “no dating clients rule,” so she’ll finally agree to go to dinner with him.

— Oliver makes a Christmas ornament at the ceramic company as a Christmas gift for Angela — he’s painted every place she showed him around Rome.

— Angela is excited for the date that she borrows a special dress — Oliver picks her up in a horse-drawn carriage.

— Oliver ignores the phone call at dinner and says he’ll stay in Rome through New Year’s Day.

— They dance to First Noel after Oliver tells Angela she’s the most amazing woman he’s ever met. The kiss 20 minutes before the end of the movie.

— Angela finds Oliver at the Christmas concert thanks to the tracker she gave him.

— Oliver tells Angela that he isn’t going to leave — he is going to stay in Rome and run Luigi’s company so he can stay with her. She is his new dream.

— Oliver takes her to a particular spot in St. Peter’s Square and says — this is the spot your parents stood in that Christmas Eve photo. Then they kiss.

Rating — out of 5 crowns.

Five crowns.

And, most importantly: Christmas cookie pairing

Panettone (of course).

Show More

Unlock more with Podchaser Pro

  • Audience Insights
  • Contact Information
  • Demographics
  • Charts
  • Sponsor History
  • and More!
Pro Features