A Very Merry Toy Store

"If I'm so bad at poker, how come everybody in town wants to play with me?"

Connie Forrester (Hart) and Will DiNova (Lopez) are rival toy store owners, with stores a block apart. Connie is a widow with a son T.J. (Mann), who works with her brother Randy (Amboyer), and lives with her widowed mother Pam (Broderick). She is struggling to pay back a loan to save the business. Will is divorced and trying to buy back his family home. He needs a good month to make the deposit.

Their rivalry is set aside when Roy's Toys, a toy megastore, opens a new location nearby. The more time they spend together, sparks begin to fly. Meanwhile, the diner owner Joe (Dennehy) asks Pam for piano lessons. T.J. is focused on the upcoming bobsled race at the winter carnival. Can they out maneuver Roy Barnes (Gardell), save their stores, and take a chance at love?

This is a Lifetime Original Christmas movie. This is Melissa Joan Hart's 4th (of 8, so far) made-for-TV Christmas film, following: Holiday in Handcuffs (2007, ABC Family), The Santa Con (2014, Lifetime), Broadcasting Christmas (2016, Hallmark). Followed by A Very Nutty Christmas (2018, Lifetime), Christmas Reservations (2019, Lifetime), Dear Christmas (2020, Lifetime, and Mistletoe in Montana (2021).

The Good:

Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez have good chemistry. They previously worked together in another Christmas film, Holiday in Handcuffs.

The Bad:

Too many subplots: Joe's piano lessons, Francine's romantic pursuit, the bobsled race, etc.

Other Comments:

-Hart and Beth Broderick previously worked together in the 1996 TV show Sabrina the Teenaged Witch.

-The director, Paula Hart, is star Melissa Joan Hart's mother.

-Tara Strong is a well-known voice actress. She doesn't have much to do here, other than chasing after Randy.

-Not bad, but also not memorable. 

A Very Merry Toy Store (2017) 90 minutes
Director: Paula Hart
Starring: Melissa Joan Hart as Connie Forrester
Mario Lopez as Will DiNova
Dan Amboyer as Randy Forrester

Cameron Mann as T.J.
Beth Broderick as Pam Forrester
Brian Dennehy as Joe Haggarty
Tara Strong as Francine

Billy Gardell as Roy Barnes

Mario Cantone as Mayor Stevens