While I may be a bit biased towards this holiday drama and a bit giddy that a Lifetime Television holiday film was made with an Asian American cast, I absolutely enjoyed this holiday film, for its storyline and characters and I can only hope Lifetime Television considers doing another holiday film with an Asian American cast again.”A Sugar & Spice Holiday” is recommended!
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TITLE: A Sugar & Spice Holiday
FILM YEAR: 2020
DURATION: 88 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition
COMPANY: Lifetime Television
RATED: TV-G
RELEASE DATE: 2020
Directed by Jennifer Liao
Written by Eirene Donohue
Executive Producer: Nancy Bennett, Jamie Goehring, Trevor McWhinney, Shawn Williamson
Produced by Brad Krevoy, Kevin Leslie, Michael Shepard, Jonathan Shore
Associate Producer: Emanuel Pereira
Music by Darren Fung
Cinematography by Robert Aschmann
Edited by Dan Krieger
Production Design by Jacqueline Miller
Set Decoration by Mykhila Drummond, Oneil Drummond
Costume Design by Trish Petrovich
Starring:
Jacky Lai as Suzy Yung
Tony Giroux as Billy Martin
Lillian Lim as Mimi Yung
Tzi Ma as Pete Yung
Cardi Wong as Wayne Yung
Micah Chen as Simon Yung
Grace Sunar as Bowyn Yung
Aadila Disani as Caitlin Keyes
Eli Gabay as Stavros
Marc-Anthony Massiah as Nick Dupoint
Sasha Hayden as Merry Dupont
The movie A Sugar & Spice Holiday follows Suzie (Jacky Lai), a rising young architect, who returns to her small hometown in Maine for Christmas where her Chinese-American parents, Pete (Tzi Ma) and Mimi (Lillian Lim), run the local Lobster Bar. Following the loss of her beloved grandmother who was a legendary baker in their community, Suzie is guilted into following in her grandmother’s footsteps by entering the local gingerbread house competition. Teaming up with an old high school friend Billy (Tony Giroux), who grew up to be a catch, Suzie must find the right recipes and mix of sugar and spice infused with her cultural traditions to win the competition and perhaps find some love in the process.
My holiday film marathon continues with day 6 with “A Sugar & Spice Holiday”.
And as I have mentioned in my previous reviews, Lifetime Television has become progressive and we are seeing a consistent style of providing content with lead characters, may the couples be interracial, may the character be non-Caucasian, disabled, LGTBQ, if anything, giving viewers a chance to see holiday storylines that they can clearly identify with.
With “A Sugar & Spice Holiday”, as a man who is Asian American, it makes me proud to finally see a holiday storyline with Asian American characters and a film directed by an Asian American director.
The film is directed by Jennifer Liao (“From”, “Blood and Water”) and is written by Eirene Donohue and stars Jacky Lai (“V-Wars”, “Beyond”, “Shadowhunters”), Tony Giroux (“Motherland: Fort Salem”), Lilian Lim (“Grandma’s 80th Surprise”, “Meditation Park”), Tzi Ma (“Mulan”, “Tigertail”, “Arrival”, “The Farewell”), Cardi Wong (“Supergirl”, “Are You Afraid of the Dark?, “Dragged Across Concrete”) and more.
The film begins with a young Suzy Yung and her grandmother making a gingerbread house and showing us how important Suzy’s grandmother was to her, may it be taking on recipes or doing the best she can in her life and becoming a success.
We then see an adult Suzy Yung (portrayed by Jacky Lai), a young architect who is driven and is up for a promotion. But she finds out from her boss that the promotion will be decided between her and another co-worker of who can design the best project for a client.
The problem is, it’s due during the holidays and for Suzy, she is planning to go back home to Maine to visit her family for Christmas, so she’s going to have to balance her work and spending time with her family which comprises of Suzy’s parents Pete and Mimi own a lobster restaurant, while her brother Wayne is into new age, spiritual wellness and is married with two children.
When she returns back home, she sees an old classmate, Billy Martin (portrayed by French/Chinese actor, Tony Giroux) trying to find people to assist with earning money to build a new community center, as the old one is getting too old. One way to make money is to win the annual holiday baking competition.
When Billy sees Suzy, he immediately recruits her, but because she is busy with her work deadline, when she realizes that its for the community center which her grandmother used to play mahjong and also competed in the bake off in the past, Suzy decides to take part in it.
For Billy, he wants to hang out with Suzy, but her mother Mimi is not having any of it, thinking that Billy can be a bad influence on her (as he was a bit wild back in high school).
And through the planning and preparation for the baking competition, Suzy and Billy get closer. But when her deadline is moved to Christmas Eve, Suzy is put in a predicament that she doesn’t like being, and that is person not in control and hates failing. Can she win the baking competition, complete her deadline and also find love during the holidays?
While watching “A Sugar & Spice Holiday”, I have to say that I was thrilled that Lifetime chose to have a film showcasing an Asian American family and a character that many of us who are Asian Americans, can identify with.
From strict parents who wants their children to success, Suzy is the person that a lot of us were in school. Studying hard, doing our best in order to become successful in the future. And also having that close bond with family, especially with a grandparent.
Actress Jacky Lai shined in “A Sugar & Spice Holiday” and loved hearing certain dialogue that made me laugh (especially when it came to stinky tofu and bittermelon, which I grew up with and couldn’t stand as a child). But also the touch of having something important from your grandparent and cherishing it as an adult.
I personally identified with Jacky’s struggles of wanting to succeed and not to fail, and while I know it’s something that is ingrained with Asian children (who are educationally driven), I think those who are not Asian and are (who have parents are) educationally-driven to put pressure on oneself and scared of failure.
And without spoiling the film, the decision that Jacky makes was cool! I think in the past, where a woman’s life was dictated by a man (who were deemed breadwinners), once again, I love the modern decision making featured in this holiday film.
Of course, there is a lot of Christmas in this drama and I absolutely enjoyed the thought that went into the production design.
While I may be a bit biased towards this holiday drama and a bit giddy that a Lifetime Television holiday film was made with an Asian American cast, I absolutely enjoyed this holiday film, for its storyline and characters and I can only hope Lifetime Television considers doing another holiday film with an Asian American cast again.
“A Sugar & Spice Holiday” is recommended!
PURCHASE THIS FILM ON AMAZON PRIME