The Christmas movies keep coming, and they’re going to keep coming till the end of the holiday season. There’s everything from cheesy love stories to family dramas, all set during the season of cheer. A Sudden Case of Christmas is about a husband and wife celebrating Christmas four months before the actual holiday season. The couple has a kid who is simply excited to meet her grandfather, who will be a part of this early celebration.
Spoilers Ahead
Why were Abby and Jacob at the Dolomites?
A Sudden Case of Christmas began with Claire, a young girl who is all set to meet her grandfather, who runs a hotel in the Dolomites, the mountains in Italy. Claire was joined by her mother and father, Jacob and Abby, who fought and bickered throughout the journey. Lawrence, Abby’s father, had owned and run this hotel for many years with his wife, who’d passed away a while back. Jacob and Abby used to spend Christmas every year at the hotel, but this time they were in Italy four months early, and it makes him wonder if his daughter has some good news to share. Jacob and Abby, however, let him know that they were separating. They were going to break the news to Claire here as the hotel would act as a cushion to the bad news with her grandfather around to console the girl.
Did Claire want to celebrate Christmas?
Lawrence was asked to let Claire know about the separation. To his surprise, Claire let him know she had been noticing things were bad between her parents, but she had hoped they would work it out. Lawrence realized the girl was quite mature for her age and asked Jacob and Abby to let her know about their plans to separate. She had been visiting the hotel with her parents to celebrate Christmas as a family since childhood. This year it didn’t look like that was going to happen, she decided they would celebrate Christmas now as all of them were together. Even though it was the month of August, they went along with it for the sake of Claire.
Who was Mark running away from?
Mark and Rose were Jacob’s parents, who were also asked to join them at the hotel in the Dolomites so they could be informed about the status of their marriage. Mark, on reaching the hotel, caught a glimpse of Claudia, one of the regular guests at the hotel. A petrified Mark let Lawrence know that, many years ago, he’d had a brief affair with Claudia as he and Rose were going through a rough patch. He slept with her once and never called her back. Lawrence suggested he pretend to be sick and stay in his room throughout his vacation.
What was Claire planning?
Claire was given a school project to record every moment of her summer vacation. Her plan was to make the best out of it, as she was not going to meet most of them from next year. She also wanted to reunite her parents and made them try many activities around the hotel. A horse-riding activity was organized keeping in mind Abby was uncomfortable around horses, and eventually Jacob saved her from a feisty horse that took her off the road. Claire also planned a hot air balloon ride for her parents in the hope the romantic trip would help them rekindle the love they had for each other. Things went south very quickly when Jacob jumped out of the hot air balloon to save himself, which made Abby angry. Abby and Jacob also adopted a puppy for Claire in the hope it would help her take her mind off the divorce.
Did Claudia and Rose become friends?
Since Mark was pretending to be sick through the vacation, his wife Rose decided to take up some adventure activities. She was joined by Claudia, who became fast friends with Rose and shared something about meeting a man many years ago, followed by a one-night stand with him. She visited the hotel every year to commemorate the meeting, as she had not forgotten the brief rendezvous. Rose was moved by Claudia’s love for the man who had abandoned her, yet she appreciated her perseverance to be in love. Unbeknownst to both of them, Mark was the common factor between the two of them. While Claudia craved meeting Mark, Rose had been having second thoughts about her long marriage with him.
Was Mark in love with Claudia?
Things between Jacob and Abby were getting worse by the day. There was no clarity on if Jacob had let his parents know about the imminent separation. On the eve of Christmas, which was being celebrated in August, Lawrence, the family, his employees, and several people from the town came together to carry out festivities. Mark was required to be Santa, but he was hyperventilating about running into Claudia and inadvertently letting Rose know of his infidelity. Mark confessed to Lawrence that he had been in love with Claudia ever since their first encounter. A distraught Mark, just at the start of the festivities, came clean to Claudia about himself and his feelings for her, leaving Rose heartbroken.
What happened in the forest?
Claire’s pup, who hadn’t been named yet, ran away in the forest. Claire was attached to the pup and was adamant about finding it. As the whole family and friends of Claire from the town got into searching for the pup, this search party acted like a catalyst and forced people to talk about their feelings. Jacob refused to be around Abby, as he had come to know of her infidelity as well. At the same time, Lawrence and Abby had a long, drawn out conversation about her mother, who had passed away due to a stroke, and how her father lived with the guilt that he could not save her.
Abby went out of her way to let him know he was not at fault, as he did as much as he could to save her. Lawrence was hoping the love he had for his wife would somehow translate to Jacob and Abby. Abby revealed she was the unfaithful one in the relationship, and Jacob was a good person. Lawrence advised her to go after Jacob and her marriage if she thought it was worth saving. A livid Jacob was not keen to converse with Abby, but she forced him to have the talk about them as a couple and as parents. She admitted to being an inattentive mother, and she promised to do better if Jacob gave her a chance to make the relationship better. This was for the sake of their love and not just for them to stay united for Claire. Mark and Rose, however, were having an uncomfortable conversation after the latter learned about her husband’s infidelity. Rose was quick to ask why he loved her. His response made her realize he was describing a roommate rather than a partner in love.
What happened during the Christmas celebration?
On the day of Christmas, Claire had finished the video project she’d been putting together throughout her stay at the hotel and was excited to share the same with everyone. However, the footage of the puppy she lost made her upset and she ran away in the hope of finding her. Claire was attached to the puppy, a direct result of her losing her family to divorce. She had hoped the puppy would never leave her as dogs were known for their unconditional love. Claire could not control her parents’ lives, yet having a pet by her side would help her channel her thoughts to a creature who would try to cheer her up. Claire and her grandfather also had a conversation about her being a catalyst that might bring her parents together. Lawrence could understand the grief Claire was going through, as he had been through something similar when he lost his wife. He could empathize with the young girl who was just trying to process the pain of losing her family.
On Christmas morning, Claudia left the hotel, and she profusely apologized for her role in breaking Rose’s marriage. Claudia turned out to be a lot more sensitive than Mark, as he had not apologized for his infidelity. He spoke about their rough times but refused to acknowledge that his way of dealing with it was not the right one. Rose was very upset at the table and shared a poem that was about how she felt betrayed by the person who she loved. Rose wanted to let Mark know that he had hurt her, and this may have been an indication to the family as well that their marriage was going through rocky times. Mark and Rose had walked into the hotel a few days back as a couple who had been married for many years; they might be leaving the place as two people realizing there was probably no love between them.
Did Jacob and Abby reunite?
The movie ended with Abby learning Claire was not in her room as all of them were waiting for her to show up at the table for a Christmas meal. Claire wanted her family to be reunited one last time. Her absence threw everyone off, because she was the glue that would keep both families intact. Claire was still looking for her puppy because it was important to her to not lose this precious friend, as she believed the separation might emotionally distance her from one of her parents. As everyone came out of the hotel, Claire’s friends from the town created a faux snow using soap, water, and air in the spirit of recreating the holiday season for her. The parents were happy to notice her friends would go to any extent to keep her happy. This was a happy sight as Claire finally got what she wanted—a happy Christmas with her family.
Claire returned with the pup, presumably she found it near the lost and found bridge that was mentioned during her horseback riding session with her father and mother. The young girl was elated to find out her mother and father, Jacob and Abby, had decided to give their marriage another chance. These words were a melody to Claire’s ears, as she had been wanting this since the day she heard them announce their separation. She was glad her parents were trying to rediscover the love they had lost. She indeed acted as a catalyst, which helped them figure out their causes of conflict in their marriage. Jacob and Abby had drifted apart, and the latter’s infidelity did not help as well. Since they had been together for a while and deep down there was some love left between them, they had to give their marriage another chance. It was not the same for Mark and Rose, as the latter revealed that she was separating from her husband. It was assumed everyone knew the reason for their marriage breaking up, including Claire, who wanted her grandmother to be happy. Rose seemed content with her decision, and Mark seemed like someone who might now seek Claudia out, since he had confessed to being in love with her. Claire’s family was coming back to Dolomite to celebrate real Christmas as she had her family. Unfortunately, Mark and Rose won’t be together, and the young girl was mature enough to realize her grandparents made the right decision. It was a bittersweet ending to the mini holiday before the real Christmas season.
