Review: Throwback Holiday (2018)
Throwback Holiday a 2018 film written by Gabrielle Collins and directed by Trey Haley. It reminds me of the film Seventeen Again starring all the Mowries. In this film, a woman unfulfilled in her marriage and family life gets a second chance to do it all over again
Let's get to the Dramatis Personae shall we?
Jennifer Freeman as Jacquie Grant/Anderson
Robert Ri'Chard as Aaron Turner
Rhyon Nicole Brown as Rosalyn aka "Rosie" Ross
Jean Elie as Daniel Grant
Kareem J Grimes as Paul (Aaron's best friend--Left)
Vanessa Bell Calloway as Mildred Anderson
Jacquie Grant is a stay at home Mom married to Daniel a VP at a company that's got someone extra on the side. Her kids are spoiled and her son Justin calls her by her first name. Ooh, this must be a made for TV movie because I didn't see teeth flying out of his mouth like the Starship Enterprise going at Maximum warp!
She and Rosalyn go Christmas shopping while Jacquie laments about losing herself in Daniel and the role as wife and Mother. Rosalyn gleefully reminds her that she was the IT girl and accepted into Harvard Medical School. Rosalyn was the easy girl in high school that the guys wanted to lay with.
Jacqueline: What happened to the life where I was married to a wonderful man and had a thriving medical practice? Ros shoots back: Girl, I was young dumb and married too, I wasn't gonna be his doormat anymore so I left him. And I'm STILL fly! You need to go and make the life you want for yourself gurl! Jacquie gets a little sad around Christmas and Thanksgiving because her Mom loved those holidays. They walk by a woman and Jacquie gives her change. A woman credited as Lady Beggear pronounces a blessing upon her.
When she returns home, she is grateful her Mom is home. Mom gives her a book the Frog and the Princess Fairytale and have a heart to hear as she's growing up, the moral of the story: Don't judge based on outside factors because something beautiful could be hiding underneath.
The next day, Daniel wants Jacquie's cookie and she calls him out on it while he plays it off as a joke, he plays off every infraction as a joke. At a basketball game, the team treats Aaron and Pete, the equipment managers like crap. Rosie notices the cheerleaders are talking about her Jacquie and Daniel. Jacquie takes it in stride because she says if they are meant to be they will be. She then notices that Jacquie's been staring at Aaron, then Paul Aaron's friend and Aaron notice and Aaron is very enthused to say the least. They make fools of themselves die to clumsiness in short order.
Aaron runs out to save himself further embarrassment. While outside, Jacquie checks on Aaron, and Aaron is very incredulous as to her motives. Then Dipshit comes up and postures Aaron "This is my girl, don't talk to her or else"
At the malt shop Daniel is flirting with one of the cheerleaders openly so Jacquie's out of there. Daniel is all about winning and she sees how self absorbed he is. He says Jacquie doesn't know how good she has it and selects Kim, one of the other cheerleaders from the 3 person clique as his pawn to make her jealous
At home Rosie has a convo w Jacquie thinking she's bugging and to Jacquie's surprise her Mom surprises her with a red dress for the Winter Formal. She then surprises her Mom with an Amazon stock tip (1999) and pesters her to go to the Doctor. At a house party Daniel continues to use Kim to make Jacquie jealous, it backfires. Rosie is ready to throw down but Jacquie doesn't wanna do anything
A little while later, Jacquie spots Paul and Aaron at a table ready to play Uno. Jacquie bests the two 6 games in a row and are having a nice time. Predictably, Daniel gets jealous that Jacquie isn't fretting over him so he comes over and assaults Aaron, Aaron and Daniel fight w Daniel having the upper hand. The Chaperones break up the fight and shut the party down. Jacquie checks in on Aaron and reveals she knows about his crush on her. He drives her home and she kisses him.
The next day, Daniel is walking with Kim and Jacquie gives Daniel the cold shoulder. Jacquie then tells Rosie that Mike wants to get with her because he knows she's easy. Rosie thinks it's jealousy talking and leaves with Mike
Lady Beggar runs across Aaron and Jacquie walking home and Aaron asks her to the Winter Ball, she accepts and runs home to find her mother on the floor having a heart attack. She gets her to the hospital and Mom was rushed in time and is okay after having surgery. Jacquie then devotes time to taking care of her Mother and celebrating Christmas 1999 with her (she passed away on Dec 6th according to her headstone in Primeverse). Daniel apologizes for being a big jerk but his ulterior motive is to ask her to the Winter Ball but she's going with Aaron. Aaron comes to walk Jacquie home and Daniel senses that he is losing his grip on Jacquie when she walks away from him to go with Aaron.
Some time before the Ball, Kim brags about having going to the Winter Ball with Daniel and brags about how he's got a limo, and a room and he wants to give her his class ring...which Jacquie has
The night of the Winter Ball, Jacquie gets her Grandmother's Pearls and Aaron and Jacquie look lovely. They take a photo and go to the Ball. Upon getting there Rosie finds out that Jacquie was right about Mike and dances with Paul. Daniel tries to make moves on Jacquie but she isn't having any of it. She breaks up with Daniel finally, telling him off and slaps the hell out of him. After a retaliatory punch from Aaron, Paul follows up with a kick for good measure. I haven't seen such a satisfying prom comeuppance since 10 Things I Hate About You The night over, Aaron and Jacquie see a shooting star and wish that they could have the moment forever
This is Spoiler time so if you don't it spoiled go to this time code and/or skip past the bold/hashtags
#######
Flash to the future and Jacquie is in her house, Aaron is making Christmas breakfast, "Is that Mrs Tucker?" He shares a special Christmas present, a lab coat with Jacqueline Tucker MD Cardiologist. He owns the building they live in and Jacquie's medical practice will be located there too!
Hi Sydney! Her kiddo!
A FaceTime call reveals that Rosalyn and Paul are also married and expecting another kiddo! Paul Jr, they'll be over to spend Christmas with them. Justine and Christian are called to breakfast, and she hears a familiar voice...that of her Mom. Jacquie is overjoyed that her Mom is with her. Her little girls find the Frog and the Princess book and she'll read it tonight
Mama took that investment advice for Amazon. They end with Jacquie saying grace and that takes us out to the titles
#######
ANALYSIS
Let's get to the Dramatis Personae shall we?
Jennifer Freeman as Jacquie Grant/Anderson
Robert Ri'Chard as Aaron Turner
Rhyon Nicole Brown as Rosalyn aka "Rosie" Ross
Jean Elie as Daniel Grant
Kareem J Grimes as Paul (Aaron's best friend--Left)
Vanessa Bell Calloway as Mildred Anderson
Jacquie Grant is a stay at home Mom married to Daniel a VP at a company that's got someone extra on the side. Her kids are spoiled and her son Justin calls her by her first name. Ooh, this must be a made for TV movie because I didn't see teeth flying out of his mouth like the Starship Enterprise going at Maximum warp!
She and Rosalyn go Christmas shopping while Jacquie laments about losing herself in Daniel and the role as wife and Mother. Rosalyn gleefully reminds her that she was the IT girl and accepted into Harvard Medical School. Rosalyn was the easy girl in high school that the guys wanted to lay with.
Jacqueline: What happened to the life where I was married to a wonderful man and had a thriving medical practice? Ros shoots back: Girl, I was young dumb and married too, I wasn't gonna be his doormat anymore so I left him. And I'm STILL fly! You need to go and make the life you want for yourself gurl! Jacquie gets a little sad around Christmas and Thanksgiving because her Mom loved those holidays. They walk by a woman and Jacquie gives her change. A woman credited as Lady Beggear pronounces a blessing upon her.
As they continue, they run into Aaron played by Robert Ri'chard. Rosalyn remembers Aaron and they have coffee, Rosalyn being the matchmaker gets ghost. Aaron confides that he is married to a gold digger but always pictured Jacquie being the one he ended up with. He can tell Jacquie is unhappy as well. Senior year, she admits was the worst year of her life with her Mom passing away during the Christmas Break, getting pregnant then marrying before she was even ready. As she looks back on her life and how it unfolded including getting accepted to Harvard Medical School, but not taking that chance. A do over would be so awesome
 |
| Wishing for the Do Over |
The next scene carries us to Jamesson High School and the year is 1999. Daniel and his b-ball friends bully Aaron and Jacqueline comes to his aid. Daniel has plans to get a hotel room after the Winter Ball, and Jacquie is not so thrilled since she got knocked up there. When it's time to go home, she's thrilled that her Mom is alive and runs into the Lady Beggar on the way home. She explains: Jacquie has to become who she's meant to be and will go back when it's time
 |
| Basketball Team picks on Aaron |
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| Helping Aaron pick up his books |
When she returns home, she is grateful her Mom is home. Mom gives her a book the Frog and the Princess Fairytale and have a heart to hear as she's growing up, the moral of the story: Don't judge based on outside factors because something beautiful could be hiding underneath.
The next day, Daniel wants Jacquie's cookie and she calls him out on it while he plays it off as a joke, he plays off every infraction as a joke. At a basketball game, the team treats Aaron and Pete, the equipment managers like crap. Rosie notices the cheerleaders are talking about her Jacquie and Daniel. Jacquie takes it in stride because she says if they are meant to be they will be. She then notices that Jacquie's been staring at Aaron, then Paul Aaron's friend and Aaron notice and Aaron is very enthused to say the least. They make fools of themselves die to clumsiness in short order.
Aaron runs out to save himself further embarrassment. While outside, Jacquie checks on Aaron, and Aaron is very incredulous as to her motives. Then Dipshit comes up and postures Aaron "This is my girl, don't talk to her or else"
At the malt shop Daniel is flirting with one of the cheerleaders openly so Jacquie's out of there. Daniel is all about winning and she sees how self absorbed he is. He says Jacquie doesn't know how good she has it and selects Kim, one of the other cheerleaders from the 3 person clique as his pawn to make her jealous
At home Rosie has a convo w Jacquie thinking she's bugging and to Jacquie's surprise her Mom surprises her with a red dress for the Winter Formal. She then surprises her Mom with an Amazon stock tip (1999) and pesters her to go to the Doctor. At a house party Daniel continues to use Kim to make Jacquie jealous, it backfires. Rosie is ready to throw down but Jacquie doesn't wanna do anything
A little while later, Jacquie spots Paul and Aaron at a table ready to play Uno. Jacquie bests the two 6 games in a row and are having a nice time. Predictably, Daniel gets jealous that Jacquie isn't fretting over him so he comes over and assaults Aaron, Aaron and Daniel fight w Daniel having the upper hand. The Chaperones break up the fight and shut the party down. Jacquie checks in on Aaron and reveals she knows about his crush on her. He drives her home and she kisses him.
The next day, Daniel is walking with Kim and Jacquie gives Daniel the cold shoulder. Jacquie then tells Rosie that Mike wants to get with her because he knows she's easy. Rosie thinks it's jealousy talking and leaves with Mike
Lady Beggar runs across Aaron and Jacquie walking home and Aaron asks her to the Winter Ball, she accepts and runs home to find her mother on the floor having a heart attack. She gets her to the hospital and Mom was rushed in time and is okay after having surgery. Jacquie then devotes time to taking care of her Mother and celebrating Christmas 1999 with her (she passed away on Dec 6th according to her headstone in Primeverse). Daniel apologizes for being a big jerk but his ulterior motive is to ask her to the Winter Ball but she's going with Aaron. Aaron comes to walk Jacquie home and Daniel senses that he is losing his grip on Jacquie when she walks away from him to go with Aaron.
Some time before the Ball, Kim brags about having going to the Winter Ball with Daniel and brags about how he's got a limo, and a room and he wants to give her his class ring...which Jacquie has
The night of the Winter Ball, Jacquie gets her Grandmother's Pearls and Aaron and Jacquie look lovely. They take a photo and go to the Ball. Upon getting there Rosie finds out that Jacquie was right about Mike and dances with Paul. Daniel tries to make moves on Jacquie but she isn't having any of it. She breaks up with Daniel finally, telling him off and slaps the hell out of him. After a retaliatory punch from Aaron, Paul follows up with a kick for good measure. I haven't seen such a satisfying prom comeuppance since 10 Things I Hate About You The night over, Aaron and Jacquie see a shooting star and wish that they could have the moment forever
 |
| That kick was so satisfying! |
 |
| The Angel/Lady Beggar/God nods in approval |
This is Spoiler time so if you don't it spoiled go to this time code and/or skip past the bold/hashtags
#######
Flash to the future and Jacquie is in her house, Aaron is making Christmas breakfast, "Is that Mrs Tucker?" He shares a special Christmas present, a lab coat with Jacqueline Tucker MD Cardiologist. He owns the building they live in and Jacquie's medical practice will be located there too!
Hi Sydney! Her kiddo!
A FaceTime call reveals that Rosalyn and Paul are also married and expecting another kiddo! Paul Jr, they'll be over to spend Christmas with them. Justine and Christian are called to breakfast, and she hears a familiar voice...that of her Mom. Jacquie is overjoyed that her Mom is with her. Her little girls find the Frog and the Princess book and she'll read it tonight
Mama took that investment advice for Amazon. They end with Jacquie saying grace and that takes us out to the titles
#######
ANALYSIS
LIKES
Believable characters, mysticality that works and Jacquie makes choices instead of being passive like Grace in Princess Cut. She is her own woman and
DISLIKES
Believable characters, mysticality that works and Jacquie makes choices instead of being passive like Grace in Princess Cut. She is her own woman and
DISLIKES
It's a Christmas film and some mysticality plays into it but it would've been great to see how the film would've had it play out from the Universe of the beginning. Jacquie could leave Daniel (her memory is wiped of knowing about Aaron's crush on her) and enroll in community college to get her credits in line for a 4 year school, Rosie could end up still single and supporting her best girl through it all. I would bring Mom back no matter what because of all the things she wanted her Mom was the one person she wanted most (I'd keep the Amazon stock tip for the end). Rosie, Jacquie and Mom would be her support system and there for her, urging her on every step of the way and proving that relationships don't have to complete you. You complete yourself and when you're a fulfilled and secure person a relationship with the right person can be a great thing for you.
That is what I wished the film could've conveyed upon reflection. Regarding Aaron, I would've liked to see him dissolve his marriage as well and work on the reasons he settled for a woman that liked his money more than him. He could get some counseling and work on habits of a healthy relationship and the Counselor can tell him: I feel like you have this illusion of Jacquie from High School, people change and you have to know Jacquie as an adult with her own history and baggage. You have to know the real Jacquie. Honestly, I would have liked to see some years pass by when maybe she's in her residency or starting her medical practice and they link up again and he asks her out for coffee to catch up and THEN he reveals he liked her in high school and would like to know the woman she's become bringing it full circle
I thought at the end: Wait, she has a lab coat and a Medical Practice but will they download all the knowledge Matrix style into her before she opens? It would be crazy to be a cardiologist winging it your first day.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While we've seen this done before I like how they do it here. It's like Freaky Friday except it changes the future and there are a lot of great arcs with our know it all character, we're navigating certainty and uncertainty with her. I would say this is a better film to show girls about how to take charge of their lives along with the lesson of The Princess and the Frog of not judging people on external things. It's also interesting that Jacquie says simply: Daniel's only popular because he's cute and head of the basketball team. In the world outside of high school, it counts for little to nothing, and the end is an excellent payoff for us to close out this wonderful chapter.
I highly recommend this film and my rating is a strong 4 and 1/2 do over wishes out of 5
I highly recommend this film and my rating is a strong 4 and 1/2 do over wishes out of 5
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