Merry Stream-mas: watch these Utah-made holiday movies to kick off Christmas week

The Lawrence brothers star in 'Marry Christmas', filmed entirely in Utah, including Deer Valley, Midway, and Heber. Photo: Marry Christmas Movie // Shout Studios

PARK CITY, Utah — Kaylin Richardson once raced down Olympic ski courses. Now, she’s scripting romantic holiday comedies, bringing the same passion to the screen that she brought to the slopes.

Richardson is the writer and producer behind “Mistletoe Mixup” and its sequel “Marry Christmas,” Both films feature brothers Joey, Matthew, and Andrew (Uncle Andy to some) Lawrence, who captured audiences with their warm-hearted humor, picturesque Utah locations, and family-friendly charm.

Before moving into filmmaking, Richardson was an elite alpine ski racer who competed at the highest levels. She was a two-time Olympian, finishing 17th in the women’s combined at both the 2006 Winter Games in Turin and the 2010 Games in Vancouver. She also represented the United States at the 2007 World Championships, where her top finish was 11th in the mixed team event.

“It’s not Shakespeare. You know within the first few minutes how it’s going to end, and that’s exactly what people want,” Richardson said. “In a time when there’s so much going on, it’s nice to watch something light, familiar, and easy.”

Richardson worked closely with her husband, writer and producer Tim Schaaf, on both films.

She met Tim in 2009 at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid. He was on the US skeleton team, and she was ski racing. The pair collaborated on story development and production logistics, balancing creative decisions with the realities of filming during the pandemic and later while raising young children. “It really was a family effort,” Richardson said. “We were writing, producing and problem-solving together.”

Tim attended film school and produced an independent film with Andrew in 2015, in which Andy was the lead, and they became fast friends, and continued to work together. So the Lawrence brothers were a perfect fit for these films.

Speaking of a family affair, the Lawrence matriarch, Donna, stars in the films alongside her sons, trying her hand at their profession.

“[Donna] never really said it out loud, but she always thought it would be fun to act in a project,” Richardson said. “So when we said, you should be the grandma, she was all in, she got her own wig, she got all these crazy clothes. It was a fun family affair.”

Even her daughter joined the filming fun as a flower girl in “Marry Christmas.”

The first film, “Mistletoe Mixup,” tells the story of Holly, a workaholic with no time for romance, who meets two potential Mr. Wrights on the same day — only to discover they are brothers. A sibling squabble unfolds in this holiday romance. The movie came together during the COVID-19 pandemic. With most productions on hold, Richardson and a small, trusted crew filmed in a Midway home that also housed the actors.

“We filmed during COVID. We had a script, and we had a group of people we trusted,” Richardson said. “The house we filmed in was also where the actors stayed, so it felt like work, but also a shared experience.”

Luck with Utah’s unpredictable weather also played a role. In the first film, scenes at Solitude ski resort were filmed in mid-April, and snow fortuitously lingered for the story’s ski scenes.  Although the day before, she said there were skiers in cutoff shorts. Richardson herself doubled for ski shots when actors weren’t on skis. “When you see someone fall while skiing in the movie, that’s me,” she said.

Following the success of the first film on Amazon Prime Video, Richardson produced a sequel, “Marry Christmas,” while caring for a newborn. In this story, the Wright brothers, Joey and Matthew Lawrence, accidentally schedule weddings for the same day. A sibling rivalry ensues over who will marry their brides on Christmas, with Andrew Lawrence providing wacky-brother comedy. Using Post-it notes, Richardson outlined the three-act story in just a few days.

“My second baby had just been born, and I thought, ‘The follow-up is easy; it’s a wedding,’” she said. “I outlined the story and then wrote the script in a few days.”

Richardson delighted in the small, unscripted moments that made the films memorable for the cast and crew. In “Mistletoe Mixup,” the final scene features Austin slipping while walking toward Holly — an accident that wasn’t scripted but stayed in the final cut. “He did it that morning, and he was such a pro, he just kept going with the take,” she said.

Richardson’s daughter played a flower girl in “Marry Christmas” and wouldn’t stop talking, asking to see “Uncle Andy.” “

She ran down the aisle instead of throwing petals, so we put a mark for her. When she got to the end, I told her to throw the petals — and she threw all of them at once. It was so cute,” Richardson said.

Music was another collaborative highlight. Andy Lawrence wrote and recorded songs for both the opening ski sequence and the wedding reception scene, completing them in less than a week.

Both films leaned heavily on local landscapes. A majority of the crew was based in Utah, with filming taking place at Solitude Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort, River Bottoms Ranch, and other Wasatch County landmarks.

“I have high standards when it comes to ski scenes, and I wanted to represent Deer Valley the right way,” Richardson said. “If we were going to use the Deer Valley name, it had to look like Deer Valley.”

Locals will recognize familiar spots from “Mistletoe Mixup,” including Kringle’s, the Christmas store in Midway; downtown Midway, where the tree scene was filmed; River Bottoms Ranch, which hosted the wedding; Holiday Lanes bowling alley in Heber City; Café Galleria and others. “It’s fun when people recognize the locations,” Richardson said.

“Mistletoe Mixup” found early success on Amazon Prime, and “Marry Christmas” later reached Netflix’s U.S. Top 10.

“Being in the Netflix Top 10, even briefly, means millions of people pressed play,” Richardson said. “I’m just grateful that people get to see the movie.”

For Richardson, the appeal is simple. “I want people to finish the movie feeling like they took a short break from everything,” she said. “These are movies families can watch together and just agree were fun.”

She also hopes the films offer a bit of continuity in a chaotic world. “People tell me they watch it every year now, and that’s been the most rewarding part,” Richardson said.

 

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