Toronto Star
'The Housewives of the North Pole' dishes out a little holiday spirit
If you’re a fan of holiday rom-coms and the “Real Housewives” franchise, you’re going to love the drama in the new film “The Housewives of the North Pole,” a bit of a mash-up of the two.
The much anticipated first holiday movie from Peacock — exclusively streaming in Canada on hayu.com from Dec. 10 — stars Kyle Richards (“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” “Halloween”) and Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad,” “Life in Pieces”).
The duo play talk-of-the-town best friends known as “the Christmas Queens of North Pole, Vermont,” who have won the Best Holiday House decorating competition every year for nine years. Just days before Christmas, when the ladies are out grocery shopping together, they get into an argument that escalates quickly, causing them to have a falling out. Since it happened in public, news of the feud travels through town, which is a treat for fans of “The Real Housewives,” because there are a handful of blink-or-you-miss-it cameos from some of the most iconic housewives.
In fact, there are a handful of Easter eggs and nods to the series in the scripted film. Richards, who plays Trish, is ever so self-aware and pokes fun at herself and her Beverly Hills lifestyle, like her nose job, her veneers and insisting she make gluten free holiday cookies.
Seeing her onscreen husband (who is not Mauricio!) wrap his arms around her and kiss her only on the cheek, was a welcome relief for fans of everyone’s favourite “Housewives” couple. To see her with anyone other than her long-time real-life love seemed amiss, so it was appreciated that the film’s writers sent the character away on a business trip for most of the movie. Goodbye, Kyle.
The film isn’t just gossip, competing and one-upping one another. “I think it’s about getting back to what’s really important. They get caught up,” Brandt told the Star in a Zoom call with her co-star by her side. “For my character (Diana), there are other things this time of year that are stressing her out. And it can be so easy to get caught up in that and forget about the people that you love and make merry with.”
When first reading the script, Richards said she really fell in love with it because at its core, it’s a Christmas movie about the love between friends and young love, which we see with their characters’ teenage son and daughter.
“It’s also about forgiveness,” Richards said. “They have this big blow-up — which happens with friends sometimes — and then you miss them and it hurts, and then getting back together. So I feel like it gives you everything: a little bit of tears and a little bit of laughter,” Richards said.
One can’t help but wonder if she was thinking about her well-documented falling out with her former friend and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast member Lisa Vanderpump. There are undertones of their falling out throughout this film.
There are also undertones of loss and moving on. “My character, she doesn’t feel like she can ever imagine herself ever dating again and she’s opening herself up to that,” Brandt said. “And if there’s ever pressure to couple up, it’s the holidays. Or to be aware that you’re single.”
If this is your first holiday season being single, Brandt says sometimes it’s hard to accept the change. But change is good. “You want to keep the stuff that works for you and get rid of the rest,” Brandt said.
“And the good thing is you can still do the holidays even if you don’t have a partner,” Richards said. She suggests surrounding yourself with friends and family and people you love.
“I’ve had rifts with people in the past, family in the past, and it was our children that brought us together,” Richards said. “And that’s what’s so sweet about this film. It’s our children bringing us together.”
Of course, she’s referring to the years her sister Kathy Hilton didn’t talk to her — because of her part in “American Woman,” a fictional show that was inspired by Richards’ upbringing and their late mom, Kathleen Mary Richards — something we learned more about in the “RHOBH” reunion.
“Lean on the people you can lean on and be there for them, too,” Brandt said.
For Richards, whose mom died in 2002, the holidays are about keeping alive the ones we’ve lost. “I was just talking to Betsy earlier that I love to play the music my mom loved. She loved Johnny Mathis Christmas music,” Richards said.
“I love to keep her spirit alive during the holidays and just, you know, do things that make you feel good.” She said she puts her tree up right after Halloween because it makes her happy. She plays holiday music all the time and watches holiday movies, like this one.
“Those are the things that actually do make me feel good and happy. I will get my girls, and we’ll make popcorn and pick a night, and just sit around and watch holiday movies.”