Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story is Buffalo-approved.
As a born-and-bred Buffalonian and member of the Bills Mafia, the collaboration between Hallmark and our beloved city and team resulted in a charming, warm love story that also captured the beauty, heart, and spirit of the Queen City.
It could’ve used a bit more snow, but we’ll let it slide.
Delving into a delightful film like this that served as an ode to the city, Buffalo Bills, and Bills Mafia couldn’t have come at a better time.
Bills fans are still reeling from a brutal loss against the Texans that still has us grumbling days later. But onward and upwards and all that good stuff.
What made A Bills Love Story such an endearing film is the thought and heart they put into capturing the real charm of Buffalo and its people.
It’s all the little touches that made me smile the most. While I’ll forever mourn the recent loss of Famous Doughnuts, that Paula’s Doughnuts box made me grin and sparked a craving.
Sponge candy as holiday sweet treats? Beef on Weck at a game gathering? Hallmark Hunk Andrew Walker slinging beer and (Buffalo) wings (with Bleu cheese, thank you very much), at Bar Bill Tavern?
A significant part of our sweet love story took place at Vidlers, or capturing the bittersweetness of saying goodbye to Highmark Stadium in favor of New Highmark Stadium?
Recognition of the little things feels good.
Most importantly, Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story embodies the city to its very core with both its primary and secondary love story, and that’s where it feels like this entire script was tailor-made for the Buffalo experience.
For a city famously known as “The City of Good Neighbors,” the film does a fabulous job of leaning into the bit in a way that still feels perfectly natural and captures some of the best romantic tropes.
Morgan and Gabe, as the Girl/Boy next door and lifetime best friends, were cute enough, but seeing the full extent of how their families were already intertwined made me smile so much my cheeks hurt.
It’s what Buffalo is about — neighbors who become friends.
And this STACKED supporting cast captures this beautifully. Steve Schirripa, Caroline Aaron, Tracy Pollan, and Patti Muri steal every scene they are in. And Joe Pantoliano, specifically, is the beating heart and soul of this film.
Neighbors orchestrating elaborate Christmas displays that are entirely devoted to the Bills? I’ve witnessed this personally more times than I can count in my lifetime.
The DeLucas and Quinns weren’t just neighbors this whole time. They were family. Nothing captures the spirit of the city better than that.
We’re a place where all that’s required to make fast friends is a jersey, “Go Bills,” and a case of beer.
And the holidays are often when we shine the most. You’ll truly get the best of what it means to live in “The City of Good Neighbors,” whether it’s charity drives, extending helping hands, or shoveling out neighbors during a bad snowstorm.
The film was endearing because the love story didn’t just stop at us waiting oh-so-patiently for Morgan and Gabe to finally admit their feelings to each other.
No, the entire film was a love story to what it means to be part of a community, to Bills players who not only understand the special magic of the city but actually become part of and uphold it.
It was a love story to a sports fandom that’s unparalleled in its loyalty and devotion, even when we circle the drain more often than not with our “almosts” more than our “actuallys.”
Bills games aren’t just about watching your favorite players book it across the turf. They’re about community, an unspoken shared culture that unites Buffalonians and diehard fans from all walks of life, and having as much hope as fervor.
In Buffalo, even if you’re not a football fan, you’re a Bills fan. It’s a way of life, deeply embedded in the city’s culture, so there’s no real escaping it. And when you’re in the city long enough, you don’t really want to escape it in the first place.
That’s what makes little touches like Morgan’s date so hilarious in its authenticity.
If you can’t get even a little swept up in the fervor, you may be in the wrong place.
A Bills Love Story captures the heart, soul, and yes, the craziness of Bills Mafia. The blinged-out football den as Gabe and Morgan came asking for a favor, like something out of a mafia movie, had me in stitches.
It was two-fold. Not only was the Bills Mafia den far too accurate for words, right down to an impossibly cute Yorkie. But in an area that’s so small, where everyone knows everyone, it’s no wonder it took Morgan and Gabe so long to track down Mia in the first place.
The tailgating, the table breaking, the Zubaz pants, the movie is such a fun and quirky ode to the city.
And Matthew Daddario and Holland Roden were genuinely fun to watch. Because the love story was expansive… something everyone could get in on.
And incorporating the community so much made everything better and stronger.
They even squeezed in a crossover; Tyler Hynes and Hunter King reprised their Holiday Touchdown: A Chief’s Love Story roles for a brief cameo. Even though the Chiefs are rivals, there’s always love in Buffalo around the holidays (just leave your opposing jerseys at home).
Morgan was a delightful lead. Who couldn’t love a pediatrician who works at Oshei? It’s a remarkable hospital filled with incredible people, and having that represented, even in the smallest of ways, was nice.
Football-obsessed to the end and devoted to her job, I loved how well-rounded and fun Morgan was.
But mostly, it was her love for Uncle Tommy that had me tearing up a few times. Hell, I’m an Uncle’s girl to a diehard Bills fan, too.
To say Morgan’s story about her uncle Tommy being like a father to her resonated is an understatement.
It’s through Tommy’s own story that so much of the plot clicks into place in a lovely way.
We learned that he was a proud man who helped take care of his younger siblings growing up, but when he got drafted, it disrupted things.
That salt-of-the-earth story is peak Buffalo, a predominantly working-class area where family is everything.
And they build on that and the community further when the holiday mystery is figuring out who helped support the family when Uncle Tommy was away, as well as who sent him new (mostly Bills-related) gifts every year.
For 55 years, he has had his own secret Santa that carried him through the best and worst of life without ever knowing who was behind it.
All he knew was that they were essentially good neighbors, someone who sent his mother and siblings money and groceries — who sent him letters — who sent him gifts, but, more importantly, hope.
Decades of knowing in his most challenging times that he’s not entirely alone is a gift that people too often take for granted.
If I’m being honest, from a storytelling perspective, Tommy and Mia’s love story was more compelling than Gabe and Morgan’s…
Part of it is because I’m a sucker for second-chance love stories, in both their formats (old flames and middle-aged romances).
Tommy and Mia’s reunion was inarguably the bigger highlight of the film than our dear Morgan and Gabe finally getting it together and smooching.
My only disappointment was in not seeing Gabe break the news to Tommy about Mia so we could see his reaction firsthand.
What can I say? I live for those little moments. Plus, Uncle Tommy was my absolute favorite character in a film with an eclectic, amusing bunch.
If you Billieve enough, love will prevail in the end, even if it’s decades later, and that’s the type of messaging that resonates, especially around the holiday season.
It’s never too late to reconnect, find love, or win a freaking Super Bowl, you know?
But Morgan and Gabe had my heart, too.
They had such great chemistry, and it was so endearing to see how their friendship blossomed into something romantic and steady. It was rooted in them showing up for one another, which, in my opinion, is how all the best love stories are made.
Roden was such a light and genuinely fun. And Matthew Daddario is such a great actor, and I still feel nostalgic for the days of Shadowhunters and chatting about the series every week with my late friend, who was a massive fan of the actor.
They were also a member of Bills Mafia and equally loved Christmas. This film was tailor-made for them, and the bittersweetness of watching it came from knowing that simple fact while also lamenting that they weren’t actually here to see it.
Perhaps that’s part of what made this film so special, too. The ability to connect with it and the characters, even though most of the accent attempts were more New York than Buffalonian, I might add. Just saying.
It was the instant affection and warmth of seeing Bills players like Damar Hamlin, a local treasure who had the entire Bills Mafia, from all faiths and denominations, praying for him during one of our most terrifying ordeals in Bills history.
Seeing Dion Dawkins, Ray Davis, Reid Ferguson, or Dawson Knox in casual scenes was delightful because Bills players are just so cherished by the city.
And legends gossiping about Gabe and Morgan’s love life? I couldn’t stop giggling and playing flag football with Jim Kelly serving as referee on the field of Highmark Stadium? That’s what dreams are made of for a Bills fan.
Thurman Thomas, Scott Norwood, and Andre Reed, these aren’t just names for Buffalonians; they’re legends.
The effortless incorporation of so many recognizable figures and Bills players, past and present, Coach McDermott, or even announcer Chris Brown, are all little touches that make the entire film so deeply personal and special.
The quirky supporting cast provided all the laughs and smiles. Christening a newborn baby into Bills Mafia after using spicy wings to induce labor is amusing to no end and not unlike how a cousin or two came into this world, I kid you not.
Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story comes across as more of a love letter to the city and an undeniably passionate fandom — a way of life and culture that’s very much tied to a love for the game.
In many ways, the actual romance disappears in that, but it’s okay, because it works. It adds to the story’s charm. And I can assure you, it’s bound to be a holiday staple for decades to come. We’re loyal like that.
Over to you, Hallmarkies.
Any Bills Mafia fans out there who tuned into this delightful film and have some thoughts to share? I’ll see you in the comments!
Oh, and Go Bills! 💙❤️🤍🏈
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