Hallmark's "Sugar Plum Twist" Has Great Dancing Spiced with Woke Garbage

 Sugar Plum Twist Plot Summary

Natalia is a professional ballerina whose past injuries have forced her to retire from dancing.  She is hired at an established dance company to work behind the scenes as an assistant choreographer, but she and her boss have different ideas on the production of The Nutcracker.

Starring:  Jamie Gray Hyder, Ektor Rivera, and Laura Rosguer

Image:  Crown Media

What Is the Sugar Plum Twist?

The Nutcracker is a Russian ballet that was introduced in 1892.  The libretto of the ballet is adapted from an 1816 short story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann.  Although The Nutcracker wasn't originally a success, it gained massive popularity by the 1960's and has become almost synonymous with Christmas.  In fact, American ballet companies generate 40% of their annual ticket revenues from this seasonal production.

The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is the most immediately recognizable score from The Nutcracker, and the "twist" Hallmark puts on it is a Latin beat.  

Vivi Serrano (Rosguer) is a Puerto Rican dance instructor at her parents' studio who dreams of adding a professional dance credit to her resume; however, she isn't selected for a role in The Nutcracker because her dancing lacks passion.  Natalia Haddad (Hyder) sees a lot of her younger self in Vivi and begins mentoring her.  

Ms. Kat, the Russian owner and manager of the dance company and Natalia's boss, is initially resistant to making any changes to the timeless classic, but in the end, she relents and gives the audience a surprise at the conclusion of the performance.  Vivi does a very energetic rendition of The Sugar Plum Fairy thanks to a fast Latin music mix interwoven with the original score.

Ballet is so graceful, and Vivi's dance at the end is enjoyable despite its departure from tradition.  

Hallmark Keeps Increasing the Dose of "Wokeism"

If you're asking, What do you mean by 'woke,' then you must not be paying attention to our devolving society.  For an in-depth look at Hallmark's descent into political brand poisoning, you can read this article which explains how wokeness is destroying the type of movies we've come to expect from them.

Hallmark started injecting small, nearly undetectable, doses of wokeness into movies when Wonya Lucas took over as CEO two years ago.  Over time, they have gradually been increasing the dosage, saturating many of their newer movies with it.  The weak-minded still lap up all the new movies without noticing the indoctrination element.  Critical thinkers with strong morals often delay watching the latest movies until they ascertain from social media comments whether the fresh releases are clean and family-friendly or not.  

An increasing number of fans are fleeing the network altogether in search of romcoms with ethics and integrity.  Great American Family (GAF), headed by former Hallmark CEO, Bill Abbott, is the safe haven they are finding.  Many Hallmark celebrities have already migrated to GAF, and the fledgling network is growing and thriving--Hallmark should be worried.  GAF stands out in the crowd because it is one network that is not bowing to wokeism, choosing instead to produce movies that are family-friendly and that reflect traditional American faith and values.

If there's one thing we've learned, woke companies are willing to go down with the ship rather than let go of their political ideology and listen to what fans want. Many fans report on social media that their outcry to Hallmark has either been met with silence or some talking point about diversity, equity, and inclusion--which is the nicely racist way of saying "less white people, " more sexual perversion, and acting opportunities for people who suck at acting but have the right skin tone.

Fans who have followed Hallmark over the long-haul are astonished by the poor quality of recent movies.  We shouldn't be surprised.  Instead of writing a moving, heartfelt script or one that is fun and engaging, it appears Hallmark is working backwards--they decide what political agenda they want to push, and then they write a crappy script to fit the narrative.  It's no wonder so many of the newer movies are empty and not worth watching.  Hallmark doesn't consider their prime demographic--most movies must reflect a left-wing ideology at all costs.

How Is Sugar Plum Twist Woke?

It's not the celebration of Puerto Rican culture that's woke.

What is woke is the moment when Natalia watches Vivi salsa dance and marvels at Vivi's passion.  Natalia asks Vivi where that passion had been when she auditioned for The Nutcracker.  Vivi admits that she had been trying to dance the way ballerinas are expected to for such a classic production because she didn't want to stand out for being different.  Natalia gives her this advice:  "Dance like yourself."  It's something Vivi's parents often tell her, too.  However, Vivi replies that she doesn't see anyone in dance companies who "looks like her."  Boo hoo. Vivi's response is politely racist. Translation:  white people are oppressors. 

Gee, where could Vivi be a ballerina where people looked like her?  How about the National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico?  Process this for a minute.  Imagine being a white person who goes to India or China or Africa and then laments how no one in those respective ballet companies looks like you.  You'd be a laughingstock. The majority of people in America are white.  Sorry, that's just demographics.

Natalia assures Vivi her insecurities are not valid because times are changing and there's a lot of diversity in ballet now.  Translation:  white people are oppressors, but incessant bullying and intimidation tactics unleashed on society to force diversity, equity, and inclusion are working.

The Nutcracker has been in existence for 130 years.  The lead characters in the original story are white.  Imagine watching a play or movie about Martin Luther King, Jr., and having a white man play his part.  How insulting and inappropriate would that be?  The entertainment industry needs to stop forcing diversity into areas where it doesn't make sense.

Another woke element in Sugar Plum Twist is the feminist, anti-man sentiment.  Ms. Kat fires Natalia over a misunderstanding.  Matteo, like a true gentleman coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress, rushes to her defense.  Instead of being happy by his display of chivalry, Natalia gets mad and stops speaking to him.  Later, she tells him it's nice to have someone in her corner, but she doesn't need him to protect or defend her.  It's no wonder science is showing a shocking trend that men today have dropping testosterone levels, higher estrogen levels, and lower sperm counts than men a century ago.  Our society degrades men instead allowing them to be men!  It's HONORABLE for a man to protect a shield a woman--not a display of "toxic masculinity."

Despite the percentage of gay people in America being miniscule, Hallmark tacks one or more of them into as many movies as possible these days in an attempt to please all the fringe factions of society.  In Sugar Plum Twist, the gay character is the black male dancer in the production, though the exposure is brief.  In one scene, Natalia gives him pointers on how to improve his performance, and when he responds to her, his voice is the stereotypical and exaggerated, sissified resonance you would expect.   

Expect Worse to Come from Hallmark

Hallmark went from showing a subliminal shot of a gay couple in 2020's Matching Hearts to proudly featuring a gay couple in 2022's first gay romance, The Holiday Sitter.  As long as people keep watching, they will be emboldened to continue.

Injecting woke garbage into most Hallmark movies is not progress.  It's not "changing with the times" as so many Lefties like to contend.  Right is right even when no one is doing it.  Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.  Culture might change but right and wrong--absolute truths--never change.

Sugar Plum Twist is just more proof of how Hallmark has lost its way and is barreling toward the point of no return.