[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]
The Brenner brood is bringing it on back for one last blowout this Saturday with Three Wisest Men, the final installment in the film trilogy that began three years ago with Three Wise Men and a Baby.
Pretty much all of the band is back together as Luke (Andrew Walker) and Sophie (Nicole Major) await the impending arrival of twins, which has Thomas (Miles Marthaller) worried about his place in the pecking order; Stefan (Paul Campbell) is so entrenched in wedding planning that his wedding to Sophie (Fiona Vroom) isn’t getting any closer; and Taylor (Tyler Hynes) is happily involved with Caroline (Erin Karpluk) but perilously close to messing that up when an unexpected professional opportunity has him pretzeling himself about what it means for them.
Mom Barbara (Margaret Colin) rallies the crew home for the holidays, where they learn it is indeed the last ride because she’s ready to downsize and bid the Brenner abode adieu. This begets the overzealous mission that they will therefore have “THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER.”
Uh huh. About that. Wrinkle number one is the arrival of Lochyln Munro as Susie’s dad, Bob, who’s so disconnected from the notion that his little girl is about to be married that he doesn’t actually know which brother is her betrothed when he meets them as a group. This doesn’t help Stefan’s already tenuous grasp of his self-worth. When Bob becomes a stodgy, unwelcome houseguest through a literal comedy of errors, it’s Barbara who tells him to fall in line or get out. Go, Barbara!
The generally calm, cool, and collected Luke realizes he knows nothing about anything as a husband and soon-to-be father of three, which is a reset that knocks him off his axis. And Taylor is way overthinking what to do instead of talking to the one person that he needs to actually make big life decisions with. Of course the brothers are there to catch each other with another poignant heart to heart.
Throw in a must-have, unavailable toy, a sketchy assist from Marc Laclark (Matt Hamilton), a surprise visit for Taylor from ex-girlfriend Fiona (Ali Libert), a medical calamity that Dr. Maclaren (Kimberley Sustad) is once again on shift for, the late arrival of Pastor Roy (Christopher Shyer), and some good old-fashioned product placement and it’s A LOT.
Director Terry Ingram (directing his 50th Hallmark movie!) directs the script by the returning writing team of Campbell, Sustad, and Russell Hainline. It’s a very fun, full, and fitting conclusion to a story the fans have wholeheartedly embraced. And as chock full as the broadcast version is, there are a couple of hat tips to the previous installments that you’ll have to catch Sunday on Hallmark+ in the Extended Version, which I expect will also come back to Hallmark Channel later this season.
Three Wisest Men premieres Saturday, November 15th, at 8 pm/7c on Hallmark Channel following a repeat of Three Wise Men and Baby and Three Wiser Men and a Boy beginning at 4 pm/3c. The premiere will also be streaming on various outlets in the US and airing on W Network in Canada. It will be streaming the next day on Hallmark+ in the US and StackTV in Canada. Here are a few sneak peeks.
Photos courtesy of Craig Minielly for Hallmark Media and videos courtesy of Hallmark Media.
