Best Christmas movies set in each state
By Reed Gaudens
South Carolina: Christmas in Conway
Release Year: 2013
Directed By: John Kent Harrison
Starring: Andy Garcia, Mandy Moore, Cheri Oteri, Riley Smith, Mark Jeffrey Miller, Mary-Louise Parker
There’s something about Hallmark Hall of Fame movies that just aims to pull on our heartstrings and punch us in the gut. It’s the exact opposite of the Hallmark Channel movies we’ve become accustomed to that are the film equivalent of a candy cane. Like November Christmas, 2013’s Christmas in Conway centers on Duncan (Andy Garcia), whose terminally ill wife Suzy (Mary-Louise Parker) returns from a lengthy stay at the hospital to spend her final days in the comfort of her own home. Despite being consumed with concern and grievances with everyone, especially Suzy’s hospice nurse Natalie (Mandy Moore), Duncan plans to give his wife the perfect present.
To recreate the place Duncan proposed to Suzy, he goes all steam ahead on his mission to build a Ferris wheel in their back yard. Unfortunately, his neighbors in the small town of Conway, South Carolina have some things to say about his grand gesture. Christmas in Conway premiered on ABC as a Hallmark Hall of Fame selection in December 2013 and attracted over 6 million viewers. Although it takes place in South Carolina, the movie was actually filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. But you’ll never be able to tell the difference through the tears streaming down your cheeks.