While watching A Paris Christmas Waltz (2023), all I could think about was how much I want to return to the French capital.  I have seen my share of big cities, from Chicago to London, and most recently Rome.  Yet, Paris is special.  I feel like I fit in well there, too.  One of my favorite aspects of the city is the fact that the Basilica of Scaré-Cœur overlooks as area of town that, as a practicing Catholic, I would rather pretend did not exist.  I will not mention it specifically, but the basilica is officially part of Montmartre, which is not that section.  And when I say “overlook,” I mean that in every sense of the word.  Finally, it arguably has a better view of the rest of the city than the Eiffel Tower, though I do not know for sure as my tour to the top of the famous Parisian landmark got canceled at the last minute.  This is another reason to return.  Unfortunately, Scaré-Cœur is absent from this film, and in the end, there is little about it that is different than any of the others I have watched over the past few weeks.

Instead of A Paris Christmas Waltz, Emma (Jen Lilley) is watching ballroom dancing on a stage in New York City, though the holiday is the same.  One of the pair she has come to see in the world famous (relatively speaking) dancer Leo (Matthew Morrison).  Upon concluding his routine, he gets a call from a French hospital telling him that his mentor and teacher, Henry (Paul Freeman), has had a health scare.  Life is scary in a different way for Emma.  She is an accountant and dedicated to her work to a degree that her best friend, Cece (Stephanie Siadatan), views as unhealthy.  Because Emma had been inspired by the performance, in order to bring some variety to her life she decides to start taking dance lessons.  A year passes and we shift to Paris where Leo has been spending the intervening time with Henry, helping his old instructor recuperate and run his dance school.  One evening, Henry asks something of his star pupil that Leo is unsure of at first: to enter into a professional-amateur (Pro-Am) competition using choreography designed by Leo.  One of the reasons why Leo is hesitant is because when he departed from New York, he left behind Giselle (Jade Ewen), his dance partner with whom he had been close.  She had moved on, and it is not easy for a professional to find somebody else with whom to step out onto the floor.  It is because of his dedication to Henry that Leo agrees to do it, but it requires returning to New York (for some reason).  Speaking of the Big Apple, it is Christmas again there, and as usual, Emma is hard at work.  So, too, is his one of her co-workers.  Yet, due to the need to lay people off, he comes to her and says that he is about to lose his job.  Because it is so close to the Holiday, she goes to her boss and requests that she be the one let go instead of him, a Christian sacrifice if I ever saw one.  Cece is excited for Emma, and to celebrate the big move, they go to a dancing mixer hosted by Emma’s school.  Once there, she runs into Leo, who she had already had a chance meeting with on the street.  They dance together, and such is her charm and skill that he asks her to come Paris in order to be her partner in the upcoming competition.  Not having any current attachments, she eagerly accepts.  Emma’s introduction to the City of Lights is a dream come true, and Leo is impressed by the wonder with which she sees everything.  It is refreshing for him, who is used to seeing it as somebody who has lived there a while.  Henry, too, is pleased with Leo’s choice.  The teacher is strict but patient with the newcomer to competitive dancing.  For Henry, it is not so much a matter of gracefulness as emotional commitment.  With that description, I think you can see where this is going, particularly given the setting of arguably the most romantic city in the world.  This is all a potent combination for Emma.  However, Leo is the cautious one.  Early on, he makes the declaration that he has a rule that he does not date his partners.  At first, she is just grateful to be in France at Christmas time.  What makes it harder is the fact that Henry insists that Emma and Leo spend as much time together as possible.  They come close to kissing once, but the real test to their developing closeness is Giselle.  She has come to Paris to enter the same tournament, this time with a new partner, but she also messes with the chemistry between Emma and Leo.  The worst happens when Giselle brings Leo an item Emma had bought in a store but left behind.  Because Giselle had conveniently been in the boutique at the same time, and equally so Emma’s phone is dead, Giselle ends up bringing it to Leo.  Emma gets there and sees the two of them together and assumes they are rekindling an old romance.  From this point on, Emma is distant and stubborn, not wanting to listen to any of Leo’s explanations.  This attitude comes out in her dancing, with Henry noticing it and getting annoyed with his pupils.  It is not until they are about to go out for their final dance that he is able to explain to her that there is nothing between him and Giselle, sealing it with a kiss.  Though they come in second place, they are now happily ever after.

Again, the only aspect of A Paris Christmas Waltz with which I was happy was the setting.  Actually, that is not fair.  I liked Emma, especially her enthusiasm and the joy with which she did most everything.  This includes when she sees a Nativity scene in front of a gorgeous Parisian church.  Then again, they are all gorgeous there, but I digress.  She takes the time to appreciate things, noting how much a blessing it is to have a fresh croissant for breakfast, or just being in Paris for the first time.  There will be the cynics out there who think her attitude saccharine, but I found it refreshing.  I knew I was in for a character I could support when she sacrificed her job for the sake of another.  One of the more recent sections of the Catechism in a Year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz that I listened to involved the Eighth Commandment: thou shall not steal.  I did not expect there to be as much to this part of the Catechism as there is, but it contains much of the Church’s social teachings.  A lot of this has to do with economics.  There is nothing wrong with wealth.  However, what we do with that wealth matters.  For many people, the pursuit of money, usually through our employment, becomes a god that we must serve.  This is covered under the Eighth Commandment because seeing your life in this manner means that you could be depriving someone else of something valuable, usually God.  Though Faith is not a part of this movie, in the beginning it appears that Emma cares only about work to the detriment of leading a full life.  What is great is that she recognizes it and gets on a better path.  Today, the Hallow app in their daily saint reflection discussed St. Basil the Great.  One of the things that he reminds us of is that it is never too late to follow the correct path.  We are never too old or sinful to leave a former way of life behind and answer God’s call.  While I would have preferred that the film put its conclusion in such a context, enough of it is there for this Catholic reviewer to notice.

Again, the biggest thing I personally noticed was how A Paris Christmas Waltz made me want to return to the French capital.  I will, one day.  Until then, I will watch Midnight in Paris (2011) to get my Parisian fix, once I complete my seasonal film quest.