The Merchants of Joy follows five families in their year-round work to supply New Yorkers with Christmas trees. The documentary intends to invoke empathy for these merchants through discussion of the industry leading up to each December, though not once in the 90-minute run-time did I feel inspired to snag a tree from the vendor on my block.
The viewer quickly learns that the New York City Christmas tree industry is deeply connected. These five families seem to share a common enemy: Kevin Hammer, a prominent figure who joined the trade at 19 years old and is now considered to be the “kingpin,” who sells hundreds of thousands of trees across Manhattan annually. While the families followed in The Merchants of Joy would describe themselves as “frenemies,” Hammer is the outlier, not associating with his industry peers.
A major drawback of this documentary is the lack of detail. Due to the nature of competition around the work that brings in their livelihood, these families refuse to reveal interesting insights in fear that it would cost them their competitive edge. All the viewer gets is rough estimates of costs and general locations where the trees may be grown. One interviewee jokes that she doesn’t want this documentary to become a tutorial on how to break into the business, because they have enough competition already. Such a lack of information prevented this story from hitting its marks, instead leading to a painful repetition of vague facts.
Given the cost of living in New York City, it is understandable that the average New Yorker can’t shell out hundreds of dollars for a tree each season. While sympathetic to these family businesses, it is not secret that this industry is a dying one for a reason. At a stand run by Kevin Hammer, a 12-foot tree would run you $130—in 1999. Today, similar trees could be priced upwards of $1,000.
NYC Tree Lady (Heather Neville), who prides herself on spreading holiday cheer, has prices up to a whopping $1,895 listed on her website. Given these figures, it would have been more informative to hear what each family charges for a typical tree to better understand their predicament. It is difficult to sympathize with the merchants, knowing that opting for a plastic tree could save hundreds of dollars. One scene featured a family looking at a seven-foot tree to learn it was $300, which the mother remarked as four times the price of a similar tree sold at a large retail corporation.
While it was nice to feel connected with the lives of the individuals, some of the details shared were off topic and drawn out. Seeing the Nash family’s emotional end to a 50-year run was relevant, but the same cannot be said for other side plots. Stories of addiction, divorce, and cancer treatment felt harped on, not what the audience would expect from a film about selling trees. Further, a potentially exciting plot point—the mafia’s involvement—was quickly brushed over, again returning the focus to the less interesting details.
1.5/5 Stars.
Although it was interesting to learn some details about Christmas tree selling in New York City, the lack of statistics left this film falling flat. Perhaps the perspective of the “kingpin,” Hammer, would’ve led to more relevant information, but he declined to take part in this documentary. Overall, The Merchants of Joy lost its message, feeling repetitive and drawn out, providing no new information beyond the first 20 minutes.
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