Kristopher Turner stars as Matt Blessing, an out-of-work older teen or early 20-something soon to be father.  Matt spends the beginning of the movie searching for a job.  I know this movie was made in the mid 2000s but the setting has to be earlier because there are phone booths, no one has a cell phone, he’s searching for a job from paper want ads (and people still get and read the newspaper in this universe!!!).  I’ll get that out of the way now since it’s perhaps the hardest part of the movie to relate to.  Matt has a pregnant girlfriend, Megan (Emma Taylor-Isherwood), although based on their interaction the term ‘girlfriend’ might be a bit of a stretch (Baby-mama might be more accurate).  It doesn’t seem that Megan is interested in being a mother or having a family.  She tells Matt during his visit that she is going to put the baby up for adoption.  Matt suspects this is the influence of Megan’s mother and still believes they could be a happy family.

Later Matt gets a knock on the door.  It turns out that he has a call . . . from the payphone . . . in the hallway . . . on the wall directly across from his apartment door (That’s where the community phone for the entire floor is?  I bet that never gets old.  Especially when it rings in the middle of the night.)  It is about Megan, who is in the hospital in labor.  He rushes to her bedside.  She delivers while Matt waits outside in the waiting area.  Later Megan’s mom tells Matt that adoption is for the best.  Megan’s mom is adamant that she knows what is best.  Megan is young and should be starting college and having the best times of her life (Sounds a bit like an former sorority girl waxing poetic about her crazy college years).  Matt strongly disagrees and states that she and Megan are in love and can make a family despite their lack of resources or Matt’s family background (Hmmm, sounds ominous.).  Matt is overjoyed when he finds out he has a son and goes to the nursery to be with him.

Matt tries to call his mother to let her know but her number is not in service.  He goes to her work and finds out she has left to work at the casinos down by the shore.  He leaves his contact information with his mom’s former employer.  At the hospital, Megan is meeting with the adoptive parents and assures them there is no problem with the father.  Matt arrives and talks to Megan but cannot change her mind. She doesn’t want to be a mom, she just wants to have fun (Cindi Lauper would approve).  Megan tells Matt that he doesn’t have to be involved in the adoption because they are not married so he has no rights (I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works).  Then again, she lied about who the adoptive parents were when he asked about them in his room too . . . sooooo . . . she’s probably not getting a “mother of the year” nomination anytime soon.

When Matt gets back to his apartment, he finds his estranged mother.  They have a short conversation before she has to catch her train.  Based on the discussion, she wasn’t up for too many “mother of the year” awards either and Matt went on his own at a young age.  Matt runs into the couple from earlier and shoves the man before going to see Megan and the baby.  Megan is resolute, the baby is going to be adopted.  Luke offers to take the baby back to the baby after its feeding.  On the way he sees the couple he accosted talking to a security guard.  Worried he might be identified (I mean he did shove the guy against the wall screaming “You’re not taking my baby!!!  So they may have a clue as to who is is.) Matt decides he has only one recourse . . . to kidnap the baby (WTF???).  He walks out with the newborn tucked into his jacket (Yeah, that’s not suspicious, not at all).  I know security is pretty tight in maternity wards these days but apparently at the time of this movie it was as easy to get yourself a infant in New Jersey as to walk into the nearest hospital and swing by delivery wing (Easy, Peasy, Lemon Squeezy).

With the baby in tow, Matt knows he has to go somewhere the authorities will never find him . . . his apartment (huh???).  A friend (or maybe just some random guy, he wasn’t in the movie before) brings him some baby items.  With (I mean, I assume since he just kidnapped a baby) the authorities hot on his heels he takes the babe on a bus ride to Bracebridge.  Matt has no real knowledge of how to care for an infant which explains why he would steal a newborn without any actual baby supplies and then expose him to freezing winter conditions while on the run.  He finds his estranged grandmother, Glennie (Louise Fletcher), who owns a local Inn.  He tells his grandmother that his son is named Luke just like his grandfather (I don’t know if this is what was on the birth certificate and a lucky coincidence or he renamed the baby Luke after he stole him). Glennie allows him to stay and he finds some short term work with the neighboring owner, Jim, of a tree farm.  In the douchebag Jim’s kitchen, Matt notices in the newspaper (that’s right . . . newspapers!) a story about a baby kidnapped from the hospital.  It must not be a real kidnapping case though because earlier Matt called Megan and her mother to tell them the baby was fine and no one seemed to care.

The local sheriff comes to the Inn, Glennie talks to them while Matt hides the baby out back.  Glennie tells the officer that Matt and the baby are both her grandsons and they are safe.  So . . . . wait a minute, aren’t the cops following up on all of Matt’s family to find him?  They are looking for her grandson and infant great grandson but, hey, there’s only her grandson and his infant BROTHER at the grandmother’s house.  The kid is obviously not here.  WTH?  Are these Jedi mind tricks?  So, am I supposed to believe that they didn’t go to Glennie’s place because of her relation to Matt and that, instead, they have deputy Barney Fife simply knocking on every single door in the tri-state area asking, “Did you see a guy and a kidnapped baby around here?”.  When the hospital notified the police about the missing baby, did it get assigned to the ‘Parking Enforcement’ division? 

When walking down the road with Luke (Again, taking a newborn out in freezing conditions for a long period of time.  Does no one know enough to tell Matt that babies should not be exposed to extreme conditions?) he is approached by a truck driven by Pam (Lindsey Ames), the local hot, single college age girl (but of course) who asks if Matt needs a ride.  Matt is evasive and declines and after several attempts Pam drives away.  Matt is taking care of Luke and reading a baby book (hopefully there is a chapter in there on the inability of infants to regulate their body temperature) trying to learn more caregiver skills when Glennie says she will watch him and he can go into town for a break.  He drives to town where he meets . . . PAM!!!  Pam works at her family meat shop and is extremely straightforward and aggressive when she meets boys she likes.  After spilling out her life story to a complete stranger she and Luke go to dinner together (working at the family business must mean you can pretty much come and go as you please.) where I guess she can tell Matt even MORE about herself.  Pam is leaving town because she doesn’t want to end up stuck in Bracebridge working at the family business.  After leaving dinner she asks him that since she is leaving town soon if he would like to go with her.  Matt asks if they can bring Luke, his baby ‘brother’.  Now, I’m not sure which of these two comments is more  disturbing – “Hey, I just met you would like to run away with me?” or “Sure, can we bring my baby brother???” – so I am going to call this a draw.  And everyone knows that two inappropriate comments cancel out to zero, so all is good.

That night, back at the Inn, Matt sees the neighboring douchebag, Jim, set the shed on fire.  He runs inside to warn Glennie, grab the baby and call the Fire Department.  He then runs out back to spray the shed with a water hose until he realizes all the cans and barrels of fuel sitting around.  Noticing the extreme danger he does what any parent with a brand new baby depending on him would do – he moves all the fuel barrels and fuel cans away.  It turns out to be a waste of time because the fire burns down on its own and even the trees that were literally on fire, next to the shed moments ago, when it was at its peak have put themselves out.  The Fire Department arrives and extinguishes the remaining fire.  The next morning neighbor douchebag Jim arrives and Matt states he knows who set the fire.  But Jim knows Luke is the kidnapped baby so they both better keep their secrets (Of course, this hillbilly figures it all out but no one else can?  It must be because he still still reads the paper!).

Glennie sits down with Matt and says that he needs to get custody.  Apparently, he hasn’t really thought this through (understatement of the year).  I mean think about it, the baby is going to need doctor visits (in fact it’s a miracle the baby isn’t sick from all the times you take it out in the freezing cold) and is Matt supposed to be on the run forever?  No birth certificate, is the kid just going to be homeschooled in secret, etc.  Luckily, Glennie’s friend, Bert (Jack Shepherd), just happens to be an attorney (Praise Be!!!) and will help Matt.  Matt and Glennie go into town and he runs into Pam and asks to see her again.  Later she comes to Glennie’s Inn and Matt admits that Luke is his son (Matt likes to keep his dates memorable).  Pam convinces Matt to tell the authorities, so Matt calls the cops, makes a statement about Jim burning down the shed and admits he kidnapped Luke from his mother and the hospital.   Apparently, kidnapping is just a misdemeanor around here because not only don’t they immediately arrest Matt but they let him keep Luke until social services decides what to do (the crew from Ocean’s Eleven couldn’t get away with this much).

Matt and Glennie discuss Matt’s father leaving when he was seven and the issues between Glennie and Matt’s mother.  It becomes obvious that parenting isn’t really this family’s forte so Luke better hope that’s not a genetic trait.  Matt takes Luke on a walk through the snow-covered woods to say goodbye before handing him over to Social Services (if taking infants out for long walks in the cold was a pre-requisite for Father of the Year this guy is a shoo-in).  Later Pam is at the bus stop with Matt about leave town.  They say their goodbyes and share a farewell kiss.  Glennie and Matt have another argument about his mother.  Matt calls his mother to update her on everything and ask her to come visit for Christmas.  He then sees Jim Douchebag’s son at the local diner where he compliments his muffins (no, there’s no flirting involved, it’s just Matt trying to make nice with the son of the guy he put in jail for Christmas) as if this will patch things up (what . . . was . . . the point of . . . this scene???).

Next comes the court hearing where Megan admits she wants custody to give the baby up for adoption.  She admits she didn’t sign over Luke’s custody (not sure what that even means) and didn’t press charges right away (Ohhh, is that why the police never came looking for the baby but instead put up an add on Craigslist?  “Baby Missing, please return if found.  $50 Reward!!!).  Of course, she said “right away” suggesting that she did press some kind of charges (it isn’t explained and Matt is never actually charged with anything).  Megan then tells the court she can’t look after Luke because she’s going to college and wants to get on with her life and if Matt has Luke she won’t be free (You know, if mom had bothered to retain even a slightly competent counsel for this hearing you might not have shot yourself in the foot like that in the courtroom.  Hell, you practically blew your foot clean off.).  Matt takes the stand and gives a speech on the meaning of being a father and how his lack of a family made him want to give that to his son.  The judge decides Matt will retain custody.

Matt brings Luke home for Christmas (this court is open right before Christmas to hold the hearing?) where Matt, Bert, Glennie and Pam are celebrating.  Matt’s mother shows up and she reconciles with Glennie.  He decides to stay to help Glennie get the lodge open again.  The movie ends with all of them sitting down to Christmas dinner.  Let me say that I don’t really feel this is a Christmas movie.  I think it is a movie that happens around Christmas so a network grabbed it, rebranded it and now it is shown at Christmas.  The characters are not bad despite some implausibility regarding the court system and law enforcement (as if a baby being kidnapped would not be a huge story ANYWHERE as opposed to being treated as a back-page story, posted adjacent that evening’s TV listings).  Turner and Ames were fine as the romantic leads, especially within what they were given to work with, and Fletcher gave Glennie a believable feel as the gruff but caring grandmother.  It’s a shame that Pam didn’t have a bigger role in the film since Ames was a bright spot in the film despite her limited time.  Unfortunately, because of all the “What?  Are you f’in kidding me?” moments I had to deal with during the film I only give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Baxter (David Blue) is a photographer struggling to both keep his car running and earn a living.  While at the mall with his brother he enters a contest and wins a new Corvette.  Not wanting to give up his unreliable car due to sentimental reasons (it was given to him by his father) he decides to take cash value instead of the new Vette.  His fiancé, Audrey (Melanie Recker), is ecstatic as they can now afford a nice honeymoon and better wedding.  They go out to dinner to celebrate.  While at dinner Audrey discusses expanding the wedding with the extra money until the waitress accidentally spills steak sauce on her new dress.  Audrey is furious and the evening ends.   Before leaving Baxter finds the waitress crying and in an act of kindness leaves her a large tip.

The next day at the Mall he overhears a grandmother bemoaning the fact that she can’t afford to pay for her grandchildren’s toys and the store won’t allow partial payments (I’m not sure I even understand what a partial payment is and how it differs from layaway.).  Feeling generous Baxter decides to pay off the remaining amount on not just her but all the toys being held by the store for people (A total of over $4,400).  When asked who they should say paid off the toys, Baxter does it under the pseudo name Lucky the Elf.  Still high on the spirit of giving he decides to take a homeless man he finds sitting outside the mall to lunch.  He finds out that he is living in a storage facility and is hiding that fact from his family.  Baxter decides to buy the man a mattress and some bedding to make his life more comfortable.  Baxter’s only request is that he takes a photo of the man holding a picture of him and his late wife.  He again goes by the name Lucky the Elf.

He goes home and tells Audrey about his interaction with the homeless man and the toys.  Audrey expresses disappointment that he is spending so much money without even discussing it with her.  As she leaves to drop off gifts at her brother’s, Baxter sees a news piece on “Lucky the Elf”.  While doing a photo shoot at the ice rink for some figure skaters, Baxter spots Westin (Jax Connolly) at the rink sitting by himself and learns that he loves hockey and has asked Santa for skates and gear because his mother can’t afford to buy it herself.  That night Baxter makes a “Lucky the Elf” visit and drops off hockey gear for Westin.  Westin’s mom, Pamela (Ashley Jones) finds the gifts and they open them in the living room with Baxter taking pictures from his car (Yeah, it does sound a bit creepy but let’s ignore that).  Suddenly, Baxter realizes his car won’t start (It’s 14 years old, it costs more to fix than a new car would cost . . . there is a fine line before sentimentality becomes stubborn idiocy and I think he’s already crossed it.) and has to be picked up by his brother (again).

The next day Baxter arranges for a tow truck to pick up his car when he notices Westin wearing his new hockey gear walking out of the house.  Baxter follows the boy and takes pictures of him on a nearby lake (Again, sounds creepier than it is) when Westin falls, hits his head and loses consciousness.  As Baxter attends to the boy and calls 911 the ice begins to crack so he pulls him to the shore.  Later Pamela arrives and thanks Baxter for saving Westin.  Baxter feels guilty that his gift led to the incident.  Later that night Pamela tucks in Westin, who has been released from the hospital and is fine, when she learns that Westin had previously seen Baxter at the skating rink (Wes calls him the 'camera guy').  While you might think she would start to put together the connection between the rink, the gifts, Baxtor just happening to be around . . . nope, instead she only wants to reach out to Baxter to thank him for saving Westin.

While at the mall with his brother (yet again), Baxter receives a call from Pamela asking him to come to dinner to thank him for saving Westin.  Baxter agrees.  Later the homeless man accuses a guy who is pretending to be Lucky the Elf as being a fake.   That night Audrey gives him a gift which turns out to be a camera lens that Baxter has been wanting.  She then comments that everyone needs a hobby (kind of an interesting comment since photography is his primary and ONLY job).  Baxter then gives her his gift which is a replacement dress for the one she had ruined at their recent dinner.  He also gives her a photo of a bird that is just like the one they saw on their walk before he proposed to her.  He is disappointed that she doesn’t remember the bird, even though it seems like an incidental note to the more important event of that walk (Remember that walk when we saw that bird?  I think it might have been the one I proposed on, I'm not really sure.  But the Bird!!!).  Audrey seems saddened that there is nothing else for her but Baxter reminds her they decided not to exchange gifts this year.  He seems to conveniently ignore the fact that the decision was made because they were cash strapped before their wedding and it was prior to his prize winnings.  Not to mention that he’s constantly telling her about all the thousands of dollars he is dropping on complete strangers and then gets her a new, clean version of a dress she already owned and a photo that only has sentimental value to him (Plus, you are a photographer for cripes sake!!!  It’s like a pastry chef giving a pie to his wife for her birthday.).

Baxter goes to Pamela’s for dinner with her and Westin.  They talk about Westin’s love of hockey and Pamela’s jewelry making hobby.  Baxter takes some photos of Westin wearing his hockey gear.  This ends up leading Westin to discover the other photos on his camera that show Baxter is Lucky the Elf.  Westin then blackmails Baxter to teach him how to skate and play hockey or he will expose his secret (I guess it proves that you can do morally and ethically questionable things as long as you are young and cute).  After practicing with Westin the next day, he again blackmails Baxter to take him to the mall and see Santa (but he’s sooooooo cute!!!).  His trip to see Santa is to change his Christmas wish from hockey gear (which he already has) to craft materials Pamela can use to make her jewelry.  Also to let Santa know where to leave their gifts since they won’t have a tree.

When Baxter drops off Westin be brings a new Christmas tree and stays to help decorate it.  He and Westin bond over making decorations while Pam makes cookies.  When tucking in Westin, Baxter gets a hug and promises to help Westin find a gift for one of the young figure skaters at the rink.  Then talking to Pamela, he finds out that Westin’s father died 5 years prior (Okay wait, how does your girlfriend not care that you are gone all these evenings hanging out at another woman’s house with her and her kid?).  The next day, Baxter brings Westin a gift ornament to give to Kyra, the figure skater.  Westin then tells Baxter to date his mom because he makes her happy (Awww . . . the little homewrecker is soooooo cute!) but Baxter admits he can’t because he’s already engaged.

The next day Baxter drops off a special ornament for Pamela’s tree to replace one that she found broken when they were decorating a few days ago.  While putting it up she moves in for a kiss but Baxter tells her that he’s engaged.  Pamela is embarrassed (I guess the fact Baxter kept coming around her house all the time gave her the mistaken impression that he didn’t have a girlfriend, let alone a fiance. Who would have thought it?).  At the rink Westin gives Kyra the gift and she accepts it happily.  When Baxter arrives home he finds an angry Audrey who has discovered that Baxter has spent over $22,000 on his charitable gifts (Holy, crap . . . $22K???  How many people is he giving gifts to?).  Audrey says that he cares more about giving money to other people than using it for them and their new life (and she has an excellent point, bird photo Christmas gift aside.).  She gives the engagement ring back to him and storms out.  Baxter is then at a bar with his brother where he is told that Audrey and him were never a good match and sometimes money just shows people their true nature (I ain’t saying she’s a Golddigger, but she ain’t messing with no broke . . . .).  The next day at the mall the homeless man outs Baxter as Lucky the Elf (thanks homeless Joe!).  Which exposes him to Pamela and everyone else.  The next day at the rink, Pamela dresses Baxter down for making her and her son one of his charity cases.  Baxter wants to explain over dinner but Pamela will not have it (I’m sure the whole dinner date invitation sounds shady considering the last thing he told her was that he was engaged.).  Unable to have dinner with Pamela he does the next best thing . . . . a pizza dinner with homeless Joe in his storage unit.  Homeless Joe tells Baxter he needs to fight for what he loves.

The next morning while leaving for work, Audrey stops by and says she wanted to see him and talk.  She says she was angry and upset but was thinking about all the people he had helped with those gifts and shouldn’t have reacted the way she did.  In response, Baxter says she was right and he doesn’t want to marry her anymore.  He smiles in relief and then brushes her off as he goes to work.  **Ummm . . . excuse me, writers, is Baxter supposed to be a likeable character in this movie?**  He goes to his photo shoot at the Church play where Westin is performing in.  Westin confronts him, angry that everyone knows his secret about being Lucky.  Baxter then tells Westin it wasn’t his fault and he’d like to date Pamela (Does it seem a bit inappropriate to discuss your intentions about a woman with her a 8-10 year son?  Even if he did make the original suggestion that you two date.).   Baxter sees Pamela and goes to talk to her.  She asks him what he is doing there (he told you he was shooting this show 4 days ago.  You told him you were very excited because Westin would be in it.  How is it a surprise to see him here?) and refuses to have a conversation with him.

The play begins and Westin notices that Baxter is not with his mother.  Westin decides to take things into his own hands and grabs the microphone from another girl (So this kid who was too scared to give a gift to an 8 year old figure skater now has the courage to talk in front of a crowded audience.).  This forces Baxter to address the crowd and tell everyone that he really is 'Lucky' and he didn’t mean to hurt Pamela.  He says he found happiness as Lucky in making others happy but then found happiness as Baxter with Pam and Westin.  He then hands Pam a gift of a ceramic wise man for her nativity display at home (hers was missing).  Then he tells her that he’s not engaged anymore.  Suddenly Pamela jumps up and asks, “because of me???”.  They quickly profess their love and all is well.  So, essentially, can I assume that if he had just led off with, “I broke off my engagement.” that they could have had this conversation at any time?  Even back at the skating rink?  The next scene is Westin waking up on Christmas.  Wes goes downstairs to see his mother and Baxter there with cinnamon rolls.  In the last scene of the film they are all at another gallery showing where Baxter is displaying photos of the gift recipients from 'Lucky' in his collection.  The End.

This is one of the more gritty and realistic holiday movies they make these days.  It doesn't follow the Hallmark movie formula.  The budget is lower (hell, almost every other scene was either at his house, her house, the skating rink or the mall).  David Blue does a serviceable job as Baxter but his character was written in a way to make him too unlikable.  They tried to make Audrey’s character unsympathetic, but it wasn’t enough to change the bottom line of the plot – Baxter was engaged, found someone better, built an emotional connection to another woman behind his fiancé’s back and then, after a justified overreaction on her part from his spending their savings, ditched her.   Are we supposed to believe that if Pamela hadn’t shown any romantic interest in Baxter, if it was simply platonic from her or she was already happily in another relationship, that he still would have dumped Audrey?  And this is supposed to be the film’s hero?  Ashley does was good as Pamela and Melanie Recker did a fine job playing a selfish Audrey who was still appealing enough that we could see why Baxter was attracted to her.   I feel like this film would have been so much better without all the conflicts created by the sloppy plot.  I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Jenna, Played by Bethany Joy Lenz, is a very detailed and organized (i.e. anal retentative) writer for an online magazine in New York City.  She has recently been dumped by her ex-boyfriend, Andrew (Jefferson Brown), and is up for a lead story on Christmas in Aspen.  Kevin, played by Andrew Walker, is a fellow writer for the same magazine who is messy, unorganized and spontaneous.  Andrew seems to have issues around Christmas and is using the Aspen article, which he is also up for, as an excuse to avoid going home for the holiday.  They both arrive in a meeting with their boss who bluntly tells her staff that viewership is dropping and there will be staff reductions coming in the new year.  She then tells Jenna and Kevin that they are BOTH going to Aspen to write stories.  They are her two best writers and they both will do a story for the Christmas Edition so she can tell who is her most popular writer and who needs to be let go.

Now, I’m no expert in the publication business but if you are cutting personnel do you really want to keep your best employee and get rid of the second best?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep your best writers and get rid of the weaker ones instead?  I mean, were the other 8 writers in the meeting all making minimum wage or unpaid interns?  Well, whatever, so that’s the deal.  Deliver the best Christmas article or start putting together your resume!  Before leaving for the airport, Jenna is visited by Andrew who wants to patch things up . . . . needs his lucky tie for his company Christmas party (sweet fella).  Kevin and Jenna are seated together on the plane where their diametrically opposed personalities start to create semi-friendly banter.  Kevin admits he barely made the plane because of a cute girl he met in the gift shop who wanted his chocolate.  Jenna starts to make fun of his playboy ways only to learn the truth when an elementary school aged girl stops by and thanks him for the chocolate bar.

Jenna is utterly petrified of flying, despite her denials, and gets annoyed at the noises from Kevin’s 1970s era handheld computer game.  He later has her play to distract her (she’s also way better than him at the game it seems) and all is well until severe turbulence befalls the plane.  They find out the Aspen airport is closed due to weather and they are being redirected to Santa Claus, Indiana.  At the airport they find that all flights are cancelled and there are no available rooms in town.  That is, of course, until they run into Chris and Carol Winters who just happen to own a local Inn.  The fact that Chris has white hair and a beard and drives a red car they call 'Rudolph' makes it no shock that their Inn is decked out, top to bottom, in Christmas decorations.  I doubt it would surprise me if it later turned out that the whole place had been build out of Gingerbread by elves.

The next day at breakfast they learn that all flights to Aspen are still cancelled.  They also find that it will be the last Christmas at the Winters Inn because developers are going to shut them down and build luxury condos.  The Inn used to have the protection of being designated a historical landmark (founded by St. Nick) but that has been challenged by the developers and the original filing has been lost.  There’s no insight given into what, despite the Inn being open for hundreds of years, would cause closure now.  Is there is a revenue problem, a pending mortgage foreclosure, late payments on some note, is the town using eminent domain to obtain the property, etc?  Maybe “developers” can just use their "evil magic Wall Street powers” to attain any property in this town.

Kevin and Jenna call the magazine and explain their situation which leads to their boss telling them to find an article there in Santa Claus, Indiana.  Both complain but are essentially told to STFU and do it or get ready for the unemployment line.  This leads them to the natural next step of . . . . putting up Christmas lights and decorating the Christmas Tree (Seriously, MORE decorations?  It already looks like Santa’s village threw up in this place.)!!!  While decorating with the Winters both Kevin and Jenna rehash fond memories from their childhood Christmases.  Jenna decides that the historical landmark status is what she will do her story on and save the Inn.  Kevin finds Chris reading a bag of letters written to Santa (Well, that’s not odd is it?) in the lobby.  Later he runs into Jenna downtown while exploring.  They both stumble across an area filled with kids waiting to see Santa (and of course Chris is the town Santa and Carol is his helper).  They see a deaf child signing to his mother that he doesn’t want to go in line because he is embarrassed.  Kevin knows this because he knows how to sign.  He goes over to the boy and reassures him that it will be okay and the boy returns to the line.  That night, while researching her story online about the historic landmark status, Jenna overhears Kevin talking to his sister and misleading her that he is in Aspen and having a great time.

That night, neither Kevin nor Jenna can sleep.  Jenna even takes to watching an old video of her ex, Andrew (I know, pathetic right?).  Both end up in the kitchen where Kevin offers to make her something to eat.  They proceed to make Christmas cookies together (the staple of any late night snack – something that takes hours to prepare), having fun playing, chatting and gazing fondly at each other.  During this exchange Kevin admits that he wanted the Aspen piece to avoid Christmas.  Jenna admits that her childhood Christmas stories were fabricated fantasies because she grew up an orphan.  She then talks about her breakup with her ex and the Christmas plans they had made with his family.  They proceed to go for a walk around town only to discover they are both big fans of the other’s writing.

The next morning, Kevin asks Jenna to accompany him on a trip in Rudolph, Chris and Carol’s car.  On the way, he admits he grew up in Indiana and they are on their way to see his family.  He has been avoiding Christmas with his family for 3 years since his father’s passing.  The family is overjoyed to see Kevin and Jenna.  Together they spend the day doing Christmas activities at the house.  Everything is going well until they return to the Inn when Kevin makes it sound as if he just wants to be friends.  They argue which almost leads to a kiss that Kevin doesn’t follow through on, giving Jenna the impression that he isn’t interested in anything beyond a working friendship.

The next day, while searching for the Landmark agreement, Jenna stumbles on a photo of Chris and Carol dated in the mid 1800s.  She takes it to Kevin who doesn’t believe it and thinks Jenna is just too obsessed about Santa Clause (although it does make Chris’s earlier statement about not seeing the Landmark agreement since it was in the hands of Teddy Roosevelt a bit more understandable.).  Kevin invites her to the Christmas festival and asks that she read his article when he is finished.  Working on her story Jenna receives a call from her boss (who clearly is closer to Jenna than Kevin) and during their conversation she admits she likes Kevin.  Jenna finds Chris out in his workshop preparing his Sleigh for Christmas (Okaaayyyyyy) and shows him the picture he found.   Before Chris can answer Kevin shows up and asks about the Dance that night.  Since neither he nor Jenna have anything formal, Carol and Chris have taken the liberty of finding them more formal attire for the evening.

Kevin takes a call from his sister where he tells her he is in love with Jenna and thinks she feels the same.  He also asks her to prepare a stocking for her at their home.  At the dance he meets with Chris and Carol when Jenna walks in (cue the 15 second pause for them to gaze lovingly at each other) and they all gather together.  Chris excuses himself with Carol as he must leave his own Christmas Eve party because he has a lot of things he must get done that evening (not suspicious at all).  Jenna is depressed because she never finished her article but tries to forget by dancing with Kevin.  During the dance Kevin starts to tell Jenna something when, SUDDENLY, who shows up but Santa’s arch-enemy Krampus . . . errrrr . . . I mean Kevin’s arch-enemy Andrew!!!  Andrew arrives wanting to rekindle his relationship with Jenna and to take her home to meet his family.  Before leaving with Andrew, a confused Jenna exchanges a sad and awkward goodbye with Kevin (who she essentially tosses aside like a used trash bag).

Kevin, grieving in his room, and Jenna from her airport hotel room stare up at the sky and both see the legendary Christmas glow in the sky (though Andrew cannot see it because he does not possess the Christmas spirit . . . or is Evil . . . either one.).  Kevin finds the Historical Landmark agreement in the pocket of his borrowed jacket and sets to work revising his article.  The next day at the airport Jenna (who is wearing a high cut shirt in the middle of winter) learns that Andrew’s family has fewer Christmas Traditions than your typical rabbi.  She gets a call from the magazine where her boss congratulates her on their joint article.  Jenna reads the article and realizes that Kevin loves her and understands her which gives her the strength to dump Andrew (Wow, a real leap of faith there Jenna).  Kevin is celebrating (and grieving) Christmas with his family when Jenna shows up and tells him she loves him too.  They embrace, kiss and get down to Christmas Charades while hoping they can get snowed in together for New Years also.  Meanwhile, back at Winters Inn, Carol finally addresses Chris as “Santa” and we see the photo that Jenna found proudly displayed on the fireplace mantle.

So despite all the obvious signs that Jenna and Kevin discovered in their brief stay, no one from the town has been able to piece it together in the past couple centuries.  So when an 80 year old man tells Chris he looks the same as he did when that man was in high school . . . no one bats an eye.  When they go to renew their driver’s licenses for the 25th time . . . ehh, no big deal.  Santa Magic!!!  I’m guessing these developers are wondering who keeps putting coal in their stockings every year.

Sure, there is some suspension of belief here but it IS a Christmas story.  Andrew Walker is first rate in his role as Kevin and Bethany Joy Lenz is a delight as Jenna.  The two leads have good chemistry and their interaction and banter never seem fake.  The two of them carry this movie.  I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I feel like someone wrote a slapstick comedy about an inept FBI tracking a mistakenly identified criminal and through their own incompetence and sheer luck she keeps slipping through their fingers.  Unfortunately, when this movie was pitched, the studio wasn’t interested in that particular genre but they did have room for some 'Christmas Romance' movies.  Thus a quick rewrite occurred and 'Dashing Through the Snow' was born!  I don’t if you will be able to find a less Christmas themed topic than a movie about inept US law enforcement and domestic terrorism until the new ‘A Merry Organ Harvesting Christmas’ movie finally gets produced.

Meet Ashley Harrison, played by Meghan Ory, a crafts artist with horrible luck with her love life who is desperate to catch a flight home for the Holidays.  When checking in at security, she is told to wait while security makes a call.  Seeing that all the flights are either delayed or cancelled, instead of waiting she decides to rent a car for her journey instead.  Alas, the airport is completely out of rental cars save one remaining vehicle.  Before she can contract that one, the car is rented by Dash (Andrew Walker) who cuts in front of her and pays for the car first.  Since both are heading the same way, a guilty Dash offers to share the ride if Ashley pays for fuel.  Dash claims to be on his way to see his mother so Ashley asks to speak to his mom on the phone and do your standard Axe Murderer check.  Sure, I would like to think that if a serial killer hasn't been discovered by the authorities that you might still get a cautionary warning from his mother (Well he did like to torture and maim small animals as a child and he's had terrible luck with neighbors and roommates disappearing over the years.) but I think this is overly optimistic.

It is not long on their journey before Dash discovers that Ashley is a crafter who loves Christmas and proves it by decorating their rental car (and if that seems odd, remember, she knits Christmas sweaters for a living.) with said crafts.  She also likes to sing Christmas songs (even in grocery stores) and likes to talk about Christmas non stop (seems like a keeper so far!).  We also find out that she’s being tracked by the FBI since she escaped the airport (And when I say escape, I mean she walked over the to the car rental counters and left in a rental car.  She didn’t escape her prison transport bus and jump from the storm drain of a dam into a raging river hundreds of feet below in the style of ‘The Fugitive’ or anything like that,).  Fear not general public, the FBI is hot on the case!  Around this time the rental car breaks down and our fugitives try, unsuccessfully, to wave down a ride from passing traffic.  They have no cell service or luck getting a ride so they start hiking to the next town.  The movie then introduces us to a couple of teenage boys working in a coffee shop in a side story that, I can only assume, was mostly left on the editing room floor because it added absolutely nothing to the structure of the story.  Ash and Dash converse on their walk to town where, to further reiterate to viewers, Ash is the one who has true Christmas Spirit and Dash is the ‘Bah Humbug’ Christmas Grinch portion of the duo.  When they finally arrive to a garage where their car is towed, Ashley makes a suspicious call.

Outside the garage, Ash finds a box of puppies owned by your typical scary but sweet biker gang member who believes in fate and personal auras.  So now Ash, Dash and their puppy, Lil Blade, are all on their way to Seattle while being closely followed by 'Agent Useless'.   Despite all the intelligence suggesting the opposite, the FBI task force leader is convinced they are onto something huge!  Back on the road, Ashley discusses her dad, her vast knowledge of the interstate highway system and his service time in Afghanistan (which she found out by calling his mom again).  They arrive at a Christmas themed store and restaurant in Mistletoe, Oregon where Ashley helps a little girl decorate a tree.  Christmas loving Ash and distant Dash have dinner and talk about the holiday celebration in Ashley’s hometown and the hay rides that her father used to provide the townfolk before he passed.  She is determined to get home and make sure her mother isn’t alone for Christmas.  They banter about movies and Ashley grabs Dash’s phone to call his mother.  It’s at this point in the movie we discover that his “mother” is actually a female FBI agent and Dash is part of Ashley’s surveillance team.

While Ashley is walking Lil Blade, she and Dash almost have a romantic moment but it is ruined when Dash spots the FBI surveillance car he rushes them back on the road.  We now find out that their conversations inside the car are also being monitored in the FBI command center.  While they stop in their next town for the night the two pointless teen characters from earlier switch plates with them.  The FBI tail vehicle loses the couple in traffic when some kids with a Christmas tree cut in front of him.  The FBI is now forced to put out an APB on the rental vehicle because even though they are using their undercover agent's cell phone to record conversations they don’t possess the technology to track that cell phone’s location or the wherewithal to install any of the popular and public phone apps that already do that.  The couple reaches Salem, Oregon and get a hotel room (There is only one room and they have to share because IT IS a Christmas Romance movie.).  They go to dinner where Dash finds out that Ashley had her identity stolen a few years ago (I guess the FBI doesn’t even have the ability to pull a credit report).  Ash then helps out two deaf men order dinner using her sign language skills and agrees to dance with one of them (I’m not saying deaf people can’t dance but . . . why would they want to?).

Around this time Dash has become completely convinced that Ashley is caught in a case of mistaken identity (though his supervisors won’t believe him) and on their way back to the hotel they finally share a kiss.  Later in the hotel Dash admits that after Afghanistan he joined Homeland Security and was with the FBI working undercover to keep tabs on her.  Unfortunately, Ashley slept through the whole conversation so only the viewer learns this.  Dash's frustration with his superiors led him to leave his surveillance phone in the bar the night before.  Naturally, the FBI now believes he has been exposed/incapacitated or kidnapped by super terrorist Ashley Harrison.  While getting coffee for the two of them in the morning, Dash runs into an incredibly nosey and seemingly clairvoyant charity Santa who tells him that he’s in love and needs to open up to the Christmas Spirit.  I’d like to say this scene wasn’t unnerving and super creepy but if I were in Dash’s shoes . . .  I think I would have just pulled out my sidearm and put two in Santa's chest.  I’m sorry but when a grown man in a Santa suit pops out of nowhere to ask if you believe in Santa and then seems to know personal facts about you . . . I’m sorry . . . shoot first and ask questions later.

They continue on their journey.  Dash is about to repeat what he tried to tell Ashley the night before but before he can, she asks him to make a stop at a friend’s place.  By now the FBI has figured out the plate switch (after busting the teenage boys and a mom in their coffee shop) and believes it is just another evasive tactical move by criminal mastermind Ashley Harrison.  Outside the house of Ashley’s friend, Dash does some looking around only to discover that the house is surrounded and when Ashley leaves the house, they arrest her and the truth about Dash being an FBI agent is finally exposed.

Once the FBI realizes it spent thousands of dollars and hundreds man hours to bust a house full of Romanian holiday craft-people, Ashley is released and returns home.  She laments to her mother that she fell in love with Dash (Wow, she really DOES have bad luck with men) during their journey.  To further emphasize this point (or extend the movie's length) we get a quick montage with scenes of them together during their trip.  Somewhere out there, Dash must have also seen this same movie montage in his head because he decides to make one grand gesture to show Ash loves her.  The obvious move here is to show up at her hometown Christmas Festival driving an excessively decorated tractor pulling a hay wagon.  Well, you are going to be shocked but . . . it works!   All is forgiven!  Then again, this is a woman seems like she would wear a Disney backpack to her college classes, still believes in Santa Claus, dresses up for Halloween every year and fell in love with a guy who was emotionally distant and stand offish almost the entire time they spent together . . . . sooooo . . . it’s probably not much of a stretch to imagine she’s easily swayed by any small act of kindness (though that Tractor was REALLY decorated.  I mean there are probably Christmas stores with fewer decorations than this thing had.)

Let’s face it, the plot was only memorable in how ridiculous it was.  Andrew Walker is a staple of these romance movies and does them pretty well but here he was simply solid and handsome.  Meghan Ory is the one who really carried this movie.  It is worth watching just to see her character’s holiday enthusiasm and childishness.   I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

This movie stars Tia Mowry-Hardrict as Jen Taylor, a workaholic Ad Executive living in San Francisco.  Jen is desperately competing for a creative director position with another coworker.  She’s recently been avoiding calls from the attorney handling her great aunt’s estate.  She goes to meet her friend at a bar after previously rescheduling 4 times (Yeah, she sounds like a great friend right?) where we learn that she is single due to her obsession with work and obtaining a new promotion.  You might recognize Tia from the mid-90s teen comedy ‘Sister, Sister’ where she starred with her real life twin sister, Tamara.  I know what you are thinking, most child stars never continue their success as they get older because when they lose their 'cuteness' it turns out they can’t act well enough to purse the career as adults.  And while there are some exceptions to this rule who turn out to be truly gifted at acting, based on this movie, Tia isn’t one of them.

Jen finds out that she has inherited her Great Aunt’s Inn in Chestnut Hill, Alaska.  At the airport she meets attorney Brian Anderson, played by Rob Mayes, who looks like a younger version of Jerry O’Connell.  Brian is rude and condescending to Jen the entire drive from the airport (So I guess they based his character’s personality on real life Jerry O’Connell!) because she might sell the Inn which is an important piece of the town or maybe it's because she never returned his calls . . . who really cares.  The point is that Brian is pretty much a dick.  He’s also a part time attorney and part time sleigh builder (Hey, you gotta diversify these days.  The economy in Alaska is NOT what it used to be.).

After dropping Jen off at the Inn, Brian goes to his mom’s nearby Café where they get a call that the Inn is on fire (Because for goodness sake, whenever there is an fire emergency make sure you call the local restaurant so they will know to make more coffee.).  Brian rushes back to the Inn where he finds out that Jen had tried to use the fireplace without opening the chimney flume causing smoke to fill the building.   While Brian is again being a dick towards Jen because she didn’t know how to use the fireplace properly, she accuses him of being at fault for not warning her the place had been winterized.  To be honest, she kind of has a point.  I’m not sure why Brian wouldn’t pass along this information other than to be a jerk (Classic Brian!!!).  He tells her to go to the local Café to warm up while he takes care of the place.  Come to think of it . . . there never were any fire trucks that arrived . . . . so apparently, when there IS a fire in town they don’t actually call emergency services, they just call the Café and order take out (Smores anyone?).  Either that or the Fire Department only operates in the summer.  Or maybe they are waiting on Brian to deliver some of his hand carved sleighs as transportation and the shipment has been delayed because of all these damned estate issues.

Jen goes to the Cafe and unwittingly complains about Brian to Brian's mother, Molly (Erin Gray).  Since he never mentions that his family actually owns the Café (Again, classic Brian) it's not something she can be blamed for.  Later, back at the Inn, Jen finds some old photos of great aunt Helen and finds her journal.  The next day at Molly’s Café, Jen gets volunteered to participate in the Chestnut Hill Annual Christmas Festival (All small towns have these, it’s Christmas Law!!!).  Jen admits she doesn’t celebrate Christmas nor know how to decorate (What?  How hard is it to hang a wreath or some lights?) and is assigned to run the Gingerbread booth (no decorating required I hope).  She then goes to Brian’s Law Office and Sleigh Emporium where Brian admits there isn’t much money in the sleigh construction business (no kidding).  The paperwork is completed and the Inn is officially signed over to Jen.  She gets a call from her friend who suggests that decorating the Inn might help it sell faster (Sure, if you are trying to sell it to Santa Clause) and Jen agrees.

The next morning some guests show up at her door to stay at the Inn, not realizing that Helen has passed.  Jerry O’Connell Jr shows up, throws some of his usual insults at Jen so she decides to let the couple stay.  Then Jen goes to the Christmas festival where we discover pastry decorating is included in her overall lack of decorating skills (yet she is a sketch artist and Ad executive . . . hmmm).  I can’t recall all the specific details but now Jen and Brian start admiring one another (because of course, since he’s a complete and total A-hole and she looks like she’s 8 months pregnant . . .  why wouldn’t romance ultimately bloom?).  I’ll be honest, at this point in the movie I became so bored that I found myself playing a game on a tablet.  I can unequivocally state that this is not a good sign. 

They make a bet in a local candy cane ring-tossing contest that the loser has to either help decorate the Inn or help build a sleigh respectively.  Amazingly, they tie so they both have to help each other (Even though in the truest sense, a tie would mean no winner and no loser but this method moves the plot along better.).  At this point I just gave up.  I was almost halfway through but couldn’t do it.  The acting wasn’t terrible (It wasn’t good either) but I cared so little about the leads that it didn’t matter to me what happened the rest of the way.  It’s true that this type of movie has a tried and true formula.  When executed properly it works.  When saddled with bad casting decisions and a weak plot it can fail miserably (Case in Point – My Christmas Inn).

This movie even had Erin Gray and I loved Erin Gray ever since 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'.  While she is fine, it’s a side role and mainly inconsequential.  This movie is just bland and uninteresting.  Anyone who is watching this movie because they are a big Tia Mowry fan needs to find something else she’s done or go back and watch some 'Sister, Sister' reruns.  Don’t waste your time.  I give it a 1 out of 5.

Nothing feeds into the fantasy of romantic salvation than a rehash of the Cinderella storyline.  Movies that find common women marrying a prince is such an important subset for romance movies that it could probably have its own channel.  So it’s no surprise that these movies have regained new life in the Holiday movie genre.  Following in the footsteps of such classic holiday royalty films as 'A Christmas Prince', 'Crown for Christmas', 'A Prince for Christmas', 'Once Upon a Holiday', 'My Christmas Prince', 'Royal Christmas Ball', 'A Royal Winter', 'A Princess for Christmas', 'Royal Christmas', Law and Order Special Victims Unit (Okay, maybe not the last one) comes a new vision of royal romance with a unique title: 'Christmas with a Prince'.  Christmas with a Prince (not to be confused with A Christmas Prince, A Prince for Christmas or Prince’s Purple Rain) stars Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in her biggest role yet, as . . . wait, my bad . . . the movie stars Kaitlyn Leeb as Dr. Tasha Miller and Nick Hounslow as Prince Alexander.  Our story begins with hunky Prince Alex falling down a ski slope in the states and badly injuring his leg.

Meanwhile in the Hall of Justice . . . . I mean . . . . in the Pediatric Wing of some secluded hospital Dr. Miller (heretofore called Tasha) is struggling to find funds for her pediatric care unit from the Evil Hospital Administrator Dr. Gonzales (Lanette Ware).  Tasha’s brother, who just HAPPENS to be a nurse in the same wing of the same hospital (nepotism???), lets Dr. Gonzales know that all is well because they are going to have a special royal patient arrive who is going to give the hospital a big donation to cover the expenses.  It just so happens that Tasha’s brother, Nurse Jeff (Josh Dean), is BFFs with Prince Alex.  He, Tasha and Alex all went to boarding school together (making nurse Jeff, BY FAR, the least successful and accomplished of the trio).  All the Prince needs is a little TLC and privacy and the hospital will soon be flush with donation money.

We quickly learn through Tasha’s discussion with . . . well . . . just about everyone she talks to . . . that she bears a grudge against the spoiled royal prince from their time at private school.  And while I say grudge, it’s actually more of a searing, deep resentment towards the Prince (whom she has secretly longed for since school and whom causes her to drool all over herself when she thinks about him at night) over his rejection of her in their youth.  As you can imagine, this is all setting up really well for a redemption romance.  The only other characters of note are Charles Shaughnessy, as one of the most stereotypical caricatures of a monarch ever seen on screen, playing King Edward and Melinda Shankar as the cute but completely out of place, unbelievable and incompetent head of the Prince's security detail, Bella.

It turns out that the Prince is a really spiffy guy with rock hard abs who loves children (which is a good thing since he is recovering in a children’s ward) and is attracted to Tasha.  Tasha and Alex bond over their long strolls through the hospital, their arguments with the King and Dr. Gonzalez over security concerns and when playing with all the sick children (who seem really spry despite the fact they must be in the hospital because they are sick right?).  There’s a scene where she is forced to confront the embarrassing, accidental, butt dialed voicemail she left on Alex’s phone where she describes how devastatingly handsome and charming the Prince is (My, how convenient and . . . what realistic sound quality for an inadvertent call.).  We see nurse Jeff hit on Security Chief Bella following an incident where she physically immobilizes him because he’s wearing a Santa Suit (Oh no, another hitman posing as Santa.  Get him!!!).  Prince Alex also bonds with a lonely little boy who has a big surgery upcoming.

Tasha gets into an argument with Dr. Gonzalez regarding security issues (And then lashes out as Prince Alex as the cause of it – ooooh, tension!!!!) and only intervention by the Royal family saves her job.  Alex brings the sick boy’s mother in so she can be there for the boy’s surgery and arranges for the boy’s favorite pop singer to visit and perform for the children.  At a Christmas gift giving for the sick children, Alex gives Tasha the gift of going to his family’s Royal Christmas Charity Dinner and dance up against the Prince’s chiseled body and rock hard abs (Oh and by the way, sorry for dissing you all those years back when you were jailbait.).  The Dinner is normally held in locations around the world and this year it will be held in locally because of production budget issues . . . . the Prince’s broken leg.  Tasha handles this offer by going all gaga and kissing the prince.  Things then take a sudden turn when she meets Miranda (Anastasia Marinina), who introduces herself as Alex’s fiancé (Uhhh . . . . ohhhh).  Furious, she storms off before Alex manages to fake a leg injury and explains that Miranda is just some crazy, delusional ex-fiance of his brother (recently deceased).

Tasha dresses up for the charity event after her shift at work.  She looks amazing (of course) and meets up with Alex in the lobby who is either wearing a royal uniform or something he stole from an early 20th Century Canadian Mountie.  Miranda takes over the film's role of evil adversary from Dr. Gonzalez (who is pretty much out of the story by this point).  Tasha uses her incredible bionic hearing to overhear two women thirty feet away, in a loud and crowded dance hall, discuss how Prince Alex will dump the loser American doctor because she’s not of royal blood.  Miranda walks up and tells her the same thing.  Tasha, who has constantly been switching personalities between assertive, confidant doctor to pathetic, insecure, rejected schoolgirl switches to the latter and attempts to leave.  Elsewhere, King Edward meets with Alex and tells his son that he’s been a huge, irresponsible, disappointment up until recently.  However, now that he’s been made aware of how good Alex is around sick children, Edward finds him to be a fit and worth heir to the crown and a remarkable young man (Sure, why not?).  King Edward also finds Tasha before she leaves (mainly because he told security to detain her) and gives her an inspirational speech to tough it out with Alex because she loves him and she’s the reason he has become the man he has (So much for that earlier talk praising Alex on the strides he’s made.  Turns out it was all Tasha.).  The King then excuses himself because he needs to hurry over to Wendy’s to try their new Classic Smokey Applewood Bacon Burger while he’s in town – it’s a limited time offer you know!!!

With her newfound sense of self confidence she goes back into the ball, tells Miranda off and that she looks and sounds like Natasha from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show (well she should have because it’s absolutely true.  It is uncanny.).  She AGAIN tells Alex she loves him (Nobody disputes that anymore, it’s like the 9th time you have mentioned as much in this film).  They dance, they kiss and he tells her she will be in charge of his new Children’s charity (Whoopee!!!).  Nurse Jeff even has a music-less dance with Bella back at the hospital.  Whether either of these relationships will last more than a week in the real world is up to your i-m-a-g-i-n-a-t-i-o-n!!!!

Both leads were attractive enough but there less spark between them than you'd find setting off fireworks during a hurricane.  The story was bland and forced.  The characters were shallow and unappealing.  If I had to say anything nice about the film it would be that it ended on time and didn’t run over it’s 120 minute program window.  I give it a 1 out of 5.

Finally, a Christmas movie that takes a chance interaction of two characters diametrically opposed and antagonistic to each other and gradually brings them together to find something greater.   It is about time!!!!   Vanessa Lachey plays Abby, a super organized (i.e. OCD) writer and mother who has her life pre-planned to the Nth degree.  Abby has scoured the city to find a special toy robot for her son, Elliot, played by Christian Convery.  Abby also learns she that her editor has lined up an for her with her personal hero, child rearing lecturer and author Dr. Baxter (Rick Fox).  She quickly rearranges her schedule and heads to the Toy Store.  Brendan Zub plays Ryan, a corporate attorney in heavy competition with a coworker for a partner position who learns that his secretary has found another highly sought after toy, a Magic Talking Unicorn, for his young daughter Jasmine (April Cameron).

Arriving at the store at the same time, Ryan and Abby get along together like fire and ice.  Arguing about who was in line first, who’s toy is more important, who can get the additional music box they find elsewhere in the store, etc.  Luckily, before it reaches the point where they challenge each other to a duel to the death, the store clerk gives them their packages and their acrimonious interaction ends.  Abby meets up with her son, Elliot who is displaying hesitation at participating in an upcoming Christmas concert (more on that later).  A cancellation of a babysitter requires Abby to wrap presents that night (instead of the pre-scheduled time).  Much to her chagrin, she discovers that Elliot’s toy robot is missing and instead, she has Jasmine’s Magic Unicorn.

Abby embarks on a search to find Ryan from what little information she overheard during his phone conversation at the toy store.  She soon identifies his firm but when she calls, she cannot get in touch with any attorneys without knowing their name.  Unable to go any further online or by phone she decides to visit the Law office in person.  At the office she notices Ryan going into a conference room for an important business meeting.  She goes to the room's window and, while he tries to ignore her, he finally relents and excuses himself from the meeting.  Abby, Ryan and Elliot proceed to Ryan’s office where they find Jasmine who is overjoyed to see the Magic Unicorn toy (which is still unwrapped).  While Jasmine is ecstatic to get her toy (Surprise!), Elliot is dismayed to learn that Ryan can’t reciprocate because the Toy Robot is at his ex-wife’s, Brooke (Sarah Smyth), house.  Abby doesn’t want to go all the way out there alone so Ryan agrees (thanks to Jasmine’s encouragement – “It’s Christmas Daddy!!!”) to go with her.

I fail to see how Ryan accompanying Abby helps her get the toy any faster than her getting it by herself.  It simply takes Ryan’s time away from an important corporate merger he is a part of (still going on in the conference room).  Ehh, whatever.  It turns out that Ryan IS a big help because he needs to drive after Abby finds her car has been towed from the 15-minute parking space she left it in (She couldn’t have been inside more than a half hour. Is there a tow truck that just sits and waits behind the law office or something?).   Add this as yet another reason why no one likes lawyers.  During an incredibly convenient long drive (plot wise) to the exes, Abby and Ryan's discussion explores each character's life.  Ryan even comments on the obvious difference in their parenting styles (she’s a hyperactive, controlling mom and he’s a distracted, overly lenient dad).

They finally arrive at Brooke’s house and it turns out she is living in a place just slightly smaller than the Buckingham Palace with her famous, hot, rich, cardiac surgeon, husband Kenneth (Matt Dowden).  We now see an uncomfortable Ryan, who while being attractive and successful in his own right, cannot hope to compare with his replacement.  Abby and Ryan find out that the gift has already been wrapped and placed under the tree (with dozens of other presents).  Brooke refuses to open all the presents but Abby comes up with a plan for Kenneth, using his stethoscope, to listen to each present for an internal humming (unique to the toy robot).  They subsequently recover the robot (much to the joy of Elliot).  On the way out, Ryan promises Brooke to have Jasmine back on Christmas Eve, before their ski trip vacation, and Kenneth gives Jasmine an expensive watch/phone/supercomputer that he takes from his super cool sports car (Ah-ha! Ken isn’t perfect after all. He must have a super small weenie to need to compensate with a car like that.).

This is a turning point of the movie.  Ryan goes from the annoying self-absorbed, narcissistic, aloof lawyer to an embarrassed, anguished, sympathetic father and Abby notices.  Her empathy changes their dynamic for the rest of the story.  It isn’t forced or spurious and actually works quite well.  Ryan agrees to pick up Abby’s parents from the airport and even plays along when the parents believe him to be her driver.  They all then go together for lunch at Abby’s house.  Ryan tries to do work on his laptop but that’s against Abby’s “no screen time” rule of the house.  Jasmine and Elliot become fast friends while their parents engage in disagreements over the best parenting style.  Abby’s mom then tells Abby how Ryan is a real catch (of course) despite Abby’s dissenting focus on his workaholic, distracted nature.  The kids conspire to get their parents together at Santa’s village and Abby agrees so she can interview Ryan for an article she wants to do on distracted parenting.

While the kids and grandparents wait in line for Santa, Abby interviews Ryan which inevitably leads to them ice skating together (Boy, if I had a dollar for every time a magazine interview ended up on the ice . . . sheesh.).  Abby learns that Ryan's determination to get the unicorn for Jasmine is based on the guilt he feels about not seeing her as much as he’d like.  This way he could record his voice in the toy that she could hear and be reminded of her Dad (Wow . . . that’s actually incredibly sweet.  This guy is single???).  Ryan asks Abby to attend a company Christmas Cocktail party with him.  She finds out that Ryan's supposed girlfriend Lexi, that Brooke had asked about earlier at the mansion, has not been in the picture for months but Ryan was too embarrassed to admit it to his ex-wife.

Abby goes to her re-scheduled (due to the whole toy incident) interview with Dr Baxter at a coffee shop while Ryan takes Abby’s parents and the kids to Elliot’s Christmas Concert.  Elliot is still having second thoughts about performing so Ryan attempts to ease his fears.  He finds out from Abby’s father that Abby wasn’t always anally retentive about schedules and instead it was her coping mechanism to deal with the loss of her husband.  At the coffee shop interview, Abby questions Dr. Baxter’s parenting philosophies versus some of the ideas Ryan had given her.  She then learns that Dr. Baxter, with several children of his own, relies heavily on his wife and paid caretakers to implement his philosophies.  Abby realizes that she and most parents are not blessed with nannies and chauffeurs and that his teachings are impractical for the modern parent (especially single parents).  She politely tells him off and decides to skip the rest of the interview to attend her son’s recital instead.

She reaches the concert just before it is underway.  She notices Ryan is missing only to discover that he is actually one of the human trees standing in the background (where he went to offer support to Elliot) of the stage.  The entire group then goes out to find a Christmas Tree (Didn’t Ryan have to go back to work sometime today?  Maybe I should become an attorney.).  At the Tree Farm Abby learns that Ryan used to have Jasmine for Christmas morning while Brooke and Kenneth were building their enormous palace outside of the city.  She also finds out that he wasn’t always so work obsessed.  Brooke pushed him to be more successful as an attorney but by then it was too late to save their marriage (So she then went out and found someone even more successful?  What a betch.  Can anyone say “golddigger”?).

Ryan and Abby attend his corporate party as friends but when Ryan’s coworker goes on about his fiance and their impending nuptials, Abby introduces herself as Lexi.  She then goes to his boss and tells her that Ryan deserves to be partner more than anyone she knows.  While dancing, Ryan admits Lexi dumped him when he couldn’t go off with her to Milan because he had Jasmine that week.  Abby replies that “He’s better off without her.”.  They then make plans to pick up her car from the towing lot and have dinner at her house with everyone.

That night the family decorates the tree (of course), the kids play with their respective toys and Abby and Ryan both work on their respective projects.  Abby heads to the store for cocoa, with Ryan in tow, and a long romantic walk ensues (To get to the nearest store you are required to walk by a peaceful lake on a lighted wooden walkway?  What f’in city IS this?).  When they return Ryan gives Abby the music box they both admired previously at the toy store for her to give to Elliot.  It is only the ill-timed fall of Elliot’s telescope from his bedroom window that stops Abby and Ryan from kissing.  It’s not at all disconcerting to see your children and parents secretly observing you from your house is it?  Not to mention that Elliot is probably going to need a new telescope.

The family then plays party games before Ryan has to check his email for work.  He uses Abby’s computer and accidentally deletes the article she had just completed (Apparently Ryan is a successful corporate attorney but doesn’t know how to minimize a window on a desktop or choose ‘Yes’ when a program asks “Would you like to save your work?”.).  Abby is upset she will now miss her deadline, finds out her cookies have burned and lashes out at Ryan blaming everything on his constantly distracted state.  She states she isn’t ready for all these changes to her perfectly scheduled and independent life so Ryan and Jasmine head home.

The next morning Abby finds Elliot making a mess in the kitchen.  Elliot mentions Ryan is alone for Christmas which gives Abby pause and reflection.  Ryan is at work where he learns that even though the merger is on hold due to the clients, he has been promoted to partner at the firm.  Abby works on her new article while Ryan and Jasmine go Christmas window shopping.  While home making Christmas cookies with Jasmine, Ryan receives an email linking Abby’s new article.  In it she describes, the lessons she learned from spending time with Ryan and hints that she is ready for some new surprises in her life.

Ryan goes for his morning jog on Christmas but he returns to discovers Jasmine (Brooke gave up Jasmine for part of Christmas Day just like that?  Well, she may be a materialistic, golddigger but I guess she ain’t ALL bad.), Elliot and Abby waiting in his kitchen.  Glossing over how she actually got inside his condo, she tells him they are kidnapping him to have Christmas at her house.  There they enjoy Christmas Dinner with everyone when the children discover it is snowing (Which should kill all kinds of plants because all the vegetation in this area is still green despite it being December.).  While outside admiring the snowfall they are notified they are standing under mistletoe and are thus legally obligated to finally have their first kiss.  Merry Christmas!!!

I wasn’t sure about the pairing of these two leads in the beginning, but I’ll go on record now as they hit it out of the park.  Their characters flawed but sympathetic and the chemistry between them seemed credible.  I also enjoyed their individual relationships with their children which was a nice touch in the movie.  Both were single parents who, though far from perfect, had a touching connection to their child.  Definitely a movie worth watching.  I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Many Holiday movies seem to rehash the same plots over and over with a few tweaks here and there.  Christmas Catch shows us there is still some creative twists left out there to be explored in a holiday romance.  This movie presents an interesting premise that seems like a great concept . . . at least on paper.  The movie stars Emily Alatalo as Mackenzie Bennet, a local police detective.  We first meet Mackenzie undercover as a Santa's Helper staking out a counterfeiter while her partner Reid (Andrew Bushell) backs her up from a police van.  This scene sets up a few details about Mackenzie such as; she loves Christmas, has a great working relationship and friendship with her partner and is completely inept when it comes to flirting or dealing with the opposite sex.  Mackenzie later tackles the bad guy in an alley after a long chase, breaking his arm.

Because of Mackenzie's disastrous personal life, her friends set her up at a social mingle.  She attends but has to leave after just a short time due to a work call.  Leaving the gathering she notices a Christmas tree display with its star tilting to one side.  While attempting to fix the star, she slips and falls into the arms of Carson, played by Franco Lo Presti, who also happens to be on his way to the singles social.  The two hit it off and engage in casual conversation before Mackenzie is again pulled away by calls from work.  The biggest problem with this scene for me is that Carson looks like your stereotypical Syrian or Libyan terrorist and the entire time I was expecting him to tip his hand (drop his AK-47 or bomb detonator) and be arrested by Mackenzie.  An important plot point here is that Carson mentions the word serendipity in their conversation (although I would have expected him to say 'Death to America') which is an idea Mackenzie has associated with finding true love.

The next day, she spends the morning talking to herself about her dreamy first encounter with the love child of Grace Jones and Dolph Lundgren, Carson.  At work, Mackenzie and Reid are called into Mackenzie's mom's . . . . errrr . . . I mean their Captain's office to meet with FBI agent Robinson (Genelle Williams) who needs the local police to stakeout a suspected diamond thief.  The FBI needs to determine if their suspect is going to sell the stolen merchandise or if he and his crew are planning another heist.  Mackenzie soon realizes that Carson is the suspect they will be keeping under observation (which makes sense because he already looks like a mob enforcer).  While setting up their surveillance Mackenzie receives a call from 'Eastern European Henchmen #4' . . . I mean . . . Carson, who obtained her cell phone number from people at the coffee shop during the singles event (because that's not creepy at all).  Carson then asks her out on a date and she hangs up in a panic.

The surveillance team meets with Agent Robinson and Captain Mom where Mackenzie finally admits she knows the suspect from their encounter outside the coffee shop.  Agent Robinson believes this to be the perfect opportunity for them to get more information and orders Mackenzie on a date with the suspect.  Mackenzie arranges the date and then her and Reid set up wiretaps and cameras in Carson's residence.  The abundance of Christmas decorations in Carson's home make both Detective Mackenzie and Captain mom (also a huge fan of Christmas) just giddy with delight.  At the dinner date, Mackenzie attempts to glean information from him about his wife (a suspected associate for the robbery) while the meeting is recorded from the police van.  Despite Carson's charm and sweet demeanor during dinner I still half expected him to lose control and pistol whip the waiter for bringing him a plate of cold spaghetti.  I mean, seriously, the guy looks like every Italian organized crime member ever shown on Law and Order.  It's hard to be drawn into a growing romantic connection when you are compelled to scream at the female protagonist to "Run . . . JUST RUN!!!".

The team goes over what they have learned but Agent Robinson doesn't feel it to be enough, so she orders Mackenzie on another date.  They arrange to meet again at the coffee shop.  During this meeting an old associate of Carson, David (played by Eric Hicks), arrives and is quickly identified as a notorious safe-cracker.  Things get tense between the two men but David eventually leaves, after which Carson dips out to return to work.  However, since Carson is under surveillance, they know he went home instead and called into work as being sick.  More importantly this chance meeting proves that every single bad guy in this movie has a beard and since Carson also has a beard, he must be guilty right?  Mackenzie, Reid and Captain Mom meet at the stakeout location and teleconference with FBI Agent Robinson because nothing is more clandestine during a stakeout then people in police uniforms walking into a rented house right across the street from the suspect who has already been established as being home at the time.  Sounds like some top notch policework there.

That night Carson calls Mackenzie and they set up another date, this time at his house for dinner.  While at dinner they do some Christmas tree decorating (Of course, check off that box for a Christmas romance.) where Carson shows Mackenzie his prized ornament that he and his mom made when he was a child.  While eating, Carson receives a call that can't be picked up by the surveillance . . . (why not?).  Carson returns and tells Mackenzie that he knows she's a cop.  She initially denies it but then comes clean.  Okay, is this it?  This will explain his nefarious appearance as he pulls out a pistol and tries to put two bullets into Mackenzie's forehead right???   Nope!  Instead he simply tells her to leave because he doesn't want to see her anymore (and she's blown her opportunity for that private tour of the Holiday themed jihadi bomb-making room in his basement).

The stakeout is now exposed, Mackenzie and Reid pack up.  The police also pack up their surveillance equipment from Carson's house (For which he signs paperwork for in a scene?  What the hell?).  Mackenzie is put on administrative leave but after talking to her friends decides to go back to the stakeout location and watch Carson's house (If you are already suspended, this would seem like a good way to get completely fired).  Looking out the window she spots safe-cracking David going into Carson's house and decides to investigate.  Upon entering, she finds Carson prone on the floor.  David walks in and tells her that Carson really likes her (I think we can agree that's what every criminal would say at that particular moment.).  Special Agent Robinson walks in and we find out that she is actually Bethany, Carson's diamond thieving ex-wife.  She remarks that David is an excellent forger and Captain Mom is the worst police captain ever when it comes to verifying FBI task force authorizations.

It turns out that the missing diamond reindeer has been hidden in Carson's beloved handmade ornament the whole time (But wait, wouldn't Carson have noticed that there was a large diamond pendant loose rattling around inside the ornament when they placed it on the tree?).  Despite having ample opportunity to draw her weapon (which she started to draw before Bethany walked in) and arrest the two of them Mackenzie is too enthralled in the story to remember the task at hand (arrest the criminals).  Then Bethany draws her weapon (See Mackenzie?  See how it's done?) and explains her plan to kill all three of them (Why kill David again?  And why tell him when he is behind you?) but all this is thwarted when Captain Mom shows up with several other officers and at least 3 snipers with laser sights targeting Bethany through the window . . . so let’s just say she shows up with the entire police force.

While lying injured on the floor, Carson insists on giving Mackenzie a present (saving himself a frustrating trip to the post office) which turns out to be a Christmas ornament.  Mackenzie rushes out to the ambulance where Carson had been taken where they are both invited to Captain Mom's annual Christmas dinner and finally kiss.  I'm assuming that Captain Mom will have plenty of time to prepare dinner since she has to be sacked for operating a police stakeout on behalf of a known criminal, right?  Luckily, all the embarrassing romantic banter recorded between Mackenzie and Carson will not be public since it was obtained illegally.  I mean there can't be a valid FBI warrant if there are no real FBI agents, correct?  And what in God's name was Bethany's plan?  Why bring the police in to watch your ex-husband, identify your partner (David) and make them aware of the entire situation when you knew where the diamond was the whole time?  Wouldn't it have made more sense to break in around Christmas and steal the ornament or force Carson to turn it over to you?  Seriously, what was the freakin’ point Bethany???

I'm going to slam the casting in this movie.  The look the production staff gave to Franco Lo Presti was awful.  Did I mention he looked like your stereotypical thug, serial killer or monster villain for the entire movie?  His casting made as much sense as choosing Kermit the Frog to play President Obama in both appearance AND performance. Emily Alatalo was serviceable as Mackenzie and at time cute and engaging but I actually think if you had switched out the roles of Genelle Williams and Emily Alatalo it would have been a better fit.  And Andrew Bushell was excellent as the partner, Reid.  Cast Genelle as Mackenzie, Reid as Carson and let Emily and Franco play the FBI agent and police partner respectively and this is probably a 4 or 5 star film.  In its current form though, disappointing . . . I give it a 1.5 out of 5.

If anything, this movie certainly wins the award for longest title.  “Time for Me to Come Home for Christmas” or possibly identified by its longer, unabridged title “Time for Single Business Owner and Lonely Country Music Star to Come Home to Oklahoma for Christmas Together” is another one of Hallmark’s patented Christmas Romance movies.  This movie stars Megan Park, as business executive Cara, and Josh Henderson, as country music star Heath Sawyer.  These two characters are flung together as they both try to return home to Oklahoma in time for Christmas.  Heath is the music star living in New York trying to return to his family out of guilt while Cara was in town for business and is now trying to get back in time for Christmas with her father.

They first meet in the Airport where Cara seems to be the only person in the country who doesn’t recognize Heath.  In a cute scene, Heath gives Cara an autograph when she was simply letting him know that he was in her seat.  Fun scene but apparently Cara never read what Heath wrote nor bothered to wonder why he would suddenly give her his autograph.  Perhaps all this is lost in the ensuing moment when Heath accidentally knocks his coffee all over her shirt.  Their flight is cancelled and they are rerouted on a flight to Chicago, Cara puts on her award winning entry in the Gaudy Christmas sweater competition and they spend some time sitting and talking at an airport restaurant.  Later Heath befriends a young boy, Lex, travelling by himself (Easy prey for successful country music stars).  Lex calls Cara over to sit with them because . . . it gets them together and moves the plot along (I mean we ARE in an airport.  How much plot can you fill in an airport if our leads are separated?).  The flight leaves and they make it to Chicago only to find out their connecting flight to Tulsa has been cancelled due to the weather.

Both of them end up at a historic hotel where Cara jokes about, but doesn’t take seriously, the very REAL possibility that this guy is stalking her.  Instead they have dinner together (smart move Cara, he wouldn’t try and kill you in public) where she suddenly learns that Heath is actually a big country music star.  Her big tip off is when a bunch of adoring fans ask him to sing for them at the hotel bar.   She had previously called her friend Lindsey to brag about meeting handsome Heath but now calls to say she’s given up because handsome Heath is world famous celebrity Heath Sawyer.   Despite the fact that Cara walked out on him during his musical interlude the night before, Heath doesn't attempt to reach out to her again until the next morning (20 minutes after she has checked out).  All flights are still cancelled but the Hotel clerk directs him to the bus station (where I assume she knows Cara has gone).

Heath enters the bus and finds a seat next to Cara (Betch, if you DIDN’T think he was stalking you before . . . how about now?).   They argue over his not telling her who he really was (okay . . . fair point) only to run into an older couple who travels as a country music duo in the seats next to them.  The couple has a gig at the next town to sing at their local Christmas festival so Heath agrees and ropes Cara (who has some time in her HS glee club on her resume) into participating.  After the event, Heath gets a rental car and invited Cara to travel with him.  She refuses but then relents and finds him at a nearby restaurant where they make paper snowflake cutouts to post on the front window and . . . . well . . . start to find Holiday love.

They hit the road to reach Tulsa but end up stranded in a blizzard in Joplin, Missouri.  Luckily Heath has an old band mate who lives in Joplin.  They eventually makes contact with Nathan (Billy Wickman) who brings them to his home and then leaves them unsupervised with his two young daughters while his ill wife is asleep upstairs.  While in some movies, Nathan’s complete lack of responsibility and questionable decision making might lead to a movie of the week involving murder and kidnapping . . . in this case it positions him for 'Father of the Year' as Heath and Cara teach the girls how to sing (for a Christmas gift to their mother) and how to bake a pie.  This time with the girls bonds the two leads closer and they exchange gifts later that night.  Cara gets a music CD of the couple they met on the bus while Heath gets a harmonica (which he can play perfectly just like the guitar, piano, etc, because he is a musical genius).

That night Cara figures out a way to save her family business (of course).  They spend Christmas morning at Nathan’s before Heath drives her home.  Cara invites Heath inside where he meets her father.  Cara then tells her father that the bank wants them to cut employees but she’s got a plan to save the company with new products.  Dad balks so Nathan offers to step up and fund the company.  Apparently offering money to any proud Oklahoman is one of the worst mistakes you can make.  He is asked to leave and all the country music albums found in the house are then immediately rounded up and tossed into the fireplace (maybe I embellish a bit).  Heath returns to his own family but is visibly somber because . . . well . . . . no Cara.  After some familial advice, he decides to go see her to apologize.  Cara is already in a better mood now because since Heath left, Banker Bob called to say that after trying her new products he will recommend her product line expansion to his bank.  Heath arrives, he and Cara smooth things over and they all go over to his giant mansion for the rest of Christmas.  The last scene is everyone together by the tree singing Heath's new Christmas song.

I’ll say it, the chemistry was weak.  Megan Park is cute but not charismatic and ditto for Josh Henderson.  The most interesting character was probably his assistant Liz, played by Lucie Guest, who spends, perhaps, 2 minutes on screen.  And is this couple supposed to stay together?  It seemed like the only thing they had in common (besides being single) is living in Oklahoma and having a parent die recently.  Seems like a solid foundation for a long relationship to me!

I give it a 1.5 out of 5.

Nothing spells holiday romance and the spirit of Christmas as much as a desperate marriage of convenience.  Yep, that’s the gist of this little Holiday tale staring Jes Macallan as Carrie Tate.  Carrie is the top executive for a family owned food distribution company (sounds exciting so far right!?!?!).  Everything is going smooth until Carrie’s sister Kate (played by April Bowlby) comes to Thanksgiving and announces that she’s engaged.  It’s on this occasion that the parents feel it is the right time to let everyone know that Grandma, the founder of the family business, was an ultra-conservative traditionalist who believed that women should only be barefoot and pregnant and not working outside the home.  So to that end, she placed a clause in her will that her daughter would not inherit her company.  Instead, it would go to the husband of her first granddaughter to get married (hahaha . . . . . . no what?  Seriously?).  So, I guess Mom must have worked when she was younger and Grandma felt that Carrie and Kate’s father was a complete piece of chit and unworthy to own the company himself (but not such a loser that he couldn’t run the day to day operations of the company with granddaughter Carrie).

Mom and Dad have talked with various attorneys but it seems the will is incontestable.  Maybe Grandma was just a very sweet, insightful and misogynistic woman with stunningly archaic beliefs regarding gender roles.  Either way, Carrie does not take this information, nor the fact her parents withheld it from her all these years, very well.  I mean you can’t really blame her, she spent her life working for and growing a family business which will eventually be turned over to someone NOT in the family.  To top it off, Ethan (played by Adam Senn), Kate’s fiancé is somewhat of a self-righteous, organic food obsessed, hippie douche.  When Ethan expresses interest in owning the company, Carrie makes a mental note to separate Ethan from the group and stab him in the heart with a potato peeler (well, it’s never mentioned in the movie but how could she NOT be thinking that?).

The next day at work, Carrie and her father (who never seems to take slight at the fact that he was never considered to take over the company in favor of a complete and utter stranger) meet with attorney Dylan (played by Coby McLaughlin) who represents a business that ‘Grandma foods’ wants to acquire.  The meeting does not go well as Paul wants guarantees that there won’t be layoffs and believes the offer is low.  Carrie responds by being rude and condescending to Paul (Not exactly top negotiating tactics but hey, she’s under a lot of stress.) and the meeting ends.  While there is tension at home, Carrie decides to ignore everything related to the will when dealing with her family and focus on making Kate’s engagement and wedding everything it should be.  At the same time, though, she tries to reconnect with an old flame from her youth Paul (played by Ryan Caltagirone).

This sounds like a solid strategy until an engagement party reveals that Ethan’s best man is in fact . . . . (wait for it) . . . . Dylan, the handsome attorney Carrie had been so ill-tempered with a few days prior.  Carrie introduces everyone to her charming date and old flame Paul and processes her new predicament.  Later, Dylan shows up at the company Christmas party (where Carrie is dressed as an Elf delivering candy canes to children) to discuss Kate’s bachelorette party.  Carrie then realizes that she is responsible for throwing it (actually Carrie, it seems you are the ONLY person in the bridal party which makes you responsible for everything).  As luck would have it, Ethan (aka hippie fiancé) wants to have his Bachelor party at a family cabin and would like to combine the two parties as one.  After some awkward interaction where Dylan is charming and Carrie is terse and short (a little TOO much so) they agree that Ethan’s idea, to have what has to be the LAMEST sounding Bachelor and Bachelorette parties in the history of mankind, to be the perfect plan!

At the cabin Carrie is her typical mean self to Dylan while he remains sweet and charismatic.  Despite Paul showing up, Carrie and Dylan do manage to spend a few moments together where not even Carrie’s omnipresent, pre-adolescent, social behavior can hide her obvious interest in Dylan.  A gown fitting causes a strained confrontation between Carrie and Kate over the family business which convinces Carrie to solicit Paul into a marriage of convenience (how romantic), so she can retain control over the company.  She plans an engagement dinner and subsequent flight to Vegas but things go awry when Paul admits he is gay and will only marry for love.  Carrie later counters that statement by telling him that gay men should never use sports cliches (cause you know . . . gays can’t play sports???).  After proving to the audience that she can be a mean drunk, she shows us she can also go full on crazy drunk which leads to her calling . . . you guessed it . . . Dylan.  Dylan, the guy so selfless, sweet and charming you’d think he was ALSO gay, shows up and takes Carrie home.

The next day Dylan arrives at Carries work to give her back her phone.  Carrie accuses Dylan of inappropriate behavior (#METOO) for being in her home when she changed into her pajamas and her not remembering anything of the evening.  This leaves Dylan a bit miffed since Carrie only seems nice and complimentary when she’s drunk outta her mind (but then she won’t remember!  Catch 22).  At the rehearsal dinner she reconciles with her sister, let’s everyone know she is not with Paul (everyone seemed to know he was gay anyways) and shows a softer side to Dylan.  Prior to the wedding she resigns from the company.  At the reception, she dances with Dylan where we find out she has accepted a job to run the company he had earlier represented in their attempted take over.  Dylan admits his feelings toward her (Are you sure about this Dylan?  She seems a bit emotionally immature and extremely high maintenance.  And just ask Gay Paul how she reacts to bad news.).   Carrie admits she feels the same and they kiss.  The End.

I felt Jes played her character well as the angry, conflicted Carrie but she never gave us the emotional payoff and gave Carrie any vulnerability at the end.  Coby made Dylan sweet and likeable but also made him sort of a pushover in how he reacted (or didn’t react at all) to Carrie’s constant mood swings.  The actors were okay, the story was okay, so I guess overall it was . . . . okay?  I give it 2.5 out of 5.