This is the third time I've watched this movie and it never disappoints. It is so well cast and Kristoffer Polaha is delightful in every role. He is so natural, extremely good looking and sexy and exudes warmth and kindness on screen.
Ashley Newbrough is perfect as Nell, the successful novelist whose last stop on her national book tour is Springdale... the small town that inspired her latest novel. She's reluctant because it's still the home of her old New York junior copy editor colleague for whom she had a big crush but he broke her heart when he suddenly disappeared on the eve of their first date many years earlier.
He had inspired her novel with all his wonderful stories of Springdale when they worked together but she was deeply hurt when he left her waiting for him in a restaurant for two hours, quit his job, left without a word and never responded to any of her texts.
In typical Hallmark fashion, misunderstandings occur when she first arrives. She gave a stranded guy a lift to the town and when Emmett first meets her, he assumes he is her boyfriend. Later, she meets Marnie (Bailey Skodje) and assumes she's his daughter.
Nervous about seeing Emmett again, she warms to her new friend Brad ( Preston Vanderslice) and enjoys his upbeat energy and help. This complicates things even more.
They both assume the other didn't feel the same way about each other because he never responded to her texts and she had never responded to an explanatory letter he had sent to her a few months later.
There is great chemistry between them, both in the story and on screen, and as they spend time with each other, their old feelings are ignited and grow.
The movie invokes the essence of a small town at Christmas without being cheesy and the supporting cast are all more natural and interesting than many of their Hallmark counterparts.
My only complaint with the script is when Nell immediately assumes that Emmett is betraying his convictions and selling his bookshop for the money. Like many years earlier, she jumps to the wrong conclusion and doesn't wait to hear his explanation. It's classic Hallmark but out of place here because she packs to leave immediately without a thought to the effect it will have on Marnie and the rest of the townspeople she has bonded with. It doesn't fit here. Then, when the misunderstanding regarding the letter is resolved, they finally kiss and all their old feelings rush back.
Her publisher and her whole family conveniently come down with the flu so her invite to spend Christmas with them is withdrawn, opening up the opportunity to spend Christmas with Emmett and Marnie and alls well that ends well.
It's a very enjoyable movie set at Christmastime and about small town Springdale's Christmas traditions but it is much more about the townspeople and their interconnected lives. Unlike so many other Hallmark Christmas movies, they don't overdo the Christmas message and, without unrealistically decorated surroundings, it could almost be set at any time.
.... And if you are a Kristoffer Polaha and Ashley Newbrough fan this is a must see.
Ashley Newbrough is perfect as Nell, the successful novelist whose last stop on her national book tour is Springdale... the small town that inspired her latest novel. She's reluctant because it's still the home of her old New York junior copy editor colleague for whom she had a big crush but he broke her heart when he suddenly disappeared on the eve of their first date many years earlier.
He had inspired her novel with all his wonderful stories of Springdale when they worked together but she was deeply hurt when he left her waiting for him in a restaurant for two hours, quit his job, left without a word and never responded to any of her texts.
In typical Hallmark fashion, misunderstandings occur when she first arrives. She gave a stranded guy a lift to the town and when Emmett first meets her, he assumes he is her boyfriend. Later, she meets Marnie (Bailey Skodje) and assumes she's his daughter.
Nervous about seeing Emmett again, she warms to her new friend Brad ( Preston Vanderslice) and enjoys his upbeat energy and help. This complicates things even more.
They both assume the other didn't feel the same way about each other because he never responded to her texts and she had never responded to an explanatory letter he had sent to her a few months later.
There is great chemistry between them, both in the story and on screen, and as they spend time with each other, their old feelings are ignited and grow.
The movie invokes the essence of a small town at Christmas without being cheesy and the supporting cast are all more natural and interesting than many of their Hallmark counterparts.
My only complaint with the script is when Nell immediately assumes that Emmett is betraying his convictions and selling his bookshop for the money. Like many years earlier, she jumps to the wrong conclusion and doesn't wait to hear his explanation. It's classic Hallmark but out of place here because she packs to leave immediately without a thought to the effect it will have on Marnie and the rest of the townspeople she has bonded with. It doesn't fit here. Then, when the misunderstanding regarding the letter is resolved, they finally kiss and all their old feelings rush back.
Her publisher and her whole family conveniently come down with the flu so her invite to spend Christmas with them is withdrawn, opening up the opportunity to spend Christmas with Emmett and Marnie and alls well that ends well.
It's a very enjoyable movie set at Christmastime and about small town Springdale's Christmas traditions but it is much more about the townspeople and their interconnected lives. Unlike so many other Hallmark Christmas movies, they don't overdo the Christmas message and, without unrealistically decorated surroundings, it could almost be set at any time.
.... And if you are a Kristoffer Polaha and Ashley Newbrough fan this is a must see.