The movie was well done with a good story and good acting. Yes it's sappy. The premise is ridiculous. Some of the circumstances are too. But that's true to some extent of most of the Christmas Rom/Coms.
The premise may be crazy, but it's also unusual. In some ways it is a twist on the dying dinosaur-business premise. Some of the usual consequences of this premise develop but the story is still fresh.
Much of the charm of this movie is Alexandra Breckenridge who plays the dynamic and extraordinary Claire. Claire starts out with a business disaster and looks for a break (she really flees her real life), but she quickly dives into the small town situation and makes an impact. Meanwhile, Jamie Spilchuk does a great job as Andrew who presents a counterpoint to Claire's enthusiasm. They start out as not so much antagonistic but more a case of coexisting with each other. They play off one another perfectly with both romantic tension and humor.
A few reviewers referred to this as a Hallmark movie. I'm pretty sure it's not. MarVista (according to Wikipedia) is more closely associated with Lifetime, which is where I saw this movie. Hallmark is not yet to the point of being politically correct as far as LGBT themes and they may never be. While the movie is definitely a sappy romance, it definitely has the Lifetime flavor to it in several ways, not just the one.
The premise may be crazy, but it's also unusual. In some ways it is a twist on the dying dinosaur-business premise. Some of the usual consequences of this premise develop but the story is still fresh.
Much of the charm of this movie is Alexandra Breckenridge who plays the dynamic and extraordinary Claire. Claire starts out with a business disaster and looks for a break (she really flees her real life), but she quickly dives into the small town situation and makes an impact. Meanwhile, Jamie Spilchuk does a great job as Andrew who presents a counterpoint to Claire's enthusiasm. They start out as not so much antagonistic but more a case of coexisting with each other. They play off one another perfectly with both romantic tension and humor.
A few reviewers referred to this as a Hallmark movie. I'm pretty sure it's not. MarVista (according to Wikipedia) is more closely associated with Lifetime, which is where I saw this movie. Hallmark is not yet to the point of being politically correct as far as LGBT themes and they may never be. While the movie is definitely a sappy romance, it definitely has the Lifetime flavor to it in several ways, not just the one.