Schoolteacher Emily Spengler (Faith Ford) loves Christmas. The widower is beside herself when her daughter Heather decides to stay at Boston College with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Christmas-hating English professor Charles Johnson (Tom Cavanagh) in Boston is looking for a quiet place to do his writing. The two of them go on a website to switch homes for a week. It turns out that Heather went to Phoenix with her boyfriend. Emily does meet Charles' brother Ray (Gil Bellows) under panic circumstances. Charles is stuck dealing with overly helpful and nosy neighbors. Then Emily's troubled friend Faith (Gabrielle Miller) shows up.
These are four solid actors in a fine Hallmark movie. It's a little better than the average Hallmark. At least, half of this is a little better than the average. Emily and Ray is strictly standard Hallmark. Their initial meeting doesn't make sense and they are nicely bland. It's solidly average. Charles and Faith are much more comedic. Both are good comedic actors with plenty of love-hate between them. As for Heather, that story can be mostly cut out. I would stick with Charles and Faith. A funnier Emily story would have her chasing Heather around. If she meets a Ray along the way, that would be fine and he could join her.
These are four solid actors in a fine Hallmark movie. It's a little better than the average Hallmark. At least, half of this is a little better than the average. Emily and Ray is strictly standard Hallmark. Their initial meeting doesn't make sense and they are nicely bland. It's solidly average. Charles and Faith are much more comedic. Both are good comedic actors with plenty of love-hate between them. As for Heather, that story can be mostly cut out. I would stick with Charles and Faith. A funnier Emily story would have her chasing Heather around. If she meets a Ray along the way, that would be fine and he could join her.