Dec 18

Dec 18 Christmas Inheritance

Party girl Ellen Langford stands to inherit her father’s empire, but first she must hit the road – incognito – to deliver a special message to his business partner. When a snowstorm leaves her stranded and penniless in the hometown she never knew, Ellie must get her hands dirty to earn her keep. Can she shake off the snow, finish her task, and get back to her fiancé...or will she fall for Snow Falls?

Christmas Inheritance.jpg — Christmas clichés:

Opens w/ City Scene
Charity Work
Deceased Parent
Christmas-Named Town
Career-Driven Woman
Weather Unprepared
Carolers
Cute, Precocious Child
Evil Fiancé
Mistaken Identities
Small-Town Guy Who Works w/ Hands
Public Domain Xmas Music
Ends w/ Kiss or Ring

Our Thoughts

After the smashing social media success of “A Christmas Prince,” this quiet premiere late in the movie season that had little-to-no promotion made us suspicious.

But Netflix did it again. And better this time.

Career-Driven Ellen Langford wants to inherit the CEO position of her father’s gifting company. But being dubbed “The Party Heiress” by the press doesn’t give her father confidence. Off he sends her to the Christmas-Named Town of Snow Falls to deliver the yearly Christmas letter to his retired business partner.

Creating many Mistaken Identity scenarios by going undercover, Ellen befriends the local innkeeper-slash-artist, Jake (Jake Lacy, who can’t decide if his character has an accent but is still our beloved Pete/Plop from the final season of “The Office”). When a snowstorm threatens the town, Ellen’s Charity Work and care of befallen townsfolk kicks off the romantic storyline that carries the movie.

We debate if the movie is perfect. Rob adores the many holiday facets of the plot: hand-written Christmas letters, a silent auction, cookie-baking montages. Jess struggled with the “Silent Night” music plot (and awkward slow-dancing to said song) and the lack of focus on a central theme.

We do agree on one thing: Give this movie a chance. Any screenwriter who can seamlessly hit 13 of our Christmas Movie Clichés deserves your attention.

Rob's Final Take: Very Merry
The first 20 minutes are a master class in deploying Christmas clichés. I would have liked a little more Christmas magic and a little less general do-goodery, but still a winner.

Jess's Final Take: Merry
I applaud the whopping 13 clichés they weave into the story. But Ellie spent more screen time solo than falling for our small-town hero.