Christmas Under Wraps
Dr. Lauren Brunell’s life plan didn’t include a stint in remote Garland, Alaska, but that’s where she finds herself after losing her dream man and dream job. Thankfully, Andy Holliday and his jolly white-bearded father are there to help her adjust. Can Lauren chart a new path in life and love…and discover a few Christmas secrets along the way?
Christmas clichés:
…Santa?
Candace Cameron-Bure
Career-Driven Woman
Christmas-named Town
Ends w/ Kiss or Ring
Opens w/ City Scene
Reindeer
Small-town Guy Who Works w/ Hands
Tree Buy & Trim
Weather Unprepared
Our Thoughts
Is it even Christmas without Candace Cameron-Bure? That question can test a marriage…and a holiday spirit.
Take a flight to Garland, Alaska, a small town where Dr. Lauren Brunell (CCB, rocking the red hair) takes her last-choice fellowship to be the local doctor. She comes Weather Unprepared and hoping to stay for a short while, until her plans are undermined by the ever-growing injured townsfolk and the charming Andy Holliday, Small-Town Guy Who Works w/ Hands-slash-pilot-slash-son-of-the-mysterious-shipping-tycoon, Frank Holliday. Wait…does Frank love cookies and have a Reindeer named Rudy?
This movie was built upon 10 Christmas Clichés, but it does so naturally. You can’t help but swoon when Lauren and Andy grace the screen together (even Jess dreams of her own Northern Lights picnic), especially as his preference for small-town living overcomes her non-fat latte habits. But the movie falters as it ends: the mystery behind the Holliday Shipping Company is hardly a reveal. And when Lauren gets accepted to her first-choice fellowship, there are 10 minutes left in the movie, so you can’t pretend to question what choice she will make.
Even if you try, the Garland residents’ love for Christmas is infectious. You will not be immune to this movie. We guess “that’s Garland for ya.”
Rob's Final Take: Merry
Perfect example of a perfectly adequate Christmas movie. Candace is great and Garland is charming, but (Santa help me) I just can’t stand Frank Holliday.
Jess's Final Take: Merry
It tracks as a “Very Merry” movie in the first half, but the momentum slows as the focus shifts away from love and toward Santa’s high cholesterol.
Details
Watch It On: Hallmark Channel
Buy It From: Amazon (Streaming), Amazon (DVD), and Hallmark
Starring: Candace Cameron Bure & David O'Donnell
