I frequently talk about common premises and themes. Well, Olivia isn't fired or laid off. She's just notified that it could happen in the coming year. (And by Ben Ayers no less.) She takes her son back to her hometown to get rid of her artistic block. She doesn't meet an old flame. There is a meet-cute of sorts which leaves her yelling "paint thief" in the store. There's a contest to paint a mural. She doesn't enter. But her mother enters her and who does she beat out to get it? The paint thief. So what do they do? They work on a project together, the mural, leading up to a Christmas Eve unveiling. Not a pageant or a festival. Just an unveiling. So the writers tried to mix the usual checklist up a bit and succeed at least somewhat.
Alex Paxton-Beesley reminds me so much of Rachel Nichols. She and Dan Jeannotte have decent chemistry. Jeanotte is usually a bit sassy in these movies and his Will is that. Will also turns out to be a prince of a guy who gives of himself and his artistic ability to the community. It is common in these movies for the opposite romantic lead to establish a close relationship with the child of the other lead. Another check.
This movie has no great highs or lows or surprises. The only tension is Olivia's future and the mural, neither of which will keep you up at night. It does seem to keep her up though. As is often the case when there is no great tension, the conflict is a little contrived.
Once you get past the obligatory animosity between Olivia and Will, the movie is mostly upbeat. If, like me, you've seen almost every Christmas movie made in the last 5 years on 5 channels, it's kind of slow, but I still found it OK, probably thanks to the cast.
