This is an almost-ensemble holiday rom-com with one main heroine, her groom, her ex, and her sister rounding out the leads. Sara Mitich is luminous although her hair is almost frighteningly red in this role. There's gentle comedy and authentic emotion from the 4 leads as they grow through their individual arcs although Colt doesn't get much range as he's supposed to represent stable, unchanging love.
Mimi Kuzyk is a gem as the girls' grandmother. The bride's parents are transparently OTT - the kind that's entertaining on-screen but you'd have to murder IRL. The bit players are a nice collection of eccentrics and bewildered bystanders.
There's been some criticism that the lead actress isn't suited for the role but I think that's a deliberate choice by the director to play up the character's unsuitability for the city life and the marriage/family she is running away from (not a spoiler, as it's in the title). The character dresses more naturally and loses the artificial hairstyle once she's out of the city, and even moves differently as she becomes more true to her own desires.
(One caveat as a writer: if anyone dragged me out of an in-the-zone writing session after a period of blockage, I'd be flinging my coffee mug at them, not going meekly back to the kitchen to help with the baking or whatever.)
The plot omitted a few of the usual set-pieces like sleigh rides and ice-skating although they did fit in Christmas tree hunting, and still managed to become a nicely watchable story. I'll keep my eye out for the actresses playing both sisters, to see what they make of more demanding roles.
