B&B Merry

7.5 stars.

I wasn't smiling much watching this installment of a Christmas family Hallmark romance genre... What we have in this story is a woman who does travel blogs, she visits hotels and B&B's and motels and all those places where people get lodged up. She has traveled all over the world and has a fairly popular website. Two competitors land on her docket so she has to compare them simultaneously. One is a small town family B&B and the other is the competition, a major large chain hotel in the same town, not known for charm, caters to wealthy and such. She is conflicted and falling in love with the owner of the B&B's son, and there we have the usual Hallmark/Family production.

The acting is very good, the drama is serious, the feelings are real. I like this sort of story, I don't need all the fluff and smiles. This type of movie works for me, albeit it's not making me ecstatic edge of my seat happy, but I'm entertained and satisfied. I like it when these two leads are serious, they are very good at portraying these emotions. Pleasantly surprised.

I've seen my fair share of bad Christmas movies over the years, but B&B Merry takes the cake for being amongst the worst I've ever seen. From its cringe-inducing acting to its nonsensical plot, this movie is a disaster from start to finish. The acting is truly terrible. The actors are all wooden and unconvincing, and their delivery of the lines is laughable, especially the older ladies. The dialogue is also incredibly cheesy and forced, making it even harder to take the movie seriously. It's as if the screenwriters didn't even bother to try to come up with a plausible story.

Overall, B&B Merry is a complete waste of time. It's not funny, and it's not even remotely entertaining. If you're looking for a good Christmas movie to watch, avoid this one at all costs.

The plot isn't new ... a travel reviewer arrives at a property (in this case a struggling B&B) which needs some good publicity to combat the business they're losing to the new hotel in town.

Of course, the reviewer comes with secrets. Her boyfriend--who was supposed to come to the town and stay with her--just dumped her, and she's ALSO supposed to review the new hotel.

In my mind, the first 3/4ths of the movie was better than the end, as it had all the secrets and angst and meetings and funny awkward moments. But that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy the movie. It also has what all these movies need and not all provide ... legitimate relationship building scenes and enough of them.

Recommended, and we'll watch again.

Once the premise is set up, this movie follows the usual lines for a movie in this genre. The premise has a tiny twist on blogger sent to review a place to stay in a small town. In this movie, Tracey has already accepted an invitation to a struggling B&B as an independent reviewer on a romantic getaway. But a big magazine offers to hire her for a review on another more traditional hotel in the same town. She figures she can do both, ignoring the obvious conflict of interest. So as she checks into the B&B, she has one secret but quickly adds a second - her boyfriend breaks up with her while she is literally on the porch before checking in.

From there the usual stuff unfolds. The break-up secret is revealed quickly and actually generates some sympathy. It also makes her available romantically. There are Christmas activities. There are discussions with intimate friends or relatives about the fact that there is no romance. Tracey helps Graham make the inn more appealing. They decide to revive a Christmas dance tradition. There is an expected conflict and the resolution is much the same as many movies with a similar premise.

This movie is family friendly. The acting is decent. The dialogue is also, but not sparkling. There is chemistry between Jen Lilly and Jesse Hutch. Once aspect was overplayed. Graham's mom and aunt who really run the inn go overboard drastically in doing things for Tracey in the name of hospitality. Were I the guest here I would run away from the intrusive attention.

I really liked B&B Merry!! I absolutely adore Jen Lilly and I really like Jesse Hutch. They made a cute couple. We've seen a variation of this storyline with Hallmark movies. Jen is a blogger who was asked to come to Silver Peak B&B to help bring guests in with all her followers. There is competition with a newer high end hotel that is in the area. She does review both of them. I'm not going to give anything away. Although it's predictable it's really well done. I absolutely loved the comedic antics of the mom and Aunt. They played well off each other. This is one of my favorites of the season.