Alison Sweeney runs Holly Lodge, a beautiful inn surrounded by snowy mountains, evergreen trees galore, and scenic views. There's a steady stream of regular patrons who visit the lodge every Christmas, but Alison's behind on her mortgage payments, and a development company has taken an interest in the land. They send Jordan Bridges to study the property, but before he makes his true intentions known to Alison, the two start falling for each other.
Even though it took me an entire paragraph to describe the plot, in reality, it's quite thin. The premiere was riddled with commercial breaks because there really wasn't much to the story. There are misunderstandings that stand in the way of the romance, small side plots involving the minor characters, and well-meaning friends trying to get the leads to admit their feelings. I lost track of how often Jordan said, "I have to tell you something," and Alison either put him off until the next scene or blew him off entirely. Had he been allowed to talk when he wanted to, the movie would have been even shorter—so I understand why he was continually stifled.
The cutest part of the film was seeing Jordan Bridges channel his dad Beau's expressions and mannerisms. If you're a fan of Beau Bridges—I am—you should definitely watch Christmas at Holly Lodge the next time Hallmark airs it, just so you can support his son's career and see the impact he had over him. It's quite adorable.
