The unwritten rom/com rule that the first meeting has to be antagonistic is at work in full force in this movie. Alicia bears the brunt of the blame and is unnecessarily uncompromising. Logan is a tiny bit arrogant but mostly attempting to be diplomatic. Alicia has a chip on her shoulder. I really wish the writers hadn't made her so difficult. It did not set me up to like this movie. Follow that up quickly with the arrogant pair of competitors dropping names and accomplishments, but this is a minor blip in the story.
This is a Christmas movie, ho, ho, ho. This shouldn't be Hell's Kitchen. (Even Alicia says that.) Logan doesn't need to be Gordan Ramsey. The tense, high pressure atmosphere lasts a little too long. So will he "get off the high horse and make things right"? Will Alicia lose the 20 ton chip? Fortunately the answer is yes for Logan. Alicia softens, a little, but it seems like the chip is still there but maybe down to a few pounds, not tons and then eventually gone.
I loved the "punishment" for losing the bet. Perfect choice. Yes punishment, but in a fun way. Then we have some cooperative Christmas activities while they prepare for the contest.
Alicia has a sad backstory and Logan tries to encourage her past it. As is so often the case in these movies, his personality has become completely different. And Buddy the Cake Boss plays Bobby who also helps and encourages her. Buddy shows up a few times.
There is a somewhat mysterious subplot that turns the story slightly in a new direction even though I think something like that result was predictable. It led to an interesting sequence that nicely fills in what could have been the story just coasting through to the end.
Ultimately this is a movie about a contest. A cooking contest. That has its own set of expectations as far as storyline. But will something come along to make it more interesting than usual?
It's odd because another obvious question as a result of everything isn't addressed at all.
