User reviews

This movie has an unusual take on a Christmas pay-it-forward story, or perhaps a charitable Secret Santa. It is an appealing approach to an already appealing premise. The opening scene works right into that.

Then there is the scene with mom's ridiculous do-or-die requirement for Evie/Mary to earn her Trust fund. I wish the writers would have toned the whole thing down a little. It appears to Evie and the viewer to be more of a Hail Mary (no pun intended) effort rather than a fair opportunity to prove herself. The requirement is reinforced a couple of times. Mom even acknowledges at one point that the task is more than difficult and that she has already failed once to make it happen.

I like Kyle's approach moving forward from the beginning. And the story develops very nicely. Meanwhile Taylor Cole and Kevin McGarry build some nice playful chemistry. And the spoiled arrogant rich girl quickly turns into a smart and kind lady. The acts of kindness proceed and in general terms the result is about what you'd expect. Strangely, the story lacked, at least in my view, a key element of all Christmas rom/com stories. To identify it would be a spoiler so I can't say more. The movie managed to succeed without it.

The best part of this was the great chemistry between Kevin and Taylor. They look great together but there was a believable connection, not too overdone or scripted.

Another thing I liked about this one was that it was a hidden identity much like we get with secret royals and heirs in other movies, but this one didn't turn it into the 20 minutes left just before the 2nd to last commercial break conflict. In fact, that didn't really exist and it was so refreshing!

While it was big city vs small town there wasn't a huge issue on who is staying who is going long distance nonsense. It's purely that a small town can brighten the heart of the season.

They didn't do enough to explain really why he had to be the lawyer other than just tax breaks of gifting which he wouldn't need to actually help if that's the case. Also, cardinal rule of lawyers was broken- don't get romantically involved with your clients. I'll forgive it this time.

I thought all of the side characters were great, especially the mom and diner owner. The town is cute and it wasn't too over done town traditions (minus her as the elf but that wasn't too overplayed either).

I thought this was really well done for a hallmark movie. It was just missing a certain pizzazz that kept it from a higher rating that I save for my favorite of the year each year.

I would watch it again and I think the quality of the acting and absence of certain overdone cliches raise it above the average hallmark movie.

This was a heartwarming human interest story. I loved all the characters. It's the first of these types of shows I've watched in a while that gave me the warm and fuzzies without the boredom. Kudos to Kevin and Taylor for making their characters feel 'real.' I also loved the character of Jack, who was so sweet. The town felt like a resilient and loving community. II have to say that the premise seemed just novel enough to keep boredom from setting in. In fact, I would love to see a Mystery Movie series built around this town and these two characters. With such a loving community that works for the common good, this could be the next Teagarden series.