OK, there are so many things wrong with this movie from a business point of view that yes, it does seem like a grade school kid wrote it. So either forget about any realism or don't watch it.
I recently watched 6 seasons of Rookie Blue in about 2 months, so I came into this movie with a strong preconception of Charlotte Sullivan. The character I already knew, Gail, is not a people person. She's grumpy. She doesn't have a good filter on the things she says. At the beginning of the movie, Erin bears a strong resemblance to Gail. It was difficult for me to see anyone different (despite the hair color difference). It's not that Erin doesn't have reasons for her attitude but she never warms up.
This story is not the usual Christmas romance. For one thing, it doesn't have all the usual Christmas things, like baking cookies. That might even be a good thing. For another, the romance seems secondary to all the other things going on, at least in the first half. There's Erin's maybe-ex-best-friend who stole her fiancé on their wedding day who then shows up across the country at her new home. Erin, the brand new employee has to save the company she just joined. And there's the puppies. The director actually uses the dogs well.
There is a lot of awkward dialogue and there are a lot of awkward situations. Some of them turn out to be funny, but a lot of them are just awkward. There's even an awkward backstory about Martin. It doesn't really make sense and it's poorly told.
Much of the outcome is predictable, but getting there at the end is unexpected in several ways. The investor angle is unexpected. It is both funny and just as ridiculous as what I talked about in the first paragraph.
I loved and hated this movie. I would have liked to see a more likeable personality in Erin. I would have like to have seen more (any?) chemistry between Sullivan and Donny Boaz. I cringed at a lot of the awkwardness. But there were so many unusual things in the movie. I was at the edge of my seat a little waiting to see if a certain thing was revealed at the end - I was totally wrong about it.
I recently watched 6 seasons of Rookie Blue in about 2 months, so I came into this movie with a strong preconception of Charlotte Sullivan. The character I already knew, Gail, is not a people person. She's grumpy. She doesn't have a good filter on the things she says. At the beginning of the movie, Erin bears a strong resemblance to Gail. It was difficult for me to see anyone different (despite the hair color difference). It's not that Erin doesn't have reasons for her attitude but she never warms up.
This story is not the usual Christmas romance. For one thing, it doesn't have all the usual Christmas things, like baking cookies. That might even be a good thing. For another, the romance seems secondary to all the other things going on, at least in the first half. There's Erin's maybe-ex-best-friend who stole her fiancé on their wedding day who then shows up across the country at her new home. Erin, the brand new employee has to save the company she just joined. And there's the puppies. The director actually uses the dogs well.
There is a lot of awkward dialogue and there are a lot of awkward situations. Some of them turn out to be funny, but a lot of them are just awkward. There's even an awkward backstory about Martin. It doesn't really make sense and it's poorly told.
Much of the outcome is predictable, but getting there at the end is unexpected in several ways. The investor angle is unexpected. It is both funny and just as ridiculous as what I talked about in the first paragraph.
I loved and hated this movie. I would have liked to see a more likeable personality in Erin. I would have like to have seen more (any?) chemistry between Sullivan and Donny Boaz. I cringed at a lot of the awkwardness. But there were so many unusual things in the movie. I was at the edge of my seat a little waiting to see if a certain thing was revealed at the end - I was totally wrong about it.