Candace Cameron Bure plays a writer who believes in vision boards and soulmates. She's engaged to a stuffy, insipid man and is supposed to meet his equally stuffy parents for the first time on Christmas. But bad weather stands in the way of her plans so she's forced to share a ride with a bickering married couple and a handsome bartender (Paul Greene) down on love. Along the way sparks fly, proving once again that opposites always attract in TV romcoms.
It's never a bad thing to see Candace Cameron Bure in a Christmas movie, even if she is playing a more obnoxious character than usual. It took me awhile to like the character as she's pretty much the exact type of person I try to avoid in my life. Eventually they do flesh her out a little and you grow to care about her some. I still wasn't completely enamored with her by the end. Which is saying a lot since I adore Candace and will sit through just about anything to watch her. For his part, Paul Greene is a step above the usual bland male lead these things tend to have. He's got a lot of charisma (and knows it), straddling that fine line between charming and cocky at all times. Candace and Paul have a nice chemistry together but, as fun as these two are, the real highlight of the movie is Sarah Strange and David Lewis as the married couple. They prove you don't have to have movie star good looks to be a compelling romcom relationship. In a perfect world actors like this could be the stars of the movie. As it is, we have to settle for them as supporting players who steal the spotlight. The guy playing Candace's fiancé and the actors playing his parents also do an admirable job with cardboard roles. I'm sure it wasn't easy.
Candace rarely disappoints with her TV movies. This one isn't among my favorites of hers but it is very enjoyable, despite a few flaws. It's predictable (as these things always are) but it does what it does well. If you're looking for a pleasant way to pass the time on a lazy Saturday afternoon, you could do a lot worse.
