George Putter (Billy Zane) lives in a small community in Canada, where he resides in a lovely mansion. After all, his family has operated a glorified general store in the village for decades and, when his father died, he was the heir apparent. However, George is sometimes more interested in his own inventions and sculptures than he is in the store. One day, a wealthy entrepreneur, Vernon Fry (Patrick Bergen) comes to Putterton with the intent of opening a large department store that would most certainly result in the closure of the smaller establishments. The village council runs him out of town on a rail. Yet, when a new government taxman, er, taxlady, Caroline (Valerie Valois) arrives from Montreal, everyone is shaking in their boots, for the "books" have been "cooked" for quite some time. Will the village's businesses go under anyway? Why not have George try to woo the lovely Caroline and get her mind off the ledgers? This is a wonderful, romantic little film from that Maple Leaf country in the great snowy north. It has a nice but unknown cast, except for Zane and Bergin. Anyone who saw their turns, respectively, in Dead Calm or Sleeping with the Enemy, will be surprised to see that they can handle light comedy, too, in a charming way. The look of the film is most lovely, with knockout Canadian scenery, sweet costumes, and beautiful camera work. Then, too, the story and script are quite humorous and engaging. Therefore, all fans of romantic comedy or the unknown gems of cinema should head immediately to K-Mart, for that is where I plucked out this little wonder for a flat $2.50, under a slightly different title.
