A cocky LA radio host named Pepper (yes, really) ticks off an advertiser so, as punishment, his station sends him to a small town in Colorado to hang out with pretty Haylie Duff. Some punishment. How could he stand such torture and live? Anyway, Haylie has her own radio show. It's a Dr. Laura/Phil/Drew type advice show. Pepper is assigned to be her cohost. Naturally, the two mix like oil and water but their on-air bickering becomes popular and, inevitably, they start to like each other.
Despite the seasonal backdrop, Christmas has little to do with the story. It's just a basic 'opposites attract' romantic comedy. Haylie Duff is very likable and charming. In typical romcom fashion she has another guy before Pepper shows up. This guy looks like a Ken doll come to life. To the movie's credit, he's not the total cliché you might expect. He seems like a nice man and, if he got the girl, it wouldn't have been the end of the world. Tilky Jones is fun and his banter with Haylie is good. Unfortunately it doesn't last long as they start getting along really quickly and after that the banter seems limp. The speed by which these two go from not getting along to sharing personal stories and falling in love is pretty unbelievable. I realize a TV movie only has so much time but I think they could have paced the story better. The rest of the cast is pretty good. Maureen McCormick steals all of her scenes. The comedy works better than the romance. The 'memorial for Buddy' scene is the highlight of the movie. Oh and the canned music they used in this is insipid. But, warts and all, it's a decent romcom TV movie.
