Check Inn to Christmas - Premiere #20

Check Inn to Christmas premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 26th and stars Rachel Boston (Julia) and Wes Brown (Ryan).

RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄

General Movie Details: Julia Crawley is a lawyer living in NYC who is getting to go home to Crestridge, Colorado for the holidays.  She's been at the law firm for 10 years and is trying for a promotion to a more senior partner track position that will mean more work and less time for family, friends and herself.  Ryan Mason is a Crestridge native who after going to school for his MBA and working in Chicago decided to come home and help run his family's inn.  Crestridge is home to two inns which sparked a long-standing feud between the families, the Crawleys and the Masons.  Just imagine what could happen when a new enemy comes to town and is able to bring the the feud to an end. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!

Re-Meet Cute Moment: While they attended the same school they didn't run in the same circles so it's not surprising that they don't recognize each other at the train station.  Julia unknowingly left her laptop on the train and Ryan returned it.  Neither of them realizes at first that the other is from the feuding family.

Notable Fashion Alert:  Rachel Boston's character is rocking several wrap dresses with boots.  I think that this is a Rachel Boston costuming thing because I've seen her sport this look in other movies.

Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant:  Not too much snark to share.  I liked that the family feud was controlled.  There is definitely a level of competitiveness and avoidance that makes it clear that there is definitely still a feud but it isn't taken to an over the top level with anomosity or malice.  And the fact that the family feud appears to be waning anyway makes the movie resolution much more believable.  I mean going from enemies to business partners wouldn't be possible any other way.  I liked that the families were both still involved with the holiday festivities but just kind of avoided each other.  I did enjoy the business Christmas decoration contest but I wish that we had seen the bakery or other competing businesses at some point in the movie.  I did enjoy that both main characters had their assumptions about each other which were wrong and they have more in common than they initially expect and the same is true about their families.  That little nugget is probably something we can all keep in mind throughout the year.  I enjoyed the slow relationship building that they aren't really getting involved with each other because they know they are going their own ways but I felt that there was enough chemistry between the actors so that you knew that they were interested in each other.  Julia's missing a step on the ladder and Jake just happening to be there to catch her was a bit too much but I guess there has to be at least one moment like that.  I guess the issue was that I saw the moment coming a mile away but I did like that the moment was interrupted and called out.  Part of the conclusion that I appreciated was that Julia's decision was first and foremost about doing what was right for her, her family, the town and Ryan is just one aspect of the decision.  Way to go logical thinking!  One moment of snark, is everyone really going to Eddie's pub and ordering the hot chocolate?  If that's the case, you know it's been doctored.

Hallmark Movie Connection: Rachel is a year-round Hallmark staple.  She was previously in A Rose for Christmas (2017) with Marc Bendavid.  My favorite of her previous movies was A Ring by Spring (2014) with Kirby Morrow and co-starring Ali Leibert and Jesse Moss.  Wes Brown is becoming a year-round staple and was previously seen in Under the Autumn Moon (2018) with Lindy Booth.  Earlier this year he was in Over The Moon In Love (2019) with Jessica Lowndes, who apparently also wrote and executive produced the movie (thanks IMDB for that tidbit). 

I hope that you enjoyed curling up and watching this little gem.  By the way, did you notice that we're halfway through this crazy endeavor.  Thanks for coming along!