Checkin' It Twice

Kevin McGarry has mastered the role of an easy going and likeable male lead in a slew of Hallmark movies (although here the first impression of his impatient bell ringing character Scott Briggs is awful).

Scott arrives in Idaho Falls (a real town with 68,000 people) around the same time as Ashley Durreau, played effectively by Kim Matula. She learns, at the airport, that her boyfriend poached one of her clients (she's a commercial real estate broker) and learns he is not joining her for the holidays. Thankfully, we only get exposed to the boyfriend for the minute it takes Ashley to break up with him. I've grown tired of the ex showing up unexpectedly later in the movie to make some misguided grand gesture. Not here.

I didn't know Kim Matula until I watched her in one of Hallmark's top tier movies ("Ghosts of Christmas Always" which came out in 2022). She's quite lovely and was as engaging in this movie as she was in "Ghosts." Ashley and Scott have some good "getting to know you" scenes and, refreshingly, never fight with each other. They're both at a crossroads in their respective lives/careers and it all seemed believable (although it sounds like Hallmark blew it on accurately depicting Idaho Falls). I just wish Hallmark didn't always force their stories to fit into an unrealistic compressed time frame. Hallmark couples invariably meet, hang out, fall in love, overcome a huge obstacle, and make life changing plans all within a week. Ugh.

Kevin McGarry actually starred in a rare deviation from the compressed time frame formula last year in "My Grown Up Christmas List" (with his fiancé Kayla Wallace). But that movie was a rare exception to the "jam everything into a week" rule. This movie would have been better if it covered two holiday seasons (with one of those "One Year Later" transitions).

Aside from that pet peeve, the only other glaring contrivance was the credit card incident. Most people have more than one bank card and cashiers never do two transactions at the same time. I also noted a filming error when Ashley brought her luggage to the car at the airport. No one puts her luggage in the car before closing the back hatch.

Those are all relatively minor complaints. This was a very pleasant and enjoyable movie with an appealing couple to root for. I was also intrigued by the story of 32 year old Scott Briggs going to Idaho Falls to play for a mid-level minor league team, while living in the shadow of his estranged NHL legend father. I thought the hockey part of the story was especially well written and, at times, quite heartbreaking.

This was a better than average Hallmark Christmas movie enhanced by good acting all around. And I really like Kim Matula.

Kim Matula kicks butt. If there is a penalty shot where a goal was needed, I would pick Matula every time. She's been a great addition to the Hallmark roster.

This movie was fun and funny. The hockey scenes were kind of hilarious in that they were bad but it added to the charm.

So watch this movie, it's awesome, it is an absolutely stellar start to the holiday cavalcade of Christmas movies. I can't wait for the rest.

And just because extra words are required to get a review posted, please be kind to yourself and other people and just remember the more we work together as people, the better we will all be.

Best, John.

Journeyman hockey player Scott meets Ashley in the airport for their "meet cute". They both flew into Idaho Falls, Idaho which happens to be Ashley's hometown and Scott's new home as he has been traded to the local hockey team...the Fighting Trouts! Scott's frustrated because he really wants to be called up the the NHL, but keeps getting passed over for younger and faster kids. He is in his thirties and trying to come to grips with his dream being unattainable.

His real goal is to be as good as his father a Hall of Fame hockey player, who was too busy playing to be a father to his son and considers his team his family instead of his actual family.

At home, after having her real estate parter and boyfriend betray her and steal her client, Ashley begins to realize how great it is to be in her home town with her warm and loving family and friends.

Hockey, Christmas cider, more hockey, and fishing for plastic fish...this was an adorable holiday romance. I loved the focus on family and it's value. Kim Matula (Ashley) and Kevin McGarry (Scott) were wonderful together. The humor was great and I really appreciated the taxi cab callback at the end.

I highly recommend this Hallmark Holiday Romance to my fellow romantics, especially to those like me who like hockey!

For me, this movie was unexpected. A bit different from the usual, which made me want to immediately watch it again to see what I missed. Tender and sweet, yet with very funny moments. The goofy family was delightful and relatable. Romance shown differently, with the conflict being within each character; not between the characters. Love how the individual storylines weaved together. The cast was lovely, the scenery beautiful, shot from many locations, the facial expressions were the best. Love how the beginning and end cab scenes book ended the movie, and how the Actors handled those scenes! Great chemistry between the leads, and hope to see them paired together again. If you want to watch a movie that does not gut punch you and leaves you with warm feelings, this is the movie to watch!

Now that the Christmas season has begun, I'm hoping we'll get a new lot of romance movies. This just came out and the first is many season movies I'll be seeing. This movie captures the same old formula, but it's an interesting and new plot. Not typical for this genre. I think the beginning was cute, the middle was a little thin and felt drawn out, but it's got moments of developed background history, which add to its charm. The lead female is a fresh personality on the stage and we always love this male lead.

Because this movie steps out from the cookie cutter mold enough to catch my attention, I've rated this Hallmark romance movie a star higher than most their movies.