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No treats for the writers or creators of this hot mess of a Christmas film! It was bad from the start, yet I couldn't stop watching... Seriously, who buys a dog without talking to the person they live with? Ugh. The sleeping under her desk, bringing the dog to work multiple times after her boss makes her take it home. This woman has many other serious issues.. Horrible movie.

I am a Heartland fan and saw that Cindy Busby (played Ashley Stanton) starred in this movie- so I got the movie on DVD to watch. Time went by and I forgot why I got the movie and I spent the whole movie trying to figure out where I've seen this actress before. She plays a very nice character and it was nice to watch, but she really does much better playing the not so nice character who has the ability to be sweet when she wants something.

The movie has some major flaws mostly involving parts of the story. It has some good points- we have lots of real snow. We have a discovery that the secret of a happy marriage is to be able to be yourself and maybe your best self with that other person.

I did fall asleep at the end which tells a lot about the excitement of the movie.

In the first few minutes of this movie, I was ready to bag it. The female lead seemed ridiculous and ill-tempered, and so rudely dismissive of an enthusiastic coworker that the character had just about turned us off.

Luckily, we stuck with it, because it got much better, and it didn't take much time.

And you have to admit, the naughty puppy was charming., and played a big part in the story.

The meat of the story involves the previously mentioned coworker inviting her to his family's farm way up north ... so far up north that they can see the Northern Lights.

One drawback was the use of two ENTIRELY overworked tropes at the end ... the bad boyfriend reappears by surprise and the predatory business deal foiled. They need to wait at least 20 years before they buy a script with either one of those again, and that was as true in 2016 as in 2023.

Cindy Busby is one of my favorite Hallmark actresses, so I gave this one a whirl. She plays a journalist who has been given an opportunity to write a feature on the secret of a happy marriage. At first, her character,Noelle, is very annoying and does some really stupid things. Like buy a dog while living in her boyfriend's apartment without consulting with him, taking the badly behaved dog to work without permission, and being incompetent writing her feature story. She is not likable at all. She is also snotty to her office mate, a handsome but kind of dorky fellow writer. And the dog is possessed by the devil. But, hey, Cindy Busby! I couldn't stay irritated for long, and she finally starts to redeem herself. She is dumped by her commitment phobic boyfriend of 5 years, and, now homeless, is invited to spend a country Christmas with her super-nice and dog-loving office colleague.

The male leads were superb, which further bumps it up. Christopher Russell plays the bad boyfriend, for a change, and does a great job. Greyston Holt was very very attractive and the complete opposite from his rival. He played a bit of an eccentric with long hair and a beard. For a change, he also had a fiance who shared his outdoorsy and adventuresome spirit, which added some interest to the final happy ending. I also liked his quirky sister, and Cindy's older friend.

Cliches, tired plot elements, and an unbelievable coincidence saved by the cast and some well fleshed out characters and a few unusual additions.

So far the best part of this movie is Buster the puppy, Greyston Holt and Christopher Russell.

Noelle, (Cindy Busby), who has wanted a puppy all of her life, then on a whim goes out and adopts a puppy.

No research on breed or even basic puppy care or training, and not a word to her current live in boyfriend. Who does that? And who lets a puppy just run around?

Ok, just finished watching. The movie did get better as it went along. While it wasn't hard to figure out what was going to happen, it still turned out to be a nice feel good movie.

While I don't feel compelled to ever watch it again, being able to fast forward through commercials made it much more watchable.

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