The Mistletoe Inn

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 (C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

In this film when aspiring romance novelist Kim Rossi is unceremoniously dumped by her soon-to-be-published romance novelist boyfriend, Garth, Kim takes stock and decides to take a leap. She signs up for a romance writing retreat at a quaint Vermont Inn shortly before Christmas, where a top romance novelist is scheduled to attend. Shortly after arriving, she crosses paths with Zeke, whom she initially finds to be intrusive and, naturally, ends up being her assignment partner. Worse yet, her ex-boyfriend, Garth, is also at the retreat.

I want to point out that I always look forward to any Hallmark film that Alicia Witt is in. Two of my favorite Hallmark Christmas Movies she is in. Sadly this film will not join that list.

The one major problem with this film is that it plays it too safe and it is very predictable.

Some of the locations are pretty but that is not enough to warrant future additional viewings.

I may be biased because for me, Alicia Witt is the queen of Hallmark Christmas movies. I loved her in this for several reasons. She does Awe and Wonder really well. She also does the weird facial expression really well. And she is great here with David Alpay. Even in the traditional early movie I-hate-you phase they had chemistry.

This story had what was, to me at least, an original concept and a great one too. It was about a man and a woman who meet at a writers' workshop. There was also a little mystery going on as to whether one of the workshop attendees was the famous romance novelist incognito. The story had one more element that is always dear to me. Kim had a true and loyal friend who went the extra mile for her. Lucie Guest was great as Samantha.

While tweeting during the movie, some real writers were chiming in that parts of the plot were hitting home for them.

The Mistletoe Inn is a vanishing breed in the world of Hallmark Christmas movies -- an original story! Probably because it comes from a well-received book.

An aspiring author has been dumped by her boyfriend who thinks he's a "serious writer", and she isn't. She decides to go to a writers' conference where she unexpectedly meets her ex, AND a somewhat mysterious writer. And thus begins a well-done antithetical romance. As opposed to some Hallmark stories which start an antithetical romance but don't have the guts to carry it forward, this one carries the conflict deep into the story, which is doing it the right way.

Alicia Witt's quirky acting style is perfect for this role, and always sets her apart from the perky, plastic performances we see from so many lead actresses in these movies. She makes the film, but is ably supported by David Alpay (the mysterious writer).

The film produces audible chuckles, which also elevates it above the average. Definitely worth watching.

I generally enjoy Alicia Witt, but contrary to the previous review I find her affectations in this film both annoying and juvenile. I don't know if it's just getting old or just this movie. By the end, both leading characters are over working their jaws. It took much away from the film for me.

I've watched several movies/TV Shows with Alicia Witt. She is a good actress. Her love interest in the film was quite good too. Her ex- boyfriend was very one dimensional, but his part was terribly written. It's ironic that a film about romance writing would be so horribly written. I would rate the writing a 2 out of 10. Weak, with one- dimensional characters and really poor dialog and phony situations (even for a Hallmark romance movie).

It's too bad the two stars didn't have better material to work with.

On a side note, I wish they would quit filming these things in the summer. Is it so difficult to film them one winter and present them the next?