New York City venture capitalist Claire (Alexandra Breckenridge) has a bad day at the market. She decides to take a break at a place from her late mother's past. She's staying at Fortenbury Bookstore in a small town in Vermont. The guests get to manage the bookstore for short periods. She finds the town struggling after a recent flood and the Christmas celebrations cancelled. Mrs. Tumulty (Jane Alexander) runs the store and her handyman nephew Andrew (Jamie Spilchuk) is the owner. Andrew has lost the Christmas spirit like the rest of the town.
I didn't know anybody still does blacksmithing and other than antique car repairs. I guess some artists do it but they don't make reindeer bells which could be done by the millions in China. He needs to make something more artsy and special. I remember a news story about a bookstore in Scotland renting out the place for people to manage. I'm guessing the writer read the same news story or maybe it's become a more popular thing. On a separate note, it's nice to see Megan Follows dip her toe into directing and she does a good job.
I've always liked Alexandra Breckenridge. She's undeniably chipper and cute. She infuses the Christmas spirit into this movie. Jane Alexander and Jamie Spilchuck are both good in their roles. There are great emotional touches that really hit hard on the heartstrings. I love her story about her mother which gives special freshness to this old formula. Alicia is a classic although the role does need a better actress. Some of the side characters need better acting. The trick is Andrew and Claire. Andrew is a Scrooge but he also holds out as a good redemptive character. This is much better than most Lifetime movies. It still follows the standard formula but it does it with sincerity.
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