Loving Chistmas in the Cottage
Although she is in the middle of negotiating a major business deal with her boyfriend, Roger (Victor Zinck - On Strike for Christmas), Lacey (Merritt Patterson - A Royal Winter) takes time out from her busy life in the city to go to Chesnut for the wedding of her best friend, Ava (Brittney Wilson - Family for Christmas), on Christmas Eve. Lacey is not the only one returning to Chesnut for the wedding as Ean (Steve Lund - Christmas Incorporated), her former boyfriend who is Ava's brother, has also returned. Having agreed to make Christmas Cottage, a home Ava's family own in the area, look Christmassy for the newly wed's honeymoon Lacey finds herself working with Ean to get it done. But the cottage has a legend about it as it is said that anyone who spends time there will find true love.
The more Hallmark Christmas movies I watch, and I have watched a lot, the more I find myself categorizing them. So as I watched Hallmark's "The Christmas Cottage" I found myself putting this one in the box where the location scouts made the movie. What I mean by that is that "The Christmas Cottage" is filled with the sort of location shots and buildings which you don't find in a city. As such we have those wonderful houses which are a mix of stone and log which look stunning nestled in snow. But we also have scenes of Christmas tree cutting where you walk in-between the most beautiful rows of fir trees which have just the right amount of snow hanging off them. I could go on but to put it simply "The Christmas Cottage" is all about the look and it looks great.
Of course there is the storyline which sees Lacey falling back in love with Ean, that is no spoiler as is the old chestnut of her boyfriend, Roger, showing up in Chesnut when a snowstorm means Lacey can't return to the city as planned. But we also have Lacey who having become city-fied and designed soulless apartments with classy, minimal Christmas decorations getting in touch with how she used to be and enjoying a more traditional Christmas. As I said "The Christmas Cottage" is more about the look than the story as the story is obvious although that doesn't mean it isn't entertaining as it is.
What this all boils down to is that "The Christmas Cottage" is another pleasant Hallmark Christmas movie which delivers the charm and look which to be honest makes you feel at least wintry if not Christmassy. But this doesn't have much in the way of surprises when it comes to the storyline.
Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies
