A BRAMBLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS (2017)

Finn Conrad (who is a famous children's book illustrator under the name Finn Knightly) and his sister Molly are understandably upset when their long-estranged father dies—he walked out on his family when they were children—and leaves most of his estate ($100,000) to his caretaker Willa. He's also left her an all-expenses-paid Christmas vacation to a bed and breakfast in Oregon called Bramble House, where he spent several happy Christmases. The siblings suspect that Willa is a gold-digger who somehow conned their father out of his money, so they get an injunction stopping Willa from collecting the money and they have until Dec. 31 to serve it. Finn decides to go to Bramble House, meet Willa—not telling her that he is Conrad's son—and get her to admit to her scheme. But we know what Finn doesn't: Willa took care of Mr. Conrad for two years while she was caring for own son, Scout, who had a dangerous heart condition. Scout is OK now, but Willa still has huge medical bills to pay, and Conrad left the money to her for that purpose. When Finn arrives, he immediately hits it off with Scout, who happens to be reading one of Finn's books, and slowly, he and Willa strike sparks. When Finn gets the whole story, he decides to call off the injunction, and even makes plans for a possible future with Willa, but Finn's sister decides that Finn is being taken advantage of, and she arrives at Bramble House—on Christmas Eve, no less—determined to serve the injunction.

Because this was broadcast on Hallmark Mysteries & Movies rather than the Hallmark Channel, it's a slightly less whimsical, more serious Christmas romance than usual. Instead of a harried businesswoman escaping the big city to find a down-to-earth, small-town man who works with his hands, we have a woman escaping two years of caring for the health of others finding a sensitive man who works with his hands (albeit through art rather than carpentry). The usual misconceptions and miscommunications occur, but with less humor. The complicating wrinkle here is not a romantic rival but the hero's sister. Still, of course, the happy ending is preordained, and the kiss still has to wait until practically the fadeout. The two leads manage to be likable and sympathetic without getting sentimental. David Haydn-Jones, though handsome, has an appealing lived-in look to him and Autumn Reeser similarly seems mature but not too blandly motherly. There is a subplot involving the keeper of Bramble House (Teryl Rothery) who has to accept that she can no longer run everything by herself which actually might make a fine central narrative to a Christmas movie someday though it doesn’t really fit the Hallmark template. Young Liam Hughes is fine as Scout. Perhaps nothing special, but still a comfortable holiday movie.