Rachel (Natalie Knepp) is a motivational speaker and author whose books are all about putting yourself first. Her first book was a bestseller, but her second one wasn't as successful, so her publisher is giving her new book a big push, culminating in a 12-day Inspiration Celebration seminar event held at Christmastime in her New England hometown. Rachel is not a big fan of Christmas, and she's wary of getting back into contact with her brother David, whom she hasn't seen in years, but this is a big deal for her career, so she cooperates with her high-powered manager Stuart (Steve Bacic), even approving the hiring of a PR consultant named Jack (Michael Rady), who left the big city life of Boston for a slower pace. Jack suggests a softening of her image, and even re-brands the event as a Christmas Inspiration Celebration. While distractedly crossing the street one day, Rachel almost steps out in front of a car and she is pushed to safety by a woman named Joy (Bonnie Bedelia), a kind if somewhat withdraw soul who helps run a community center for disadvantaged families and teaches music to the kids. Rachel hires Joy to be a consultant for the seminar, but some of her ideas, which seem to be taking Rachel away from her self-oriented philosophy, don't sit well with Stuart. Meanwhile, Rachel and Jack become closer and closer, and Rachel must make a decision about her future priorities.
If I ever see a Hallmark Christmas movie that doesn't open with a swooping high shot of a snow-covered small town or big city, I would probably freak out and think I'd woken up in an alternate reality. This opens with such a shot, and pretty much sticks to one of the old templates: high-powered businesswoman is sent to a small town, falls in love with a salt-of-the-earth guy and changes her life for the better. The first hour of this was something of a chore to sit through; Knepp and Rady are OK but no real chemistry builds between them. But Bonnie Bedelia saves the day giving a nicely low-key performance as the somewhat mysterious Joy. Based on Christmas movie conventions, we might assume that Joy will turn out to be a literal guardian angel, but that's not the case here. However, she is involved in a secondary plot line that I won't spoil—but as soon as you get to the scene where she causally notes that she's allergic to chocolate, you'll know what's going to happen. I liked Steve Bacic as what passes for a bad guy here—you can feel Bacic chomping at the bit for a better-developed character. This is a run-of-the-mill Christmas romance that you could take or leave. [Hallmark Channel]
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