Alice Chapman owns her late father's antique shop; she gets by but just barely. Her fiancé Will Mitchum, a high-powered real estate salesman, is subtly angling to get her to sell the shop to a big-time developer. He asks her to spend Christmas with his parents in his hometown, but he has to send her ahead because he needs to stick around another day or so to close a deal. At the airport when she arrives, she literally runs smack into a guy who spills coffee all over her, causing her phone to malfunction. As they exchange pleasantries, she learns that his name is Matt Mitchum and he has a brother named William, though Matt calls him Billy. They both assume that she is there to stay with his family, though Will has never mentioned having a brother. She heads off with Matt to meet the Mitchums who, though their son has never mentioned having a fiancée, welcome her with open arms. After spending a warm and cuddly day and night with this old-fashioned friendly family, Alice is shocked when Billy arrives—and he is definitely not her fiancé Will. Of course, as the title of this movie warns us, there's been a mix-up—she's with the wrong Mitchums. Soon, things get cleared up, but by the time Will arrives, Alice and Matt have fallen in love. Reluctantly, Alice leaves to meet Will's parents who are rich, brittle and unhappy. Then Will gives her a Christmas present: the lease to a new storefront as he is about to close a deal to sell her dad's shop. Clearly, Alice is with the wrong Mitchum.
It's a Hallmark movie so you know how it ends—of course the mix-up gets sorted out in the last ten minutes and Alice and Matt wind up together. But there are a few small pleasures to be had along the way. The movie begins with Alice (Alicia Witt) telling Will (Scott Gibson) the legend of a clockmaker who, in order to be with the woman he loved, made a clock that stopped time so he and his beloved, who was promised to a man she didn't love, could run off together. This story returns to play an interesting part in the finale. The scenes at Will's family home are quite amusing, with Mimi Kuzyk doing a nice job as the chakra-cleansing, stand-offish mother. And the atmosphere at Matt's family home is cozy and Christmassy. But otherwise, this is a little off from Hallmark's norm. Witt is fine, as she always is, as the Christmas heroine, and Gibson is a standout, getting more screen time than usual as the big city boyfriend we love to hate. Mark Wiebe (pictured with Witt) is only fair as Matt—he's not a natural fit for the typical Hallmark down-to-earth small town guy (who, yes, works with his hands—he makes furniture). And, to be totally shallow, he's not especially attractive. The various machinations involving cell phones and mixed messages are bit much. However, if you're looking for a nice Christmas setting, an unusual set-up, and a tiny sprinkling of fantasy, you'll enjoy this. [DVD]
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