As many reviewers have already stated, this film has a lot of cliches; plot devices that Hallmark has used relentlessly for many years now. Someone must have snuck into the Hallmark offices and stolen the template.
All in all, despite the cliches and rather predictable story, it works...until the very end, that is. I'd hoped that the writers might have had some guts; might have chosen the road less traveled, but alas, it wasn't to be.
Ellen Langford, the heiress of a multi-million dollar company is sent to the small town of Snow Falls incognito where her parents are from with the hopes that she might learn some things and glean some values that the blue collar folks sometimes have. Using a fake name, she's sent with only $100 and no credit cards. She quickly learns that most people have to actually earn their way in life rather than have things given to them.
Of course, Ellen meets the strapping, handsome Jake Collins. Of course, as you can easily predict, their intial meetings are tenuous at best. Jake is a helpful guy who's pretty much beloved around town. And Ellen begins to notice and finds herself attracted to him. However, after being dropped by his ex-wife--a high-finance executive--Jake has little reason to go through a repeat.
Another "of course" is that Ellen has a fiance who's just like she was: money talks, and she soon finds that she no longer has anything in common with him. Predictably, she breaks it off with him.
Yet another "of course," Jake inevitably finds out the truth about Ellen and who she is, which understandably upsets him, which brings to the 11th hour of the film (the last ten minutes) where everything is magically resolved. Ellen finds out that her father and uncle concocted the "trial" and she inherits the company after all with Jake jumping on board without even the smallest of objections. Does this sound like something Jake would do? Or even Ellen?
Had the writers had any guts, and really known their characters, they would've realized that Jake would never have given over so easily. Perhaps not even at all. Do you see Jake packing up and heading off to New York again? I don't. And given what she found in Snow Falls, I just don't see her accepting the CEO job. If she'd really changed, she would have stepped down and realized that she'd never been so happy in her life until she went to Snow Falls. She'd scarcely decide to return to a life that had only made her miserable.
What is sad is that this movie is actually very enjoyable--despite its cliches and predictability--and has solid performances throughout. But a movie built on toothpicks cannot stand. And this one crumbles badly because of that. There's nothing so sad as wasted potential.
All in all, despite the cliches and rather predictable story, it works...until the very end, that is. I'd hoped that the writers might have had some guts; might have chosen the road less traveled, but alas, it wasn't to be.
Ellen Langford, the heiress of a multi-million dollar company is sent to the small town of Snow Falls incognito where her parents are from with the hopes that she might learn some things and glean some values that the blue collar folks sometimes have. Using a fake name, she's sent with only $100 and no credit cards. She quickly learns that most people have to actually earn their way in life rather than have things given to them.
Of course, Ellen meets the strapping, handsome Jake Collins. Of course, as you can easily predict, their intial meetings are tenuous at best. Jake is a helpful guy who's pretty much beloved around town. And Ellen begins to notice and finds herself attracted to him. However, after being dropped by his ex-wife--a high-finance executive--Jake has little reason to go through a repeat.
Another "of course" is that Ellen has a fiance who's just like she was: money talks, and she soon finds that she no longer has anything in common with him. Predictably, she breaks it off with him.
Yet another "of course," Jake inevitably finds out the truth about Ellen and who she is, which understandably upsets him, which brings to the 11th hour of the film (the last ten minutes) where everything is magically resolved. Ellen finds out that her father and uncle concocted the "trial" and she inherits the company after all with Jake jumping on board without even the smallest of objections. Does this sound like something Jake would do? Or even Ellen?
Had the writers had any guts, and really known their characters, they would've realized that Jake would never have given over so easily. Perhaps not even at all. Do you see Jake packing up and heading off to New York again? I don't. And given what she found in Snow Falls, I just don't see her accepting the CEO job. If she'd really changed, she would have stepped down and realized that she'd never been so happy in her life until she went to Snow Falls. She'd scarcely decide to return to a life that had only made her miserable.
What is sad is that this movie is actually very enjoyable--despite its cliches and predictability--and has solid performances throughout. But a movie built on toothpicks cannot stand. And this one crumbles badly because of that. There's nothing so sad as wasted potential.