I have been on vacation this week but I still made time to watch Netflix's newest holiday romantic comedy. I do it for you, dear readers, I do it for you. Christmas Inheritance is the second holiday rom-com put out by the streaming service this year and I will say it is much better than their first release this year- A Christmas Prince.
Our story begins with Ellen Langford making a total arse of herself at a Toys for Tots charity auction her father's gift company is sponsoring. She takes a bet and tries to vault over a table of presents and instead throws herself bum first into a Christmas tree. Her father suddenly realizes that his daughter has become and entitled party heiress and he must teach her a lesson before she can take over as CEO of Hearth and Home Gifts. Apart form her wild ways, Ellen seems to be a savvy business woman and committed to the family business but alas, she must prove herself.
Her father tells her about a tradition that he and his business partner started the first Christmas after founding their business- each year they deliver a letter to the other partner telling about the events of their lives over the last year. The catch is that they do this in person and although Ellen's father lives in NYC his business partner, Zeke, lives in a rural town called Snow Falls, hours from the city. Mr. Langford tells Ellen that this year the tradition is hers to complete. She embarks on her journey to Snow Falls with just $100 in cash and on a bus rather than by private car. Comedy ensues as she has no idea how to be a commoner and has of course overpacked. Cue suitcase rolling away in the snow. Is that a cliche? It feels like one.
She arrives in Snow Falls only to find out that Zeke is nowhere to be found. Ellen checks into the inn that Zeke owns and meets the surly Jake Collins who manages the place. He has a chip on his shoulder from the start but soon softens. One of the reasons I liked this movie so much is that both Ellen and Jake need to learn something from the other. So often these movie have one overly-flawed character that meets an impossibly perfect person who magically makes them change. Christmas Inheritance is more about two people learning to meet in the middle and overcoming their pasts.
Ellen meets towns people and somehow Jake has an endless amount of time to escort her around the village. As much as he insists he doesn't like Ellen, he totally has it bad for her right from the start. As we move through the film a huge snow storm rolls into Snow Falls forcing some of the residents without power to relocate to the inn. This part of the story is contrived at best and is an obvious set up for some miscommunications and capers later in the movie. My big beef with this snow storm is that the town is told to stay indoors, that it will be too cold and snowy to be outside at all. But somehow, Jake and Ellen think it a good idea to take a romantic walk. When they step outside there is just a dusting of snow on the ground and it's hardly snowing at all. Living in the Northeast has taught me what snow storms are really like but perhaps they don't know that in Hollywood.
How does our story end? Well let's just say that Ellen learns what Christmas is really about, her jerk of a fiancee gets his dues and the Christmas letter gets delivered although not in the way you expect. Want to know what happens between Jake and Ellen? You'll have to watch and see!
I give Christmas Inheritance a 6.5 on our holiday movie scale. It's not one I will make sure to watch every year but it was enjoyable and I would recommend adding it to your watch list. It's exclusively available to stream on Netflix.
Our story begins with Ellen Langford making a total arse of herself at a Toys for Tots charity auction her father's gift company is sponsoring. She takes a bet and tries to vault over a table of presents and instead throws herself bum first into a Christmas tree. Her father suddenly realizes that his daughter has become and entitled party heiress and he must teach her a lesson before she can take over as CEO of Hearth and Home Gifts. Apart form her wild ways, Ellen seems to be a savvy business woman and committed to the family business but alas, she must prove herself.
Her father tells her about a tradition that he and his business partner started the first Christmas after founding their business- each year they deliver a letter to the other partner telling about the events of their lives over the last year. The catch is that they do this in person and although Ellen's father lives in NYC his business partner, Zeke, lives in a rural town called Snow Falls, hours from the city. Mr. Langford tells Ellen that this year the tradition is hers to complete. She embarks on her journey to Snow Falls with just $100 in cash and on a bus rather than by private car. Comedy ensues as she has no idea how to be a commoner and has of course overpacked. Cue suitcase rolling away in the snow. Is that a cliche? It feels like one.
She arrives in Snow Falls only to find out that Zeke is nowhere to be found. Ellen checks into the inn that Zeke owns and meets the surly Jake Collins who manages the place. He has a chip on his shoulder from the start but soon softens. One of the reasons I liked this movie so much is that both Ellen and Jake need to learn something from the other. So often these movie have one overly-flawed character that meets an impossibly perfect person who magically makes them change. Christmas Inheritance is more about two people learning to meet in the middle and overcoming their pasts.
Ellen meets towns people and somehow Jake has an endless amount of time to escort her around the village. As much as he insists he doesn't like Ellen, he totally has it bad for her right from the start. As we move through the film a huge snow storm rolls into Snow Falls forcing some of the residents without power to relocate to the inn. This part of the story is contrived at best and is an obvious set up for some miscommunications and capers later in the movie. My big beef with this snow storm is that the town is told to stay indoors, that it will be too cold and snowy to be outside at all. But somehow, Jake and Ellen think it a good idea to take a romantic walk. When they step outside there is just a dusting of snow on the ground and it's hardly snowing at all. Living in the Northeast has taught me what snow storms are really like but perhaps they don't know that in Hollywood.
How does our story end? Well let's just say that Ellen learns what Christmas is really about, her jerk of a fiancee gets his dues and the Christmas letter gets delivered although not in the way you expect. Want to know what happens between Jake and Ellen? You'll have to watch and see!
I give Christmas Inheritance a 6.5 on our holiday movie scale. It's not one I will make sure to watch every year but it was enjoyable and I would recommend adding it to your watch list. It's exclusively available to stream on Netflix.
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