A delightful set-up where strangers meet over a double-booked log cabin at a Christmas resort called Pine Grove - a widowed young father and his schoolgirl daughter (changing their annual routine) encounter a recently dumped travel writer who is "more transient than traditional", having had an unconventional upbringing abroad with her nomadic parents.
After she generously concedes the booking to father & child, they return the good deed by playing host to their uninvited guest when her car breaks down before a snow storm...thus unfolds this magical yarn where the young girl has a dreamy wishlist of all the Christmassy things she wants to do this year...with her father and their new friend.
So many films are made in this genre but rarely does everything hit the mark; but here the clever plot; the witty dialogue (without a streak of sentimentality or falseness); the gentle subplot with the young man's mother (with her own romance percolating in the background); and the two charismatic leads (possessing what's usually missing from these yuletide Romcoms: on-screen chemistry!) give heart warming and engaging performances. It's hard to imagine another pair in the roles, they're that good!
This movie will warm the cuckles of your heart with its charm, relaxed unforced humour, Christmas magic and I look forward to watching it again when the chance presents itself in future.
And of course I will recommend it, without hesitation, to others.
