Cute and watchable, nothing new here.
One upon a time there was a town called Riverton in New Hampshire, and it was super into Christmas. Sometime in recent history, Riverton split into 2 towns - creatively called East Riverton and West Riverton, and the rivalry is fierce and is fueled by their Christmas contests. The Strafford Candle Company hosts a competition wherein local towns (28 of them!) compete to show off their Christmas spirit and the winner has a holiday candle named after the town. This year there's an added layer where the winner is also a serious contender to be the home of the company's new distribution center.
The contest is 3 rounds - they have to decorate the mayor's residence, display Christmas fun, and host a town gathering celebrating the meaning of Christmas.
The competition is lead by the mayors - Sarah (Tricia Helfer) is the mayor of East Riverton and is a single mom co-parenting her teenage son, Justin. with his dad, Frank (Peter Benson), who just happens to be very good friends with West Riverton's mayor, Liam (Eric Mabius). Sarah and Liam obnoxiously fuel the towns' rivalry, to the chagrin of basically everyone around them, including their assistants, who scheme to get them to spend more time together in the hopes of getting along since they're out of control, especially during the competition.
The more time the two spend together, the closer they become, and as the 2 towns progress to the final round of the contest, Justin reminds them that the real meaning of Christmas is being together and sharing. Sarah and Liam decide to unite the towns for the final town gathering with a gigantic potluck dinner.
The competition ends in an unprecedented tie between ER, WR, and some other place. Both Sarah and Liam independently contact Stafford Candles and lobby for their towns, and for some reason, they're both very disappointed in the other. I don't get it. Isn't that their job?
The candle company spokesman announces that Liam actually said that ER should win, while Sarah championed WR. Ah, Christmas! In the end, the candle company names Riverton the winner, no East, no West. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!
This is an a-ha moment for Liam and Sarah who decide that they should combine the towns again (can you just do that?) and while initially, they think the other should remain mayor, they'll let the people decide. Um, because it's a democracy?
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Honestly, the best part of this movie is how grownup and respectful Sarah and Frank are in regards to raising Justin. Loved it!
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| via Hallmark Channel |
The contest is 3 rounds - they have to decorate the mayor's residence, display Christmas fun, and host a town gathering celebrating the meaning of Christmas.
The competition is lead by the mayors - Sarah (Tricia Helfer) is the mayor of East Riverton and is a single mom co-parenting her teenage son, Justin. with his dad, Frank (Peter Benson), who just happens to be very good friends with West Riverton's mayor, Liam (Eric Mabius). Sarah and Liam obnoxiously fuel the towns' rivalry, to the chagrin of basically everyone around them, including their assistants, who scheme to get them to spend more time together in the hopes of getting along since they're out of control, especially during the competition.
The more time the two spend together, the closer they become, and as the 2 towns progress to the final round of the contest, Justin reminds them that the real meaning of Christmas is being together and sharing. Sarah and Liam decide to unite the towns for the final town gathering with a gigantic potluck dinner.
The competition ends in an unprecedented tie between ER, WR, and some other place. Both Sarah and Liam independently contact Stafford Candles and lobby for their towns, and for some reason, they're both very disappointed in the other. I don't get it. Isn't that their job?
The candle company spokesman announces that Liam actually said that ER should win, while Sarah championed WR. Ah, Christmas! In the end, the candle company names Riverton the winner, no East, no West. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!
This is an a-ha moment for Liam and Sarah who decide that they should combine the towns again (can you just do that?) and while initially, they think the other should remain mayor, they'll let the people decide. Um, because it's a democracy?
-
Honestly, the best part of this movie is how grownup and respectful Sarah and Frank are in regards to raising Justin. Loved it!
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