The Question

**Spoilers**

Nikki DeLoach is such a good actress. At times I have really been struck by her talents. Sometimes her roles don’t give her a lot of opportunity to really shine, but she always does a great job with what she is given. Although a festival plays a huge role in this one, the plot is something really different. Well, not really, but the framing of the core story is. A young woman, Joanna, is meeting her boyfriend, Chris, in her hometown to meet her parents, Dave and Nell, for the first time. Unfortunately her train is delayed and she sends the nervous young man into the fray alone. Before he rings the doorbell, she warns him under no circumstances to ask them…a-a-a-nd her phone dies. They welcome him with the proverbial open arms and her parents are frequent Hallmark flyers Nikki DeLoach and Warren Christie! We learn that Nikki (Nell) is Joanna’s stepmother and has been married to her father (Dave) for 10 years. They appear to be in their  early 40s, Dave having been a very young father when Joanna was born. Struggling for a topic of conversation, Chris asks how the two met. Very pleased at his interest, Dave tells him, “Actually it’s a pretty funny story…” And we flash back to 10 years ago. Yes, for once we  get to hear the blissfully happy parents’ love story instead of focusing on the young couple.

The rest of the movie goes back and forth between the past and the present. 10 years ago, Dave is trying to resurrect a traditional Christmas festival started by his grandfather. His 16-year-old daughter is his much needed assistant as we see Dave is a little disorganized. In the present, several delays prevent Joanna from joining her parents and Chris, mainly so the older couples story can be told in stages while we get to know both couples. Nell and Dave are strangers who meet on a train, both traveling to same town, and form an instant connection. Unfortunately they are parted before they exchange names. They are both really bummed. But happily, they meet by chance in town again, and finally get the first names down but circumstances prevent any more information being exchanged. And so it goes with the two almost strangers meeting and parting again and falling for each other more and more before they find out they actually are each other’s worst  enemy “in real life”. Eleanor (Nell) is the town’s new comptroller who, trying to keep the town’s budget under control, has been a big roadblock to David Ammer’s (Dave’s) beloved Christmas Festival.  David, though they have never met, sees Eleanor as a sad and lonely Grinch who gets “pleasure out of sucking the joy out of life.” And to Eleanor, David  is the scatterbrained disorganized flake who only cares about the festival with no heed to the town budget or other practical matters.

Besides the engaging story of Dave and Nell falling in love while hating each other’s alternate identities, there was a lot to like in this one. I loved that Dave and Chloe, Joanna’s Mom, were still good friends despite their divorce. Early on, she tells him he doesn’t need someone free and easy, like himself, but more organized and focused to keep him on track. In the present, we see that Nell and Chloe (played by the always welcome Lisa Durupt) have become good friends as well. I liked the little touches of linking the past and present with the train, a favorite fruitcake, and Ugly Sweaters. We see that the opposites attract connection has worked out for Nell and Dave, as it apparently didn’t for Chloe and Dave.  We see Nell becoming less buttoned down and more adventurous, and Dave becoming more focused and goal oriented.  The romance between the young couple was OK but a little boring. When Dave learned the truth about Nell, he was way harsh to her which seemed very much out of character but certainly added some drama and tension. Warren Christie and Nikki Deloach were a perfect match for their roles. I don’t think this would have worked with Nikki’s frequent co-star, Andrew Walker. The movie ended on a humorous note with Chris’s parents asking Nell and Dave the forbidden question, with the couple more than happy to comply and relive their romance once again. All in all, this was warm and cozy Christmas romance, with just enough humor, drama, and emotion to make it a something special.