“I Just Want Someone to Tell Me Not to go”

I loved Rachel Leigh Cook and Travis Van Winkle in this. They really did have excellent chemistry. The script is witty and intelligent and the acting by all concerned was top notch as well. Merry is a social media influencer with over 3 million followers who specializes in relationships. She is about to publish her first book using her relationship with her fiancé Dale as proof that her rules for a successful relationship really work. Unfortunately, her fiancé does not exist. She just daydreamed him up. She tries to break the news to her publisher, Sonia, but keeps getting interrupted. She decides to accompany her best friend and editor, Darlene, to Vermont to escape awkward questions and figure out what to do.

Merry is concerned that Darlene’s brother Adam might be there, but Darlene reassures her. He does good works for people in third world countries but he is not a missionary. We get no details as to why the concern but assume there was some kind of flirtation or relationship that didn’t go well. Well, Adam does show up and shows up in her bed, which results in a nice bit of physical comedy. Merry gets involved with all of the holiday activities which throw her and Adam together. Meanwhile, Darlene really likes a local boy, James, who seems to really like Merry. Oops. Meanwhile, Sonia finds out Dale does not exist and comes to Vermont after her. Merry has to rewrite her book and come up with the outline by Christmas. Sonia’s a tough cookie, but we see another side of her when she meets the local boy’s father, a fellow Clemson graduate(!) So we have 3 romances going. There is a side story about Adam and Darlene’s parents selling their land and business which had been in the family for 3 generations. Adam has actually come home to settle down at last and is full of plans for the family business that he expects to take over after his parents retire. They didn’t think it necessary to give the kids a heads up pretty much yanking the rug out from under them. Darlene doesn’t care, but Adam is hurt and angry and he pulls no punches with his parents. I love that he didn’t just put on a brave and noble face. They deserve to feel bad. Honestly, I kind of hated them. Of course, they have a right to sell, but without even letting their kids know what their plans were? It had been handed down through 3 generations!

Well, Merry finds her inspiration from her romance with Adam (There are No Rules to a Successful Relationship-must be a short book). She rushes her outline to Sonia at the Airport where she sees Adam, leaving for Asia, since there is nothing for him anymore in Vermont. She yells at him “Don’t Go!” and he doesn’t-The End.

December 27, 2021