A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is the 5th Christmas movie starring Alicia Witt. A Very Merry Mix-Up 2013- 10, Christmas at Cartwrights 2014-8, I'm Not Ready for Christmas 2015-9, A Perfect Christmas Bucket List 2016-8. This is my second favorite mainly due to David Alplay who is the costar. This is his 3rd Christmas movie in a row Ice Sculpture Christmas with Rachel Boston- 2015, Sleigh bells Ring 2016 and this one is his best. He is a bit of a Gregory Peck, but this movie showed he is better at humor. There is a bit of a surprise ending which I suspected from the beginning but my wife was truly surprised and that added to her delight for the movie. Thanks to the queen for giving us another great Christmas movie. The lady that played Sam also did very well. I enjoyed the characters all being writers.This is a fun movie. Don't let the rather low 5 and 6 top reviews stop you. Enjoy.

I only started watching some of Hallmark's Christmas movies recently and from what I have seen, they have definitely got the formula down to a pat, but it does seem that when they adapt the script from a book, the writing and dialogue is less formulaic and richer in tone.The Mistletoe Inn was adapted from a novel by Richard Paul Evans. For starters, the central premise and setting seems different - after being dumped by her pretentious and pompous writer-boyfriend (who has just one published novel to his name), a successful car dealer and wannabe romance writer struggling to finish her own first book attends a writing conference/retreat not only to meet her favourite romance novelist (once a bestselling author but who hasn't published a book in many years), but also to take herself lout of her comfort zone and push herself to see if she indeed has what it takes to be a writer by aiming to win a writing competition at the retreat. Her jerk of an ex ends up being at the same conference, but so is another interesting writer she meets there who is himself struggling from writers' block. Sure, the movie follows the usual route of her initially disliking this new guy but by the end, the two of them fall for each other; this is a Hallmark movie after all.Despite the many negative reviews (and I really don't get all the hate here), Alicia Witt is just terrific. Her character, Kim Rossi, is insecure and uncertain of her own abilities but it is her very vulnerability that is actually the key towards unlocking her literary talents, and her budding romance with Zeke, played by a very earnest and personable David Alpay, is sweet and believable. I thought the chemistry between the two leads was just wonderful. Also, the scenes that take place at the writing retreat seemed realistic as well.My issues with the third act aside (see below - spoiler alert!), I certainly enjoyed the movie, and I will definitely be keeping a look out for Miss Witt's back catalogue of Hallmark Christmas movies!Postscript (SPOILERS AHEAD!) I do feel the last act was a little rushed and raised a couple of issues which weren't properly sorted out. Firstly, Kim's insufferably smarmy ex who has grown increasingly jealous of her abilities does an absolutely shiitty thing in sabotaging her chances at winning the writing competition, directly implicating another good girlfriend she has made at the conference; it is never resolved, he is never found out, and this annoyed me to no end. Sure, she rejects him when he comes back to her at the end begging to be taken back, but I thought justice just wasn't served satisfactorily.

I love Alicia Witt and look forward to her Christmas movies every year. This year is a big letdown. David Alpay is a good leading man but they have no chemistry and a dire script to work with. Here's hoping next year we get something close to the perfection A Very Merry Mix Up was.

As an earlier reviewer noted, Alicia Witt is the Queen of Hallmark Christmas movies.She plays to her strengths here creating a witty, warm character. She has great chemistry with her new best friend (Lucie Guest) and prospective love interest (David Alpay).The best scene in the film is her (Witt) complaining about his (Alpay) typing on a typewriter as he complains about her "whale sounds" white noise generator late one night. The dialogue is funny banter, the actors play well off each and it is beautifully shot and directed (Thank you director Alex Wright).The whole film is like that, a nice classy romantic comedy.The novelist Richard Paul Evans has a cameo in the film. Next time, let's promote him to the supporting role of Dad.