With the holiday season fast approaching, young ad executive, Jen Taylor (Tia Mowry-Hardict) is on the verge of the promotion that she’s been waiting for. Still, her life take an unexpected turn when her aunt dies, leaving her a cozy Alaskan inn in her will. When she takes a trip to inspect the property, she meets handsome town attorney Brian Anderson (Rob Mayes) and is surprised to find that all her assumptions about the town were wrong. As she grows closer to the townspeople and discovers the magic of the holidays, Jen starts wondering if this is the place where she indeed belongs.
Another entry into the Lifetime Original Christmas Movie pantheon, My Christmas Inn offers the simple pleasantness that one expects from the genre (and, yes, it is its own genre at this point). Like a cup of hot chocolate by a warm fireplace, the film is almost the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. Featuring enjoyable characters in a holiday setting (especially stars Mowry-Hardict and Mayes), My Christmas Inn is an fun experience that fits well into the canon.
Rather than a simple holiday love story, My Christmas Inn also speaks to the question of what it means to find a place to belong. Although Steve has had several opportunities to leave their small town, he has opted to stay where he is. When questioned by Jen as to why he never left, he simply responds that he knew that that ‘was where he belonged’. Despite the fact that he may have had the opportunity to make more money or achieve more success, there is something about this place that validates who he is that he cannot find anywhere else. Here, he knows that he fits in the puzzle. This provides an interesting moment of reflection for Jen’s character. Although she’s confident in her dreams and profession, her life has consisted of focusing on her career and reaching for the ‘big promotion’. For her, success has remained deeply connected to notoriety as opposed to intimacy. Her connection with Steve challenges reveals what is lacking in her soul and may draw her into something that could change her life forever.
My Christmas Inn is a fun, family-friendly look at what connects us and feeds our soul. Stars Tia Mowry-Hardict and Rob Mayes are clearly enjoying themselves together and provide the story with a light-hearted tone. For those who are fans of the genre, this is an inn that they will likely be glad they’ve checked into.
For audio of our interview with star Rob Maye, click here.
My Christmas Inn airs on Lifetime on November 21st, 2018.
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