A few movies stand out by not checking all the common cliche boxes, and this is one of them.

Now, I'll have to say the mistake which kicks off the story is somewhat questionable, because a man has two pieces of paper, each with a phone number but no name noted by it. So he leaves a message for the wrong person with the wrong phone number, starting a search which is our story for the entire movie. Having the two bare numbers with no names doesn't ring true for me.

The second mystery is what happened to our romantic leads three years ago which caused a split they both seem bitter about. Well, that one DOES check one of the cliche boxes ... the misunderstood overheard conversation.

The story is melancholy, but the actors all sell their roles well and it kept our interest.

My only other gripe is all the flashbacks. They really do interrupt the "current day story" far too often. We authors learn early to avoid flashbacks and too much backstory, and screenwriters need to learn the same lesson.

But overall, an enjoyable movie, as evidenced by my 8 stars, and well worth your time.

7.0 stars.

Three best friends are in a love triangle of sorts. Our lead male overhears our lead female say to the other guy that she's in love. He assumes she loves the other guy, but she's actually in love with him. With sadness and disappointment, he decides to leave forever, and this starts a chain of tragic events.

He returns years later. They are both still very much in love with each other, but don't realize it. Their assumptions are so deeply rooted, they cannot see through all the obvious signals.

As family and friends gather for the holidays and our two leads partake in a mini-mystery they have multiple opportunities to recognize their love. Most of the movie is spent on them trying to help a stranger find his long lost love. In the process, they fumble around and mess up their own relationship.

This film made me physically sic: the misread signals, the assumptions, and the unrequited love that needs not be. Then you have the meddling mother (his) who comes out of nowhere and is painfully irritating. The sister (his) who gives sage advice and doesn't follow through to make sure it is heeded. The leading female's mother is actually pretty cool, I like her a lot; he is smart and sophisticated.

There are too many unnecessary flops. If one person in this long chain of friends and family would make one intelligent decision, or observation none of this train wreck would have happened.

Finally the mystery unravels and we discover that it was much deeper than we realized. The ending is very touching and heartfelt.

I love the the script, the acting, the lighting, music, everything. I hate the story. Why? Because it's just sad and disappointing. It's a commentary on how polished the movie is, and so I must give it a good rating for that alone. Entertaining? Yes. Maddening? Yes. The leads have good chemistry, the longing stares, the awkward behavior, they are madly in love with each other and are reading the body language and signals as disgust and loathing? What is wrong with people? Does this happen in real life? Just have an honest conversation already, because you are best friends, right? Why are people so afraid of saying: "Hey, I know you might be uncomfortable and we are best friends, but I'm in love with you. If that means the friendship is over, I guess that's the price we must pay."

Unquestionably, Tyler Hynes holds down this second chance holiday romance which is the latest in Blake Shelton and his mom's Time to come home for Christmas series (2022). It started with a song and then a book written by his mom and has lead to a mother-son annual Christmas movie collaboration, which is sweet and everything Christmas should be.

This may be my favorite in the series, in large part thanks to the two leads Tyler Hynes and Holland Rolland (it was great to see Teen Wolf's Lydia in a new project). The story was very tightly written and intertwines two overlapping second chance romances. Also, it reminded me why I like Tyler Hynes so much. He is fantastic and was an excellent choice for this film. He and Holland Roland have excellent chemistry together and really make the romance and misunderstanding work in this film.

Elizabeth Athens (Holland Roland) receives a voicemail by mistake. The caller's voice is filled with regret and is clearly desperate to reconnect with a woman named Madeline. Unfortunately, the call was placed from a local hotel and without even a name to go by...Elizabeth embarks on a very interesting search for a mystery woman named Madeline or for the caller who left the message. Having wanted to be an investigative reporter in the past, Elizabeth is joined by her friend Josh Hart (Tyler Hynes) who is back in town for the holidays and who has a secret regret of his own. The story is filled with loss, regret, forgiveness, second chances and most importantly with love. Unlike some of the other holiday films that Hallmark rolled out this year...this film is able to navigate the tricky landscape of being about a sad topic and yet still filling the story with enough hope and love that it does not turn into a maudlin and morose story. Instead it is a beautiful holiday love story that I can highly recommend to all those romantics like me out there!

Now for my one rant...skip if you are uninterested: As a native Seattle girl, I was excited to hear that this year's film would be set in Seattle...but I was once again utterly disappointed that it contained nothing but a couple of aerial shots of Seattle and was filmed somewhere else with ZERO local flavor. I would never presume to set a story in Oklahoma and then proceed to not do ANY research or include ANY local detail in my story. Believe it or not, Seattle is gorgeous at Christmas (in fact it is a beautiful winter wonderland right now in my backyard...with big snowflakes drifting down all amongst the evergreens giving our world the appearance of being inside a snow globe) and it is rich with lots and lots of holiday traditions...Pike Place Market, Figgy Pudding Caroling Contest, the glorious Bon Marche Star, and yes, we have some gorgeous hotels and some great and famous confectioners old and new. Frankly, like most true northwesterners, I am happy to keep our treasures a secret...I just wish film makers, particularly those in the Hallmark stable, would stop fake-setting their films in Seattle. Stick with what you know. (And that is clearly not Seattle.)