Aunt Sally's Christmas Cookie Company is sold to a large conglomerate and executive Hannah must seal the deal and shut down the factory, which is the small town of Cookie Jar's lifeblood. What was supposed to be a simple assignment for Hannah becomes complicated when she meets Jake, the factory owner who's determined to keep the factory in town. Despite not being a fan of the holiday, the Christmas spirit in this small town is infectious and she gets swept up in the joy of the season while also falling in love with Jake.
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I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 (C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!Aunt Sally's Christmas Cookie Company is sold to a large conglomerate and executive Hannah (Wagner) must seal the deal and shut down the factory, which is the small town of Cookie Jar's lifeblood. What was supposed to be a simple assignment for Hannah becomes complicated when she meets Jake (Brown), the factory owner who's determined to keep the factory in town. Despite not being a fan of the holiday, the Christmas spirit in this small town is infectious and she gets swept up in the joy of the season This film is very easy to enjoy. The location work in the film is well done. My favorite part of any Christmas movie is to see how they decorate the sets. This is one of the best visual designed films that I have seen this year. AS for the film? Well its good. You know how it will end. I am more than happy to say that it is "One of the better films" on the Hallmark Channels.
When Hannah meets Jake, there's a little friction especially over the contract that Jake is stalling on. As he "mulls" it over, they get to know each other and enjoy the process. A cute little girl helps move the process along. They are a nice couple but I can't say the performances were either outstanding or poor - they were pleasant.Meanwhile, Hannah falls in love with the town. In fact this is probably just as much of the story as Jake and Hannah.Through the story, there seems to be a mystery lurking in the shadows. If you paid attention you possibly saw the answer to the town's problems, but the movie saves it for a last minute reveal.
I sometimes wonder where the Hallmark Conglomerate came from. When I was very young, Hallmark meant special programs—Hallmark Hall of Fame--produced by Hallmark Cards and these were special specials. Now there seem to be a proliferation of Hallmark Channels.I'm retired now and my wife watches the Hallmark Conglomerate and occasionally I drift into a chair and semi-watch. Laptops mean you never have to attend to any show ever again. This was the "episode" my wife was watching: Christmas Cookies. I figured it out pretty quick. Christmas hating/ignoring female exec gets sent to a cute town, Cookie Jar, to close a deal that will allow a food conglomerate to swallow the town's single industry—Aunt Sally's Cookies—and put everyone on unemployment/welfare/Medicaid in rapid time.Female exec meets sweet B&B owner who drops a crumb/clue into the plot early that I suspect will eventually save town. In-between, heartless female exec (Grinch, used to be Scrooge, but now all baddies or semi-baddies are Grinches) begins to find love for male owner of Aunt Sally's and doesn't want to destroy all the nice people she has met in Cookie Jar.But the owner is going broke and has to do what he has to do which is sell the company. While all of this is going on the exec is falling in love with the owner, refuses the proposal of her New York boyfriend, gets an idea from her Christmas loving sister, helps her boss accept the idea the cookies need to be made in Cookie Jar and saves everyone's jobs, and then gets her heart's desire. Pretty sure that was what happened.I have a hard time knowing who the actors are in these Hallmark shows as they all tend to be very pretty or handsome and tend to look alike (to me). In this case it's Jill Wagner as Hannah Harper and Wes Brown as Jake Carter who lead the cast.
There are lots of similar Hallmark movies around Christmas time. Often they involve a bailout of a struggling business in a small town and this movie is no exception. But this one is above average for a couple of reasons. The leads are likable attractive and not annoying. Jill Wagner is lively without being too perky as the corporate executive trying to bail out the cookie company in a quaint town. Wes Brown is the head of the struggling cookie company who wants to keep the factory and the town going. Of course romance ensues in a gradual not too cute way. The little Christmas traditions are quite alright and the rides on the sled look fun. Also the cookies are delicious looking. So there is an appetizing focus to the movie. The weakness is the solution to the problem seems a bit sudden and unconvincing - but what do you expect from this kind of movie.