I didn’t expect to like this movie as much as I did. The characters really pulled me in and kept me invested in the whole movie. Starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Greyston Holt, Cross Country Christmas follows Lina and Max as they try to get home to their respective families for Christmas. However, when their flight gets grounded due to weather, the two of them must work together to find a way home. It's in this unexpected partnership that they begin to find common ground — and newfound feelings for one another.
This movie certainly gave off a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles feel, mostly because it’s exactly the same but with a different sense of humor, which I still enjoyed nonetheless. The story itself is less of a Christmas film and more of a road trip film that takes place during Christmas. However, with it, you get a myriad of Christmas festivities that make you wish you could be on this trip with Lina and Max — to a point. From getting a ride from an “elf,” to participating in a Nativity play, and singing carols at a Christmas party all before making it home to celebrate the holidays with their families, you are definitely in for a festive ride with this movie.
What makes this movie work is Cook and Holt. Their chemistry on-screen is really great and I loved watching the two of them fall in love. It was more realistic than some of the other Hallmark romances because they fall in love gradually. The two of them aren’t harboring any secret crushes on each other when they first meet or fighting off a past relationship that makes their encounter that much more awkward. In fact, Max is kind of annoyed by Lina in the beginning. However, it’s when the two are forced to work together that he starts to see how kind and caring Lina really is which is when he starts to fall for her. Of course, it works the same way for Lina. Albeit, she is way less judgmental about Max and people in general than most people are, but that’s what I like about her character so much. She reminded me of my friends and even myself at times. Her humor, for sure, was one facet I could really relate to — embarrassingly so. Nevertheless, her relatability is what made me love her. Her excitement to be home and see her family is something I think a lot of people can understand. Speaking of, I'd just like to add that I would be equally as upset to see my family enjoying the holidays without me when they know I’m stuck in a foreign place. In fact, I would move one step further to being pissed off if I saw them all participating in the Christmas activities that I TOLD them I wanted to do and I couldn’t be there to join in. Talk about rude, am I right?
While both Lina and Max are fun to watch, they’re also massive idiots. One scene in particular still drives me up a wall and that is when they hop on a train that Max paid tickets for to get them home. They’re in the middle of eating dinner when they hear a train leaving so they hurriedly grab their things and race to get on, only to discover that it’s the wrong one. Rather, they hopped onto a cargo train filled with cows and hay. My only question is how would someone actually make that mistake? Don’t you think the station would’ve announced which train was leaving the station? Also, at this point, they’ve already had a rough time with finding rides, so why they’re so blasé about getting dinner before getting on the train is beyond me, especially when said train has a dinner cart on it! If it were me, I would’ve gotten on that train the minute I had the tickets in my hand and waited for departure, but hey, we can't all be that smart, right?
All in all, Cross Country Christmas is super sweet — tooth rotting-ly sweet — and really fun to watch. Cook and Holt make this film shine and I can’t wait to see them in another Hallmark film in the future. Like Lina and Max, you’re sure in for a fun ride with this movie that’s all about families and the importance of being home for the holidays. What could be better than that?
What did you think of the film? Let me know in the comments below!
***I do not own this photo.
Comentários