LeGrand Productions,
Haylie Duff, Tilky Jones, Maureen McCormick, Jim O’Heir
Pepper Sterling (Tilky Jones) is a bit of a shock jock in Los Angeles and is co-host of a very popular talk show. But when he ticks off a major sponsor, they decide to send him off to the podunk town of Idyllwild, Colorado. His new station manager is told to keep an eye on him until the fuss blows over. He’s assigned to co-host a sappy call in advice show called “Dr. Love in the Morning” formerly hosted by Dr. Sandy Love (Haylie Duff). Of course he plays it as a fool and makes fun of everyone and everything, and Dr. Love, a real psychology graduate, does not want his help either. As time goes by though, Pepper learns the value of the small town and closeness of family, and when he’s able to return to his hit show in Los Angeles, he’s not sure if he’s really ready to go back to the big city.
This UP channel Christmas film is a really good one. I found this one really interesting, and I was kept glued to the screen throughout. It has a lot of comedy which makes it much more than a romantic comedy, but it does have the usual love triangle in this kind of film. Christmas time in the little town of Idyllwild though is spectacular, and there are a lot of pluses in this film. Maureen McCormick (formerly Marcia Brady) has a small part as Sandy’s Mom, but she steals every scene she’s in. The buffoon engineer at this tiny station and the stuffed shirt station manager are great additional characters as is Pepper’s agent who plays the part with as much wit and wisdom as anyone who’s out after a buck. All in all this was a very refreshing Christmas film for a small mostly Christian network that is trying to carve out a niche for itself that ABC Family once had before they resorted to recycled Disney Channel pre-teen stuff, and reruns of Disney’s old movie catalog. Now we know where the Disney Vault is kept. But unlike some of the stuff on UP, this is not preachy, but it does have core family, small town values which are shown, but not stuffed in your face. They did an excellent job with this film, and this is a much better vehicle for Haylie than some of the other mindless Christmas drivel she’s been given in the past. I highly recommend this Christmas film as one that is kind of unique and very refreshing.
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