Ed's Review Dot Com

Jaffe/Braunstein Films, Muse Entertainment Enterprises, WildRice Productions

Christine Baranski, Carly Pope, Bobby Cannavale, Monica Parker, Kristen Hager, Tracy Dawson

JJ Jenner (Carly Pope) is a newbie food critic who dines out a lot and puts it on the tab!  She’s looking for a big break to make a big splash in the industry, when Mother (Christine Baranski) shows up unannounced.  Mother is a bit of a “free spirit” and nothing like her straight laced daughter who is very uptight.  JJ doesn’t do Christmas, but in total disregard to her wishes Mom decorates the house and brings Christmas everywhere.  Meanwhile a young chef who is opening a new restaurant and having lots of trouble getting any attention keeps pestering her to do a review.  But things don’t work out, but he’s relentless.  Alex (Bobby Cannavale) keeps bugging her for a review, so she makes a deal with him.  If he’ll take her mother out, and wine and dine her and take her dancing, it will get her off JJ’s nerves and in return she promises to write a review.  Trouble is, the guy is really nice, good looking, and an excellent cook.  So once JJ falls for him in a big way, how to let her mother down without crushing her completely.

This is a really nice holiday film with a lot of heart.  The romance portion is nice, but the relationship between the free and easy Mom and her uptight daughter is where the meat of the movie is.  The chemistry between the three is awesome, and it’s completely believable.  They way they hurt each other and make up is nice to watch.  Each envies the other but they don’t know it.   This is well worth the effort to seek out as it’s a great little Christmas movie.