Starring Katie Leclerc and Ryan McPartlin
***SPOILER ALERT***
Joy (Leclerc) has given up a skiing career to manage her deceased father’s pub, Mogul Joe’s. Business is down, and Joy must somehow save the business. Opportunity knocks when a rival pub owner, Greg (John Forest), also Joy’s ex-boyfriend, announces he’s hosting a holiday craft beer competition and will be entering it. The winner could nab a distribution deal with a big Colorado brewery. Enter Zac (McPartlin), a sales representative from the brewery and an inept skier; he literally runs into Joy on the slopes. In preparation for the competition, Joy develops various holiday microbrews, and she and Zac, who’ve bonded over their enthusiasm for beer and the skiing lessons she’s been giving him, select a favorite and christen it Hoppy Holiday. Soon Joy is tipped off by her employee, Kevin (Ivan Cecil Walks), that Greg’s competition entry and Hoppy Holiday are identical. How can this be? Even if Greg stole her recipe, he wouldn’t know the secret ingredient. Unfortunately, Zac does, so he’s looking awfully guilty.
PROS
Solid leads. Leclerc and McPartlin were well cast as Joy and Zac in A Very Vermont Christmas, for they were believable as people with a passion for beer. Both actors brought a down-to-earth quality to their roles and were likeable. As a result, this movie was about as unpretentious as they get. At first, Joy and Zac had a relaxed relationship, beginning with the meet-cute on the slopes, and progressing to the blind taste test challenge in which, to Joy’s amazement, Zac proved his expertise in identifying beer ingredients and specific beers. I also enjoyed seeing them work together, he helping her select the best brew of the three she created, and also collaborating on her video to promote Hoppy Holiday. (As a side note, the brew sounded intriguing, with its combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and the secret ingredient, pine. I’d give it a try!) And when Zac glimpsed the awkward embrace between Greg and Joy and she realized he’d seen them and was backing off, Joy handled the situation like an adult. She went after Zac to explain that there was nothing between her and Greg anymore, and went even further by clarifying her feelings for Zac. This was refreshing, as so often characters in these movies don’t talk misunderstandings through. And the big resolution—Joy asking for Zac’s forgiveness after she accused him of betraying her, and Zac granting that readily—was satisfying enough. Although I honestly couldn’t discern much romantic sizzle here, there were endearingly cute aspects to the relationship—for example, the little gifts Zac left her, like the Queen of Diamonds card and the sparkly necklace, a reference to some earlier banter between them.
A slimy bad guy. As Greg, Forest made an entertainingly underhanded villain. Greg returned repeatedly to haunt Joy, who’d ditched him when he betrayed her father. She didn’t have the time of day for him, but he still carried a torch for her and was jealous of her warm connection with Zac. It was this jealousy, combined with his hunger to win the craft beer competition, that drove him to photograph Joy’s recipe and duplicate her microbrew. And he wouldn’t admit the truth even after she confronted him with it. Ultimately, Greg redeemed himself a little by apologizing to Joy on Christmas Day. This slippery character was the engine that propelled the plot forward, rupturing Joy and Zac’s romance. Joy believed that Zac was to blame for Hoppy Holiday and Greg’s beer being the same, as this was the only explanation that made sense—until she learned that Kevin had publicly let it slip that the secret ingredient was pine.
CONS
Where’s that happy holiday feeling? Although Greg’s shenanigans kept the story moving and were the chief reason I kept watching, ultimately a movie that devoted so much attention to attempts to sabotage a beer competition didn’t feel Chrismassy to me. Joy’s efforts to solve the puzzle of how Greg managed to duplicate her brew were really at the heart of this movie; this overshadowed the romance, as well as Christmas. There was little holiday spirit to be felt here, except perhaps in the final scene when everyone gathered in the pub with presents for the children and Joy graciously forgave Greg for being such a weasel.
Seemingly too little at stake. Although it was mentioned that Mogul Joe’s was failing, too little emphasis was placed on the struggle to keep the place afloat, to the point that I almost forgot how much was at stake. There wasn’t much tension associated with Joy’s business troubles, making the results of the holiday microbrew competition seem less than critical.
My grade for A Very Vermont Christmas: C+ (pleasant enough, but ultimately not that memorable)
Caroline Kaiser is a professional book editor who specializes in fiction and memoirs, and she’s been guiding writers toward publication since 2007. Caroline is also the author of two ghostly mystery novels, Virginia’s Ghost and The Spirits of South Drive. Before she embarked on an editing and writing career, she spent many years working in a Toronto auction house as an antiques appraiser. Apart from curling up on the couch and drinking tea as she watches Hallmark movies, Caroline enjoys baking and exploring London, Ontario, the picturesque city she now calls home. Her website is www.carolinekaisereditor.com.
