I caught this movie during the recent Christmas in July movie marathon on Hallmark. And I absolutely fell in love with it. So I’ve decided to recap/review it.
So put down your lemonade and sun hate, don your Santa hat and grab some eggnog and enjoy a sweet little Christmas story.
It’s that time of year/When the world falls in love/Every song you hear seems to say/SPOILERS!
We start with two shadowed figures dancing a gorgeous waltz in a winter setting. The camera pulls out and we are introduced to Avery (Lacey Chabert), who is watching the dance on her laptop. She says that is what she wants for her wedding so we quickly establish that Avery is a bride-to-be.
This is confirmed when her assistant Darna (Beatrice King) comes in to hand her some paperwork and reminds Avery she has an appointment. Avery says she’s finalizing the wedding cake and Darna asks for a piece. We then also learn that Avery is a lawyer when her boss Bob (Lane Edwards) comes in to inquire about a client. Avery assures him it is done and then heads out to go try some cake.
At the bakery, Avery is trying to choose between three Christmas-themed cakes. It seems she has always wanted a Christmas wedding and so her wedding will be on the 20th, which is in about three weeks. But she’s having some difficulties finalizing things, especially with her fiance David (Jeremy Guilbaut) on the phone almost the entire time. She finally chooses the Nutcracker cake and asks for a slice to go. Avery and David leave and he comments that he wasn’t entirely fond of the cake. She offers to go change it but he says it’s okay. He seems distracted and says he needs to get back to work. Avery asks if he booked the dance lessons for their first dance but he’s been too busy. They part ways and Avery decides she will handle the dance lessons.
Avery finds a dance school but no one ever picks up the phone. So she drops by there after work and meets Nicky (JT Church), whose mother teaches there and who is also a student at the school. First, he tries to sell Avery tickets to their big Christmas show but it’s on December 20th, which is her wedding day, so she has to decline. Despite his young age, he manages to convince Avery to get ten lessons so she can have the perfect wedding dance – after all, it will be preserved on film forever. He gets some assistance from Roman (Will Kemp), one of the teachers, and Avery agrees before heading out to meet David for dinner.
But once again, David is distracted. Avery asks him what is going on and he says his firm offered him a position in their new Boston branch. She says that their lives are in New York but then realizes that he already took the job without talking with her. He says it was too good to pass up and reveals he needs to head up there as soon as possible. She reminds him of their wedding and he asks if they can put a pin in it. Avery understandably gets upset and decides to end the engagement, leaving him.
It does seem like something of a hasty decision but I have a feeling this was a pattern in their relationship, especially given that David spent most of their cake tasting appointment on the phone. I get the feeling that he tends to not make her a priority and she deserves someone who will do that. And someone who understands that they can’t make a major life decision without talking with her first.
So, you go, Avery! Know what you deserve and don’t settle for anything less!
Though it probably doesn’t feel so comforting as she arrives home to find bouquet options waiting for her. It just reminds her of what she’s now losing and she is understandably sad.
Darna is very understanding the next day when Avery comes in and reveals the wedding is off. She asks Darna to have a courier deliver her engagement ring to David’s office and she agrees. Avery then tosses a picture of her and David before realizing she needs to cancel her dance lessons. Once again, no one picks up so she has to go and cancel them in person.
Avery returns to the dance studio and meets up with Roman again. She says that she needs to cancel the lessons and he says that they usually require more notice. She reminds him that no one ever picks up the phone and he agrees, saying they can reschedule. But she says that she needs to cancel the whole series and he says that’s a whole different matter. He asks if he can get the reason and Avery sadly tells him it’s because the wedding isn’t happening anymore. Roman offers some sympathy and says he can cancel the lessons but encourages her to take them for herself. She doesn’t think that will work and excuses herself after thanking him.
She then meets her parents for lunch another day. Evelyn (Laura Soltis) and Fergus (Fred Henderson) ask how their daughter is doing. She says she’s doing as well as can be expected and hopes her parents can get some deposits back. But they are in no rush to officially cancel the wedding. They think Avery and David have just hit a roadblock but will get over it. You can’t really get over one person making unilateral decisions that affect both people, Evelyn. Avery tries to convince her parents that it’s over for good but it doesn’t seem like she’s very successful.
Avery then notices a little girl dancing nearby and asks her parents why she stopped dancing. They tell her that she wasn’t very good and that they believed her focus should then be on pursuits that she could succeed. And they said it’s all paid off as she’s done well academically and is now a successful lawyer. Avery does agree on that but asks about doing something just to have fun. That seems to be a foreign concept to her parents. But it gets Avery thinking, especially as all her plans have started to fail her with the collapse of her relationship with David.
So Avery decides to take those lessons after all. She and Roman start with the waltz but she’s a mess. Roman is patient with her but she soon decides to give up, saying she doesn’t do failure.
But her friend Molly (Katrina Reynolds) convinces her to give it another try, to find that failure can be helpful.
Avery returns to Roman’s school and meets his partner Elina (Julia Harnett), who is also Nicky’s mother. Avery says she is serious about her lessons and so Roman takes her as a student again, starting to figure out ways to get her to relax and learn the lessons.
That includes a trip to a local skating rink. Avery is a little apprehensive and asks if Roman knows how to skate. He tells her that he’s Russian so of course he knows how to skate. But she points out that he has a British accent. He explains he studied in England and picked up the accent there. As she learns more about him, they have an accident and go down hard. Roman hits his head and Avery insists on medical care.
Roman is diagnosed with a concussion and the doctor gives Avery instructions on how to care for him since she lied that she was Roman’s wife to go into the examination room with him. He is released and Avery takes him home to Brooklyn. She asks if there’s anyone who can check on him and he asks if she’s trying to find out if he’s single. He is single and there’s no one else he can really call.
(Which we later learn is a lie. Apparently his family also lives in Brooklyn).
The next day, Avery stops in again and checks on him. His balance looks good and he reports no other symptoms, so Avery is relieved. She makes him breakfast as they talk. Noting his () doll, he tells her about a time that he was seriously considering giving up dance and some advice his mother gave him. So he keeps the doll to remember that advice. Avery finds it sweet and then serves him breakfast, which isn’t the greatest. He appreciates the gesture and thanks her before she heads to work.
Apparently Avery is in charge of planning holiday things for the office. She is asked to pick out the office card and then puts together a little cocoa and cookies break for her colleagues. It’s a bit vague if she just did it to be nice or if she is really in charge of planning things for the office. But either way, it’s kind of a bad look to have Avery – who appears to be the only woman other than Darna we see in the company – do all of this . Thankfully, Bob then gives her a big client and makes it clear he respects her work.
Avery continues with her lessons and gets closer to Roman as well as Elina and Nicky. He then invites her to a family dinner in Brighton Beach because his mother wants to meet the woman who nursed him after his injury. Probably his mother realizes that Roman is halfway in love with Avery since he didn’t bother calling her to come take care of him. Avery at first says she needs to see while Molly reminds her that she has no plans. So Avery decides to go.
Roman’s family is a lively and musical bunch. He introduces her to the lot and Elina is there with Nicky. Avery meets his mother and she helps Roman make some cookies. While there, she asks if he teaches his relatives but he says that they live too faraway. So that’s why he wants to open another school in Brooklyn. Avery offers to help him and though he’s hesitant, he agrees.
They continue to spend more time together and it’s clear that their bond is growing. And it’s also getting clearer that they have feelings for each other that go beyond student and teacher. Avery gets better as a dancer and agrees to go to the Christmas show since her wedding won’t be that day anymore. She also invites her parents and best friend, who all ultimately agree to go to support her. Her mother even apologizes for not really supporting her dancing earlier.
Aww.
Things seem to be going well for Avery and Roman. Which means it is time to throw in a complication or two.
First, there’s the job. Her boss comes in and tells her that the important client needs their paperwork by the end of the week. Avery promises that it will be done and he hopes so, saying that her life has gotten complicated outside of work. And this entire conversation just rubs me the wrong way. He doesn’t express any concern about the fact she had to call off her wedding and just hopes that she won’t be too distracted to finish her work. It’s just…Avery really can do a lot better.
Speaking of people Avery could do a lot better than, David returns to grovel and get her back. He fills Avery’s office with Poinsettias and asks her to take him back. Avery feels ambushed – because she was – and says she needs time. She reveals that she’s taking the dance lessons and that she’s helping her instructor Roman. Avery then asks David to leave since she is at work and he does respect that request.
David then goes to Roman and tells him that he and Avery are getting back together so he should stop romancing her. Roman insists that he and Avery are just friends and that she is just helping him with a business proposal. But it’s clear he’s heartbroken.
Poor Roman!
Avery goes to her lesson and reveals it’s her last. But she’s decided to pay for more lessons and hopes to take them with Roman. He’s cold to her, though, and says that he already booked her spot so she’ll have to take them with another instructor. They have a very awkward lesson where both are hurting and heartbroken but not talking about it. It ends early with Avery leaving while Roman stands there, being a complete idiot.
The next day, Bob comes looking for the proposal and Avery has to admit she’s not done yet. She asks for a couple more hours and he says he can stall. Darna grabs her laptop and comes in to help Avery get it done before the end of the day. They have it done by the afternoon and Avery apologizes. Bob tells her not to let it happen again and then tells her to enjoy her holidays. He doesn’t reprimand her and seems to accept this was a one-time mistake, which is good. Almost makes up for how he handled her called off wedding.
Anyway, Avery then meets up with David for dinner. David reveals that he was able to set up the Boston office quicker than he thought so he came back and asked his boss to let him push back returning to Boston so he could spend time with Avery. But Avery reads through all that and realizes that David is still set on moving to Boston, expecting her to uproot her life just like that. He also reveals that he spoke to Roman, telling him they were getting back together. Avery, though, says they aren’t and says goodbye to him for good.
It is now the day of the Christmas recital and Roman has a prospective investor for his second school coming. He and Nicky head out while Elina says she will meet them there.
They arrive at a theater and Roman welcomes Nicky to the palace. I’m not sure if they really meant to reference the Palace Theater, which is a Broadway theater (that is currently empty even as the Great White Way prepares to emerge from the pandemic), or if the writers forgot it was an actual Broadway theater. But I guess everyone is going to perform on Broadway, so congrats to them.
However, Elina is stuck in traffic. And I’m not entirely sure why anyone from New York would drive into Manhattan and not take mass transit so close to Christmas. We get gridlock alerts in Staten Island starting right before Thanksgiving – we all know it’s a mess. I guess maybe she couldn’t bring her costume on the train?
Well, obvious set up is obvious. I’m sure you all see where this going, right?
Meanwhile, Avery is home after deciding not to go to the recital. She hasn’t been able to speak to Roman and doesn’t want it to be awkward. Thankfully Molly stops by and knocks some sense into her. Avery quickly changes and they head out to the show.
Roman’s investor is pretty much on board but is still eager to see what happens at the show. And Elina is still not there. So Roman asks a stage manager to find Avery and ask her to come backstage. Out in the audience, Avery is with Molly and her parents and is surprised to be asked backstage. But she follows the stage manager, curious as to what waits for her.
Backstage, Roman and Avery reunite. Roman apologizes for being so cold to her while Avery explains that she is done with David for good. He then asks her to dance the waltz with him and she agrees. Nicky finishes his routine and wishes them luck when he finds out Avery is replacing his mother.
Roman and Avery dance together and they are flawless. Everyone is impressed and it is clear as the movie ends that Roman and Avery are heading for a happily ever after.
Yes, I loved this movie – even for some of the really obvious set ups (Roman has no one to look after him even though his family lives in the same borough as him! Elina decides to drive in Manhattan during Christmas so she’s stuck in traffic!). It was just a fun Christmas movie with a lot of heart behind it – and that’s usually all I want from my Christmas movies.
Chabert and Kemp had great chemistry and worked well off each other. It felt natural and like we watched a sweet friendship turned romance unfold before our eyes. Not a single scene with them dragged and I enjoyed watching them.
The dancing was breathtakingly beautiful. Kemp handled all the choreography brilliantly and Chabert held her own as well. Each number drew me in even more and just added to the romance as well as the Christmassy feeling.
So if you like some dancing and lots of heart, definitely check out this movie!
See you all next time!
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