Hallmark For All Seasons

Countdown to Christmas 2022

A Cozy Christmas Inn

“A Cozy Christmas Inn,” starring Jodie Sweetin, David O’Donnell and a host of other folks aired on Hallmark Channel during the 2nd weekend of 2022’s Countdown to Christmas, on October 28, 2022. Set in the fictional town of Garland, Alaska, it was actually filmed in Huntsville, Utah at the Compass Rose Lodge. The movie is considered a sequel to the 2014 movie, “Christmas Under Wraps,” which starred Candace Cameron Bure.

I’m glad the poster (left) is not the typical Hallmark movie poster, but the photoshop job is just awful. I saw another version out there on the internet and it was just as badly put together. But a design move I loved was the opening credit “logo” of the movie title. Very well done!

Music: As Erika arrives into Garland, we could hear Robbie Wyckoff singing Christmas is About to Take Flight. Later while they were decorating the inn we heard Christmas Countdown (affiliate link) by Daniel Feldstein. There were two other songs featured during the movie, but I wasn’t able to find those.

In a nutshell

I’m not generally a fan of Hallmark movie sequels because I don’t need to see the next step a couple takes in these frothy movies. But this was an exception because the original couple was no longer together and an old love came back into town. Because of that, I didn’t mind this being a sequel, and I enjoyed it.

The Plot of “A Cozy Christmas Inn”

Real estate exec, Erika, travels to Alaska during the holidays to acquire a B&B, only to discover it’s owned by her ex, Andy. Soon she is falling in love with the town and quite possibly him.

Actors & Chemistry

The entire cast was great. I thought Jodie Sweetin and David O’Donnell were a good pair, and the entire secondary cast from the first movie came back, which is fantastic. I was sad that Brian Doyle-Murray’s scenes were all clearly done away from everyone else because it made that part of the story seem disjointed.

Find the Tropes!

Cityscape drone shot, a possible promotion given by a demanding boss at a real estate development company, and decorating a tree all in the first 60 seconds! Followed quickly by a Christmas deadline. A small town family business is in trouble!

An overhead shot of a car driving through the wilderness. We got some CGI snow AND real rain/snow in this movie. Big red scarf and the awesome gigantic scarf in the picture below. An abbreviated trip/fall while looking at the stars. Empty coffee cups. And a tree ornament that had a special meaning. The addition of a 7th inning piece of Christmas magic with the letterbox getting its contents to Frank Holliday, and a game ending homerun with the reindeer flying!

“That’s Garland for you,” count: 8 1/2 (9 1/2 if you count two people saying it at the same time)

Did I Hear/See That Right?

So Erika gets picked up and is driven to Garland. I thought that in the first movie they established that Garland could only be accessed by plane (with Andy being the pilot of that plane when he met Lauren in “Christmas Under Wraps”). Soooo… did they suddenly update lots of highways in Alaska so that they can handle the snow and ice that are usually on the ground in late December?

I love the diner owner Hattie, but my goodness how does she keep any customers with awful recipes featuring food items that just DO NOT go together?

I don’t spend a lot of time looking through telescopes at the stars, but I know that I usually do it in the dark. So why did they turn on all the lights to look through the observatory telescope? I know it’s big, but lights out would probably make it a bit more special.

Feelgoods

I appreciated that the movie addresses Candace Cameron Bure’s character and explains why she is no longer in Garland and no longer with Andy. I also cracked up when Andy said that Lauren earned a fellowship in San Francisco that she couldn’t turn down (that’s a “Full House” easter egg for those that may not know). The movie could have easily just kind of ignored its prior history, but I liked that they acknowledged it fully.

And lastly, I LOVE this scarf and wish I lived in the snowy northeast so I could use it. Alas, I’m in the south where we never get cold enough to warrant wearing a heavy coat much less a scarf.

Re-watchability of “A Cozy Christmas Inn”

Jodie Sweetin has really grown on me over the past few movies she’s made. I could see myself watching this one next year if I saw it was on.

The Rankings

This movie lands right in the top of the middle of the pack. It wasn’t super fantastic wow, but I enjoyed it.

A Kismet Christmas (air date: Oct 24) – 664 pts – weighted score: 113.2 (79.4%)
Two Tickets to Paradise (air date: June 25) – 664 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
Just One Kiss (air date: Apr 2) – 660 pts – weighted score: 111.2 (78.0%)
The Presence of Love (air date: Mar 13) – 650 pts – weighted score: 110.9 (77.8%)
Wedding of a Lifetime (air date: Sept 17) – 640 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
Dating the Delaneys (air date: Aug 20) – 638 pts – weighted score: 106.5 (74.7%)
Love, Classified (air date: Apr 16) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.1 (74.4%)
A Royal Runaway Romance (air date: Apr 9) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.9 (74.3%)
We Wish You a Married Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 623 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
Rip in Time (air date: May 22) – 622 pts – weighted score: 105.3 (73.9%)
We Need a Little Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
Campfire Christmas (air date: July 16) – 621 pts – weighted score: 104.9 (73.6%)
Noel Next Door (air date: Oct 21) – 609 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
Caribbean Summer (air date: June 11) – 636 pts – weighted score: 104.7 (73.5%)
A Cozy Christmas Inn (air date: Oct 28) – 626 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.5%)
Always Amore (air date: Apr 3) – 618 pts – weighted score: 104.5 (73.3%)
Hidden Gems (air date: Jun 4) – 611 pts – weighted score: 102.3 (71.8%)
Pumpkin Everything (air date: Oct 8) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
Autumn in the City (air date: Oct 15) – 594 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
Love in the Limelight (air date: Aug 6) – 604 pts – weighted score: 100.0 (70.2%)
Second Chance at Love (air date: Mar 26) – 585 pts – weighted score: 99.7 (69.9%)
Romance in Style (air date: Aug 13) – 562 pts – weighted score: 97.2 (68.2%)
Big Sky River (air date: Aug 7) – 568 pts – weighted score: 97.1 (68.1%)
Game, Set, Love (air date: Aug 27) – 552 pts – weighted score: 95.3 (66.9%)
A Tail of Love (air date: Apr 23) – 557 pts – weighted score: 94.4 (66.2%)
The Perfect Pairing (air date: Jan 15) – 563 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.0%)
Christmas in Toyland (air date: July 23) – 544 pts – weighted score: 92.4 (64.8%)
The Wedding Veil Legacy (air date: Feb 19) – 543 pts – weighted score: 92.0 (64.5%)
Welcome to Mama’s (air date: Feb 26) – 540 pts – weighted score: 91.9 (64.5%)
Butlers in Love (air date: Jan 29) – 527 pts – weighted score: 91.3 (64.0%)
Feeling Butterflies (air date: Mar 12) – 542 pts – weighted score: 91.2 (64.0%)
To Her, With Love (air date: Sept 11) – 536 pts – weighted score: 89.4 (62.7%)
The Wedding Veil Unveiled (air date: Feb 12) – 515 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (61.0%)
My Grown-Up Christmas List (air date: July 9) – 514 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (60.9%)
Road Trip Romance (air date: May 14) – 492 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.3%)
Don’t Forget I Love You (air date: Jan 22) – 508 pts – weighted score: 85.8 (60.2%)
The Wedding Veil (air date: Jan 8) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.3 (58.4%)
Where the Heart Belongs (air date: Jan 1) – 435 pts – weighted score: 74.5 (52.3%)
14 Love Letters (air date: July 31) – 420 pts – weighted score: 73.5 (51.6%)