User Reviews

There are lots of similar Hallmark movies around Christmas time. Often they involve a bailout of a struggling business in a small town and this movie is no exception. But this one is above average for a couple of reasons. The leads are likable attractive and not annoying. Jill Wagner is lively without being too perky as the corporate executive trying to bail out the cookie company in a quaint town. Wes Brown is the head of the struggling cookie company who wants to keep the factory and the town going. Of course romance ensues in a gradual not too cute way. The little Christmas traditions are quite alright and the rides on the sled look fun. Also the cookies are delicious looking. So there is an appetizing focus to the movie. The weakness is the solution to the problem seems a bit sudden and unconvincing - but what do you expect from this kind of movie.

When Hannah meets Jake, there's a little friction especially over the contract that Jake is stalling on. As he "mulls" it over, they get to know each other and enjoy the process. A cute little girl helps move the process along. They are a nice couple but I can't say the performances were either outstanding or poor - they were pleasant.

Meanwhile, Hannah falls in love with the town. In fact this is probably just as much of the story as Jake and Hannah.

Through the story, there seems to be a mystery lurking in the shadows. If you paid attention you possibly saw the answer to the town's problems, but the movie saves it for a last minute reveal.

I sometimes wonder where the Hallmark Conglomerate came from. When I was very young, Hallmark meant special programs—Hallmark Hall of Fame--produced by Hallmark Cards and these were special specials. Now there seem to be a proliferation of Hallmark Channels.

I'm retired now and my wife watches the Hallmark Conglomerate and occasionally I drift into a chair and semi-watch. Laptops mean you never have to attend to any show ever again. This was the "episode" my wife was watching: Christmas Cookies. I figured it out pretty quick. Christmas hating/ignoring female exec gets sent to a cute town, Cookie Jar, to close a deal that will allow a food conglomerate to swallow the town's single industry—Aunt Sally's Cookies—and put everyone on unemployment/welfare/Medicaid in rapid time.

Female exec meets sweet B&B owner who drops a crumb/clue into the plot early that I suspect will eventually save town. In-between, heartless female exec (Grinch, used to be Scrooge, but now all baddies or semi-baddies are Grinches) begins to find love for male owner of Aunt Sally's and doesn't want to destroy all the nice people she has met in Cookie Jar.

But the owner is going broke and has to do what he has to do which is sell the company. While all of this is going on the exec is falling in love with the owner, refuses the proposal of her New York boyfriend, gets an idea from her Christmas loving sister, helps her boss accept the idea the cookies need to be made in Cookie Jar and saves everyone's jobs, and then gets her heart's desire. Pretty sure that was what happened.

I have a hard time knowing who the actors are in these Hallmark shows as they all tend to be very pretty or handsome and tend to look alike (to me). In this case it's Jill Wagner as Hannah Harper and Wes Brown as Jake Carter who lead the cast.

This movie gets lost and has some disconnected plot points, but overall it is worth watching once. The leads are interesting to watch but lack chemistry. "Jake" is a little dull and Hannah is kind of all over the place. What annoyed me most was the portrayal of a corporate takeover and related negotiation....what was shown was complete...bologna. Companies do not send a single person to negotiate for a buyout, nor do such negotiations occur on the factory floor in an open area surrounded by employees. CEOs do not travel to meetings alone to negotiate, and usually quality, legal, HR, IT, and compliance have a seat at the table and give critical input on any corporate acquisition. Also, as much as this movie likes to believe that emotions and passion can save a company circling the drain, in the real world a failing company requires liquidation or a complete overhaul to return it to profitability...which always includes layoffs and replacement of most management.

Its tough to rate a Christmas movie, I gave it a 7 but that is not based on the same scale as I would be using to rate a big budget 1st tier production. But for a Christmas movie its fine.

Jill Wagner and Wes Brown are the lead actors in the movie, and very watchable. I actually did not know Jill was this capable, as my only prior exposure to her was with Wipe-Out where her role was to be smoking hot with a touch of comedy. She fulfills the smoking hot role exceptionally well in this movie - she is gorgeous. Wes is a handsome guy and he has presence, so their chemistry was quite believable.

The story has all the usual dramatic Christmas elements - love of family, turmoil, angst, with a happily ever after solution typical of a Hallmark movie. The ending was a bit corny - and never mind that one self centered boyfriend was left in the dust.......

This movie is suitable for the whole family - other then admiring how good Jill looks in anything (and those 2 small suitcases seemed to pack a huge wardrobe) there is nothing in the movie that even approaches PG.

Its light but enjoyable entertainment, not heavy stuff but the cast never pretends otherwise, and you will want cookies and pie when done watching it...

Need I say, I loved this movie. On my personal rating scale I gave it 4/5.

Jill Wagner rarely disappoints and Wes Brown was great as her protagonist/love interest. I really enoyed their scenes together. The entire cast worked so well together that they seemed to really be citizens of Cookie Jar, yes that is the name of the town.

For corporate executive Hannah it was supposed to be an easy assignment, drop into town, get the contract signed and be home well before Christmas Eve. The problem is that the conglomerate wanting to buy Aunt Sally's wants to close the factory and move the whole operation to Buffalo where shipping would be less costly and more efficient.

But Cookie Jar is nothing without Aunt Sally's Christmas Cookie factory. For the town, if there is no Aunt Sally's there is no more Cookie Jar. As a sub-story, a local teenager who is Yale bound to become the doctor the town needs will no longer be able to go to college without the cookie factory. Another indication of just how important the factory is to the town. In addition almost everyone in town is either working there now or worked there in the past.

Jake, is the nephew of the real Aunt Sally and inherited the factory when she died. Jake, who knows how important the cookie factory is to the town, wants to renegotiate the contract, adding a clause that would insure the factory stays in Cookie Jar.

As Hannah gets to know the town and it's residents, she begins to realize that this town needs the factory. The town takes Christmas very seriously, and welcomes Hannah as one of them and involves her in all the Christmas festivities.

There is even a boyfriend in the mix who expects Hannah to go to his company Christmas Party so he can impress his fellow executives and when it appears that she will miss his party, he travels to Cookie Jar and arrives just in time to "save" Hannah from being kissed by Jake.. He proceeds to get down on one knee (a Hallmark staple, does anybody really do this amy more?) and proposes to her in front of the whole town. Imagine his shock when she turns him down and he reallizes that Jake was not just trying to kiss Hannah, she was letting him kiss her.

Jake had resisted signing the contract because he hoped that the Canadian Company he had been negotiating with would partner with Aunt Sally's, saving both the factory and the town. His hopes are dashed when the Canadian Company withdraws from the negotiations. Jake witnesses the oh so public proposal, but not her refusal and he is faced with the realization that not only is he not getting the girl, there is also nothing he can do to save Cookie Jar. Jake reluctanly signs the contract after making one change in the deal, he wants nothing for himself, instead he insists that all proceeds from the sale should go to the people of Cookie Jar.

While Hannah's boss is bragging that he will put Aunt Sally's cookies in every store, Hannah remembers one important detail. She announces to the crowd that Aunt Sally's may have been sold, but the recipe was not included in the deal. Because there is no recipe, the recipe only exists in the minds of the townspeople, every empoyee memorized the part of the cookie production that was their specific job, but no single employee knows the whole recipe. Hannah states that without the people of Cookie Jar there are no Aunt Sally's cookies.

Needless to say Aunt Sally's remains in Cookie Jar, Jake remains at the factory and Hannah remains in Cookie Jar as the company representative keeping an eye on the overall operation.

The nice thing about Hallmark movies is that you know what to expect and this movie has it all; they make snowmen, they toboggan, they do gingerbread houses there is a potential love triangle. But in the end it all works out like it was supposed to.

I know, I'm a sucker for these and I admit it. Yes, they are, for the most part, Cheesy; hopelessly romantic drivel that flows like maple syrup, but every once in a while THC gets it right, and they got it right with this one. A clever plot line twist at the end that saved the situation, but when you have Jill Wagner in a role like this, it seems this is the one she was born to play. You can either believe she is an astounding actress (which I do), or you can believe she went into this with no script and just lived the part, because that's how it comes across. She is so expressive and the way she looks; laughs; reacts and speaks you come away thinking this is real life. Her protagonist is equally adept, and he makes his role believable as well. So do the supporting characters. The girl who plays Jake's daughter is a scene-stealer, who will, no doubt, grow up to steal more than her fair share of hearts as well. From the town cabbie to the woman who runs the inn where Hannah stays, you connect with all of them. The waitress in the coffee shop going to Princeton has an incredible range of acting tools. I'm sure she'll be around for a long time as well. Hannah's big city boyfriend is the typical "other man" in the Hallmark Channel Movie heroine's life. Instantly unlikable with an array of traits one wonders what she ever saw in him to begin with. (Remember Faith's boyfriend in The Christmas Card?) I will watch this one again. I already have. Most are good enough for one look and you can pass them by a second time. A few of the good ones grab you and pull you inside. They push you into a cushy chair beside a blazing fireplace, wrap you in a warm blanket and make you wish you could be there with them. This is one of those.