As Christmas movies go, this one is a little drab. There's not much Christmas atmosphere to go around. Chicago photographer Claire is shooting a Christmas-themed commercial at the beginning of the film, but it's kind of cheesy. She's also so busy with work that she can't take the time to plan her wedding to a wealthy Italian businessman, Lorenzo. So he goes off to Aspen to plan their Christmas Eve wedding, and she plans to join him in a few days. But when her shoot finishes early, she decides to surprise Lorenzo. Her flight to Aspen is grounded in Omaha, where she takes a bus to Oglala and then hitches a ride with some shady characters who boot her out at a truck stop.
Meanwhile, Tom Pullman and his teenage daughter Hilly are hitting the road from Chicago with their dog, Toby, to Vail to visit Tom's mother for Christmas. Hilly sees Claire several times along the road, and when she and Tom see Claire and her baggage dumped from a van, she urges Tom to help. They all pile into the pickup and hit the road, where Claire is predictably obnoxious about their unplanned stops, car trouble, the absence of lattes, and her inability to get a cell phone signal in the middle of nowhere. But Hilly and Claire bond, and Claire and Tom find they have more in common than they originally thought. Of course.
Though there is a distinct lack of snow in the Canadian locations, it's refreshing to see that people traveling across the Great Plains encounter Native people along the way.Of course, I've left the best part for last: Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey are married in real life! And unlike some married couples on screen, they actually have great chemistry. I enjoyed watching them a lot, and not entirely because I have a lot of goodwill for these actors. This is a low-key movie, but a nice exploration of relationships.
eee Three out of five presents. It would have been four, but I took away a present for a lack of Christmas Spirit.
