Emily Springer (Faith Ford) has been a widow for three years, but she's still trapped in the past. Upset when she learns her daughter Heather (Emma Lahana), who is in college in Boston, won't be coming home for Christmas, she calls her best friend Faith (Gabrielle Miller) in California for sympathy.
Charles Johnson (Tom Cavanagh), a Scrooge-type college professor and writer, lives in Boston, not far from his brother Ray (Gil Bellows). Charles's publisher is pushing him to make edits to his latest book before the deadline, but he's experiencing the worst writer's block of his life. He needs somewhere quiet where he can concentrate without distractions.
Emily decides to surprise her daughter in Boston. So, she and Charles swap houses for the holidays. Imagine Emily's surprise when she discovers that Heather has taken off to Arizona with her boyfriend Jason (Andrew Francis). Meanwhile, Faith, who feels bad for her friend being all alone for Christmas, makes plans to travel to Emily's to spend Christmas with her, not realizing she isn't there.
Trading Christmas is the perfect blend of sweet romance and humor. Emily and Charles are both out of their elements when they travel to opposite sides of the country during the Christmas season. Emily meets Ray. Charles meets Faith. Heather, who is so excited to do something different for Christmas, realizes she misses all the things she does with her mother.
While I felt the opening of the movie was a bit jumbled, moving from Washington to Boston to California, once each character was settled in their part of the country, the storyline flowed nicely. Faith Ford and Gil Bellows, and Tom Cavanagh and Gabrielle Miller, had excellent chemistry as they interacted with each other. You couldn't help but root for them to get together. The storyline with Heather and Jason really isn't much. Heather's decision not to come home is the reason everything played out the way it did, but she's not vital to the story otherwise. When the movie switched to college in Boston or where she and Jason were in Arizona, it felt like they were just putting the characters in there so you wouldn't forget about them.
Placing a grump like Charles, who doesn't like Christmas, in a town--and specifically a house--where Christmas is unleashed full-throttle, is hilarious. Cavanagh plays this grouchy, anti-social, nervous guy to a tee. His banter with the character of Faith is great. He's not too keen on women. She's not too keen on men. It makes for some funny conversations. It's touching to watch Emily and Ray get to know each other. Their lives are so different, even how they grew up. And, yet, they are perfect for each other.
The ending of Trading Christmas was sweet and predictable, but you come to expect that of a Hallmark movie.
Release Date: 26 November 2011 (USA)
Run time: 88 minutes
I recorded this movie on my DVR off the Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.
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