The Mistletoe Promise

This may be the most engaging Jaime King's ever been on camera, and maybe it's because it's the most vulnerable she's ever been on camera. In The Mistletoe Promise, she plays Elise Donner, unlucky in love, but, at least, she's founder and co-owner of her own travel agency. This is a movie about two people who deplore Christmas and how they come together. For Elise, the yuletide season coincides with her firm' fiscal year, and it's when her sleazy ex-husband and business co-owner, Dan (Lochlyn Munro), messes with her in an attempt to force her to sell her half of the agency to him. This year, Dan has not only hired his girlfriend (Ashley Ross) to model for the travel agency, he's also cutting Elise's charity travel packages and her outreach program for underprivileged children. What she needs is something to distract her from his horribleness.Some plot spoilers.In the nearby mall food court where she lunches, Elise doesn't appreciate the carolers that try to serenade her. It's a sentiment shared by Nick Derr (Luke MacFarlane), a fellow Scrooge. Nick practices family law; his specialty lies in divorce. And if Elise's dislike of Christmas stems from one terrible Christmas, Nick's got her beat in that he's had three terrible Christmases.Nick is up for partner this year, so the pressure's on. See, his law firm puts the focus squarely on family. The senior partners prefer their new partners to be married and raising a family as this promotes stability and a sense of responsibility. Only, Nick has nobody. Even the girlfriend he mentions he has is a flat out fib. So, when his boss invites him and his girlfriend to the tree-trimming party next Friday, Nick is caught in a pickle.In the mall food court, Nick and Elise don't know each other, but they end up commiserating about the awfulness of the holidays. They observe that it "feels like retail assault everywhere." In the middle of bagging on Christmas, they strike a bargain. They even draw up a contract: the Christmas Promise. Because why can't they be "allies against Christmas madness"? And why can't they "socially navigate Christmas together"? The contract expires on Christmas Eve. Two key bullet points stipulate that this is to be a shallow, superficial relationship only and that there won't be any drama. Hahahaha!The Mistletoe Promise is a Hallmark joint that premiered in 2016 and is based on a bestselling book by Richard Paul Evans. It snags a 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. There's been a host of these "pretend boyfriend" movies, and this one doesn't really offer anything new. But the chemistry between the two leads is nice, and the writing's good. It's also nice that, this once in a Hallmark movie, the male lead doesn't get short-shrifted. His story seems to matter as much as the female lead's.It's about the execution and the journey. It's certainly no bolt out of the blue when Elise and Nick realize that they're enjoying each other's company. We look on with knowing eyes as they start picking out Christmas trees, and buying Christmas ornaments, and even competing in the snowman-building contest held annually by Elise's travel agency and that her ex and his girlfriend seem to win every year. The plot is smart to feature Elise as an underdog character. Her staff doesn't quite believe she actually has a mystery guy in her life, and, so we get that gratifying moment when Nick does show up in person and wows not only Elise but her staff. Naturally, Elise's ex is left stewing. Take that, jerk.Meanwhile, Elise, elegant on Nick's arm at various of his work functions, makes a tremendous impression on Nick's boss and his wife. Looks like things are going swimmingly for our Christmasphobes. What can possibly go wrong? "We've had the best fake relationship ever," says one to the other.Can I mention again that King and MacFarlane have this good chemistry? They make the movie go. They make the pedestrian plot work. I wasn't feeling Jaime King's initial look with her hair pulled back tight, giving her this severe look. It must've been done purposely, because when she lets her hair down later for a fancy dinner, it softens her face so much and she seems to radiate with an inner glow, and she is gorgeous. I can see why Nick decided to say to heck with the contract. So, yeah, I buy into this love story that develops organically. And I appreciate how it doesn't get too silly, and no one had to make some grand, over-the-top romantic gesture.If I had one beef - and, again, spoiler alert - it's that, at the end, Elise seems resigned to losing her half of the travel agency to her ex. I'm not okay with that because her ex is such a tool.