This was the logical and obvious film to follow the superb 2016 TV movie by Hallmark, "Finding Father Christmas." The actors and characters are all the same in "Engaging Father Christmas", with some additions. The main three are crystal Balint as reporter Natalie Garrett, Ben Wilkinson as unscrupulous writer Steve Decker, and Andrew Francis as Miranda's former boyfriend, Josh.
Miranda and Ian, while deeply falling in love a year ago, have stayed where they were - in residence and work, but have been corresponding and apparently visiting one another or getting together at some halfway city between her Seattle and his Vermont. But now, the time is right for Ian to propose. So, Miranda is back at scenic Carlton Heath, Vermont. Only this time, she doesn't stay at the inn owned by Ian's parents, the McAndricks. As a family member - the half sister of Peter Whitcomb, she is staying with him and his wife Eliie, and their two children now call her Aunt Miranda. She and Margaret, the widow of James Whitcomb, her father, are on very good terms.
The plot for this story comes about with complications for a mistake Miranda makes. She had promised Margaret and her family that she would not tell anyone that James Whitcomb had been her father. But when she bumps into former boyfriend Josh in the Boston airport, she blabs it to him. Of course she gets a promise from him that he won't say a word to anyone. And while Miranda trusts Josh, the mistake has two consequences.
The first is that she doesn't tell him enough, because he then drives all the way up to Carlton Health, Vermont, to see her and tells her to remember that his brother is an attorney and can help her with her inheritance. So, he assumed that she was an heir - again, the danger of her blabbing. But the bigger mistake was blabbing it in a crowded airport terminal where she could be - and was, overheard. And, Decker is the cad who then starts sending her strange emails, so that she wonders who else could know her story.
Of course, without all of that, this particular plot wouldn't have been; and in the end it's one of those things that turns out very well. It wasn't very hard for me to guess where it was going after Decker gives her an ultimatum to give him the story, or the whole world will find out about it anyway. So, it was a very good outcome and fine sequel. As with most sequels, this film isn't quite as good as the original story; but this is one sequel that comes close and provides a good story. As with the original, the performances by the cast are superb and make it the fine story and film it is.
A favorite line from the film is when Ian arrives at the Boston airport to pick up Miranda. He sees her kissing Josh goodbye, and later says to her, "So that's how it is. I'm a half hour late and you start kissing strangers in the airport."
One little caveat for viewers. It isn't an oversight or goof in the script when Miranda asks her assistant, Annie, to see about pushing back a meeting a couple of hours. She says, "The folks from Portland are in town, and I'm taking them out to lunch." Miranda is an orphan, so she isn't talking about her folks (she would have said "my folks" or "parents"); and since she never knew who her father was, but was raised by her single mom, she wouldn't have any other "folks" as parents. "Folks" is a term that is used when speaking about people in general. It's the first definition in the Miriam-Webster dictionary for its use. So, Miranda was clearly talking about clients or business associates she was going to meet who were coming to Seattle from Portland, Oregon.
Miranda and Ian, while deeply falling in love a year ago, have stayed where they were - in residence and work, but have been corresponding and apparently visiting one another or getting together at some halfway city between her Seattle and his Vermont. But now, the time is right for Ian to propose. So, Miranda is back at scenic Carlton Heath, Vermont. Only this time, she doesn't stay at the inn owned by Ian's parents, the McAndricks. As a family member - the half sister of Peter Whitcomb, she is staying with him and his wife Eliie, and their two children now call her Aunt Miranda. She and Margaret, the widow of James Whitcomb, her father, are on very good terms.
The plot for this story comes about with complications for a mistake Miranda makes. She had promised Margaret and her family that she would not tell anyone that James Whitcomb had been her father. But when she bumps into former boyfriend Josh in the Boston airport, she blabs it to him. Of course she gets a promise from him that he won't say a word to anyone. And while Miranda trusts Josh, the mistake has two consequences.
The first is that she doesn't tell him enough, because he then drives all the way up to Carlton Health, Vermont, to see her and tells her to remember that his brother is an attorney and can help her with her inheritance. So, he assumed that she was an heir - again, the danger of her blabbing. But the bigger mistake was blabbing it in a crowded airport terminal where she could be - and was, overheard. And, Decker is the cad who then starts sending her strange emails, so that she wonders who else could know her story.
Of course, without all of that, this particular plot wouldn't have been; and in the end it's one of those things that turns out very well. It wasn't very hard for me to guess where it was going after Decker gives her an ultimatum to give him the story, or the whole world will find out about it anyway. So, it was a very good outcome and fine sequel. As with most sequels, this film isn't quite as good as the original story; but this is one sequel that comes close and provides a good story. As with the original, the performances by the cast are superb and make it the fine story and film it is.
A favorite line from the film is when Ian arrives at the Boston airport to pick up Miranda. He sees her kissing Josh goodbye, and later says to her, "So that's how it is. I'm a half hour late and you start kissing strangers in the airport."
One little caveat for viewers. It isn't an oversight or goof in the script when Miranda asks her assistant, Annie, to see about pushing back a meeting a couple of hours. She says, "The folks from Portland are in town, and I'm taking them out to lunch." Miranda is an orphan, so she isn't talking about her folks (she would have said "my folks" or "parents"); and since she never knew who her father was, but was raised by her single mom, she wouldn't have any other "folks" as parents. "Folks" is a term that is used when speaking about people in general. It's the first definition in the Miriam-Webster dictionary for its use. So, Miranda was clearly talking about clients or business associates she was going to meet who were coming to Seattle from Portland, Oregon.