Hallmark Channel

The cover to Checkin’ it Twice featuring Ashley and Scott in their soon-to-be romance

Small-town boy meets busy city girl. They fall in love. He has abandonment issues. She’s afraid of getting hurt.

This is the stereotypical Hallmark movie that I see at least five times every year, and Checkin’ it Twice is no exception to this holiday movie formula. Ashley (Kim Matula), has just come home for the holidays after a recent breakup with her boyfriend, whom she promised to bring home for Christmas. Scott (Kevin McGarry) is a minor league hockey player recently demoted to the middle of nowhere to play for a team in Idaho Falls. 

These traits, of course, lead to them having the perfect meet cute when they both run into each other while trying to pay for their food in the airport. Due to a series of ideal Hallmark coincidences, their credit cards get swapped, and they are forced to meet again. 

Thanks to some classic holiday-movie magic, Scott happens to be living in her family’s guest house in their backyard, and they are forced to spend Christmas together. Scott’s dad was a famous hockey player, but he chose hockey over his son, which led Scott to feel the need to fulfill that legacy. His main goal is to leave Idaho Falls immediately and forget the entire thing as soon as possible.

Ashley—who once had similar goals—is coming home for Christmas after moving out to New York to be a realtor, but she’s finding herself much happier in the slower and more familiar life near her family in Idaho Falls. 

Honestly, this movie really surprised me; from the trailer, I wasn’t expecting much. I think one of the things that made this movie significantly better than some of the copy-paste Christmas movies I’ve seen before was the dialogue. The way the characters speak, even if it’s a bit cringy, is natural and more reflective of how people talk in real life.

This was a movie scenario that I found more realistic; although their meeting was some unlikely movie magic, their interactions and relationship flowed smoothly and didn’t feel as fabricated as many other Christmas movies often do. There may have been some of the unrealistic scenarios that you’ll only ever find on your screen, of course, but as far as realism goes, this movie blew away some of the ones I’ve seen so far.

There was natural chemistry between the actors, which immediately made the movie ten times better. And, of course, Scott had the trait that every Hallmark man needs: being good with kids. Although this movie was stereotypical and predictable, I still found it enjoyable from start to finish. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quick film to kick off the holiday season.

Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas hasn’t always lived up to its expectations, but this movie brings in a great beginning and gives me hope for similarly cozy holiday movies this Christmas.