‘Christmas Inheritance’ (2017) Review

Christmas Inheritance Synopsis: To be the CEO, an heiress is challenged by her dad to deliver a Christmas letter in person to his ex-partner in their hometown – traveling by bus, incognito and with only $100. Will she learn something from the people there?

After a slight mishap at a Toys for Tots gala, socialite and CEO-in-training Ellen Langford is asked by her father to prove she deserves the family company by traveling to their small hometown, Snow Falls, to hand-deliver a letter to his former partner. She has to travel by bus with only $100 in her pocket. Ellen takes on the challenge, despite the reservations of her fiancé, Gray.

As happens with many of these stories featuring big-city folk visiting small towns full of down-to-earth, kind-hearted people, Ellen’s trip does not start great. She is unsure how bus travel works, her suitcase gets hit by a cab, and her father’s former partner isn’t even in town for Ellen to deliver the letter.

The man who hit her luggage is Jake (Jake Lacy), who can tell Ellen is from the city. He’s also the manager of the inn where Ellen is staying. There is some friction between them initially, but over time (and by time, I mean a day or two), Ellen begins to understand the true meaning of the holiday.

Given Netflix’s track record with rom-coms, I was a bit wary about watching Christmas Inheritance, but I like Jake Lacy and am always a sucker for small-town Christmas movies. Snow Falls is an adorable little town with a diner run by Jake’s aunt Debbie (Andie MacDowell), who also used to date Ellen’s father before he met Ellen’s mother. Besides the obvious, unanswered questions – Ellen only has $100.. how did she afford a room at a gorgeous inn and dinner? Why did she need three pieces of luggage for a one-night trip? Why is there no cell service at all?

Christmas Inheritance was not a wholly terrible movie. I enjoyed it more than some other holiday rom-coms offerings from Netflix. Eliza Taylor may be a spoiled socialite, but she’s never unlikeable or horrible to those around her. She seems to want to make her father happy and prove she can run a multi-million dollar company.

Jake is pretty judgmental of Ellen because we find out his ex dumped him in New York City during Christmas. So I guess any woman from NYC is not to be trusted. Or something. Christmas Inheritance is happy to toss as many tropes into the movie as possible, including Jake being a closeted artist burned by love, Ellen’s fiance being a holiday-hating jerk who doesn’t believe in the family tradition and wants to spend Christmas in Maui.

And, of course, a “twist” that Ellen’s entire trip was planned and supposed to teach Ellen a lesson… but I’m not entirely sure what it was for. She never seemed irresponsible or selfish. She ended up in the tabloids because a donor offered to quadruple the amount of his check at a charity gala if Ellen could vault over a toy train. Maybe her dad wanted to show Ellen what small-town life was like…?

Regardless of the questionable plot, Christmas Inheritance had some cute, if contrived,  moments with a charming setting. Eliza Taylor and Jake Lacy were enjoyable enough to watch on screen. It’s not a great movie, but it’s fun and mindless enough to watch during the season if you want a fluffy holiday rom-com.

Watched: 11.25.2020
Notable Song: Deck the Halls by Clark Beckham