Screenplay by: Jeffrey Schenck, Peter Sullivan, Marla Sokoloff
Starring: Britt Robertson, Chad Michael Murray
First, big city girl comes back to her small hometown. Ashley (Britt Robertson) is a Broadway dancer in New York City who gets fired for being too old (I think their words were “not fresh enough”). Then, the first person she meets in the small town is the local handyman. Luke (Chad Michael Murray) helps her parents out and others around town with small repairs, and he apparently does it for free since he’s so kind-hearted. Then, she discovers that her parents’ business, a bar and performance venue called The Rhythm Room, is in dire financial straights and will be closing. And then, and I am really not kidding here, the rom-com tropes just don’t end, if she can find a way to raise $30,000 in 30 days, she can save her parents business.
You might think that casting, designing, choreographing, and producing a successful male dance show would take more than a few days, but you would be wrong, it only took them 10 days, or 30 minutes of movie time to be exact. That is the movie’s saving grace, the strip tease dancing is the only reason to watch it. The faster they get that show up and running, the more time we can actually watch that show. Because the rest of the movie is the most predictable rom-com tropes you can imagine. Including the most unrealistic, idealistic small town called Sycamore Creek, which has a diner, and a bar and a hardware store, and everything is lit up for Christmas. They have seen Gilmore Girls.
I am normally a fan of romantic comedies, and can accept most tropes and plot contrivances that they want to throw at me, but I like it more when there’s genuine warmth involved and an adorable lead couple. The plot here just seems lazy – what’s the easiest and cheapest story to give us an excuse to watch Chad Michael Murray dance shirtless? This was the answer.
With all that said, does the world need more sexy Christmas rom-coms? Yes, it does. And The Merry Gentlemen does its part.
Want a different Christmas movie or just more holiday-themed movies?Holiday Movies
