Writer(s): Emily Golden
Starring: Jessica Lowndes, Chad Michael Murray, Dennis Andres and Michael Brown
Taylor Harris (it’s a she) is a librarian who loves to research boring historical topics, as we learn in the over-the-top opening scene where she disproves some kind of historical theory just from reading excerpts from a book, while exchanging over-the-top cringe-smiles with her research partner. But that campy happiness is short-lived,when her boss informs her - in the middle of the library and rather nonchalantly - that funding for the library has been cut, and she is being let go.
She turns to her brother for support, and that’s when he offers her the chance to stay with him and his wife, in Forest Ridge, or whatever the dumb small town is called. She is initially reluctant, but thankfully (is that the right word) agrees to go just so that we have something to watch, besides her looking for jobs during the day, and crying herself to sleep every night.
Tragedy strikes poor Taylor immediately, when during her trek - on dry pavement and during a very mild autumn day - she somehow hits “black ice” and is thrust off the road. Common sense dictates that whoever shows up first is the one she will end up falling for: If that’s the case, it’s Chad Michael Murray! Well, it’s technically Joel, but he is played by Chad Michael Murray.
Joel is a man who has made millions in the tech industry of California, and is in Forest Ridge to turn one of their antiquated hotels into a popular tourist destination. This could potentially be a good idea for a number of reasons - bringing extra jobs to the city, as well as loads of extra money - but of course the old-fashioned townsfolk are quick to refuse the idea. That hotel, the Graff, holds so many good memories that they don’t want to see it turned into some sort of fancy resort.
But why is Joel targeting Forest Ridge out of all the other podunk villages in the world? Why, because he himself was raised there! Gasp!
Taylor takes a liking to Joel, obviously unaware of both his status as a “tech bro” - namely, a douchebag who makes a vast majority of his money in the technology sector (and the type of person Taylor randomly swears off, unprovoked, in a conversion to her friend) - and as the man looking to renovate the beloved hotel. Why would she care? Well, because her own brother works at the Graff as a maintenance man, of course! And he is certain that Joel will wipe out the entire staff if he gets his way.
The only way to save the hotel? To prove that it has past significance to the town, which will then allow it to be registered as a “historical landmark”, thus allowing the city to protect its status and block Joel from gutting it. Hmm…remember when I said Taylor was good at researching things, and how she works at a library? I wonder if she might be the one to find some kind of tie between history and the Graff!
But this puts her in an odd predicament, where she must test her loyalty to her brother, while simultaneously trying to appease the man whom she’s falling in love with. And as these bits of disgustingly escapist entertainment never allow for even a shred of negativity, we know it's all going to end with all of the characters getting exactly what they want, and living a (presumably) happy life together.
Chad Michael Murray is likable as Joel, but this one is just a wayward mess, taking itself far too seriously than it should, and relying far too much on Lowndes's forced smile to carry things along. It's not great, but there's enough here to warrant at least a viewing, assuming either nothing else is available, or you're just looking for some mindless background noise.
ENTERTAINMENT RATING: 5/10
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