Lifetime
The second of Lifetime’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Lifetime’ double features this week is Christmas in Alaska, a film that was apparently released somewhere in the world in 2024, but is just making its way to a television broadcast in the US, which is odd considering star Marcus Rosner is pretty much a Lifetime regular. But will this film be able to hold a candle to his 2024 Lifetime holiday movie, Engaged by Chirstmas?
From the Lifetime logline: Rival journalists competing for the same lucrative promotion find themselves stuck together in snowy Alaska after their plane is forced to make an emergency landing. As Megan (Emma Johnson) follows her young son’s festive bucket list, and Oliver (Marcus Rosner) puts his family issues aside to help save his sister’s inn, they find themselves caught up in a totally unexpected Christmas romance.
The premise of Christmas in Alaska hinges on the dynamic between Megan and Oliver, with Megan seeming to be the more difficult of the two, at least in the office setting. Oliver comes across as a little more happy-go-lucky, or perhaps it’s just over-confidence, while Megan is a bit more uptight as she is angling for the executive editor position at the magazine they both work for, ‘Voyage Voyage’. With boss Kate retiring, they have both pitched an article about someplace exotic to spend Christmas, and they both chose Tokyo. What better why to really decide who has the chops than to have them write competing articles on the same topic … and sending them both to Tokyo at the last minute — because according to Kate, an executive editor has to be able to be spontaneous and make changes as they come — only days before Christmas? Neither is thrilled to be going anywhere together, and it only gets worse when they get stranded in Alaska. And all of the hotels are booked. (Really, there’s that much tourism in Alaska in the winter right before Christmas?) As luck would have it, Oliver knows a place that can put them up — his estranged sister’s bed and breakfast, The Aurora Inn. The estranged part makes it a little awkward, but Samantha and her husband Logan are more than happy to host them, especially since the new spa down the road has basically sucked up all of their customers, who apparently prefer luxury over rustic charm. Oliver’s niece Talia is ecstatic that her uncle will be there for Christmas (except they are scheduled to leave on Christmas Eve). Once Megan and Oliver settle in, Megan notices an undercurrent of tension between Oliver and Samantha but he refuses to talk about it with either of the women. He learns that Megan is basing her article on her son’s wish list of things to do if he ever went to the North Pole, and since they’re close enough she thinks this will make an ideal way to write her article, especially with Logan being able to help her out with things like ice fishing and cold plunges. She even talks Oliver into joining them, and while he is still at odds with his sister, he’s beginning to let his guard down with Megan to the point that he does something spectacularly special for her, and after he reveals that he’s held a grudge against Samantha since she ran off to Alaska with Logan, leaving him to care for their elderly, ailing parents, his sense of abandonment and loneliness after they both passed has only festered within him. Now that he’s comfortable with Megan, perhaps he can be comfortable enough to have that much needed sit-down with Samantha. They both end up staying in Alaska for Christmas, and as promised Kate has published the article on Christmas Eve by the writer she has decided will take over for her. But who gets the job, and will either of them be able to work under the other even after they’ve found common ground and a little romantic spark? Or does Kate have another surprise up her sleeve?
Christmas in Alaska, like A Runaway Bride for Christmas which preceded it, is just fine as a holiday romance. Even though it’s set in Alaska, and both Megan and Oliver should be out experiencing what the area has to offer, it all just feels a bit claustrophobic as they stay mainly at the inn. There is a moment of ice fishing, a snowshoe walk, and a dog sled ride, but these are brief moments as they both experience what the locals do through Logan, but at the inn. The dark wood paneling of all the rooms also adds to the claustrophobia. And by the end of the movie, you never want to hear anyone talk about hot chocolate until at least next winter because they have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night treats. It’s a wonder any of them could sleep with all that sugar in their systems. All joking aside, the script by Lorraine Brown takes this improbable situation and does what it can to make it feel realistic, but there honestly has to be more to Alaska than what Oliver and Megan experience. It’s bizarrely funny that the only wildlife they, or the audience, see are two ducks that feature in a recurring shot throughout the movie for no specific reason. They just walk along the outside of the fence. So in lieu of actually seeing any of the sights Alaska has to offer, the story really has to focus on the characters and it’s interesting how both Megan and Oliver change once they are out of the office. Megan becomes less uptight and is willing to do anything to write the best article (because she wants that job), while Oliver seems to spend more time sulking and avoiding his sister than he does writing. When the time comes to submit their articles, you may be surprised when Oliver hits the send button. But, it is nice to see the characters grow and begin to understand each other, but do they begin to see romance because of their close proximity or was there something maybe already there? That will be left up to you to decide. Director Dylan Pearce, husband of Ashlee (Samantha), does a fine job shooting in what appears to be very confined spaces in the inn but there is just something missing that keeps this from being as special and entertaining as his Engaged by Christmas (which also starred Marcus Rosner), which even though it was a smaller story had a much grander scale to it. Perhaps it was for budgetary reasons or just the location, but we really should have been shown more of Alaska if that was to be the focus of the articles. It doesn’t seem that what Oliver and Megan experienced would be of interest to the target audience of a publication with a highfalutin’ title like ‘Voyage Voyage’.
While the story and the setting may be a bit lacking, the cast all do some wonderful work. Emma Johnson really manages to take Megan from an uptight, big city writer to a more down-to-earth, relaxed person game for anything once she is taken out of the office setting. She makes the character seem right at home, and she is positively joyful any time she talks to son Daniel on the phone (and she even has a good relationship with ex Rob). Johnson really makes Megan feel like someone you would like to get to know and be friends with. Marcus Rosner is also terrific as Oliver, a bit goofy at work and then more insular once he has to face his sister, easily deflecting any attempt Megan makes to help him open up. He easily shows how Oliver is hurting, and he can push that all down to seem to be enjoying himself as long as he doesn’t have to face Samantha. Rosner’s character can change on a dime when Oliver enters a room and Samantha is there. He also feels like a real person who needs to deal with his personal trauma, but once he breaks through that wall he is a great guy. Rosner shows a nice range in his performance.
Ashlee Pearce is quite natural in her performance as Samantha. She can show that Samantha is happy to have her brother there, but just through her body language she can convey a tension or nervousness that makes the character uncomfortable with Oliver. She also has a sweetness to her, but she does show the stress of losing business to the new resort, and that would make anyone want to help in any way they could. When she and Rosner finally do get to have their big scene together, you can feel both of them relax into their characters as they say their peace. Ryan Northcott is adorably cheerful under any circumstances, always game to show Megan and Oliver something interesting for their articles, ready at a moment’s notice to serve up some hot chocolate. He is like a ray of sunshine at the Aurora Inn. Charlize Adelyn is also always happy as Talia, and she shows how much the girl truly loves her uncle and even gets attached to Megan. Essek Moore is also a happy Daniel, thrilled that his mom wants to use his wish list for her work. Paul Ballin as Rob is the best ex anyone could ask for, clearly doting on Daniel and totally understanding about Megan’s situation of being stuck in Alaska. Stephanie Wolfe rounds out the cast as Kate, a cheerful boss, nothing Anna Wintour-ish about her. Overall, everyone does a great job at making their characters real and relatable.
Like A Runaway Bride for Christmas, Christmas in Alaska is pleasant enough but squanders what could have been a more epic movie (and even though it was shot in Canada, stock footage of the Alaskan vistas would have made all the difference). Instead it wants to focus more on Oliver’s trauma and dealing with that instead of showing the two writers actually competing for a job they both want so badly. Had they made it to Tokyo, they certainly would not have been doing the same exact activities at the same time, so we’re left to wonder what kind of personal spin each of them would have put on their articles. As it stands, it is a fine diversion from a long day, perhaps, and maybe as Christmas rapidly approaches that’s all one needs.
Christmas in Alaska has a run time of 1 hour 27 minutes, and is rated TV-PG.