[1] A parody of the Hallmark Channel lineup of romantic Christmas television movies, the film stars Storm Steenson as Mary, a journalist who returns to her hometown of Snowy Heights to write a story about smalltown Christmas cheer, only to meet and fall in love with Chris, the owner of a hot chocolate shop at risk of failing due to the impending launch of a corporate chain competitor next door.

[2] The cast also includes Liam Marshall as Chris's brother Keith; Jacob Hogan as Arthur, a British time traveller who insists that everybody must pronounce his name Authuh; and Helly Chester as town busybody Mrs.

[3] The film's broad humour, and parody of genre tropes, have been compared by critics to Airplane!, The Naked Gun and the Scary Movie series.

[2] For CTV News, Richard Crouse rated the film three stars, opining that "Essentially Cup of Cheer is a series of bad puns strung together with tinsel.

Its commitment to Christmas clichés, wordplay and double entendre gags is truly remarkable but Jake Horowitz, director and co-writer (with Andy Lewis), keeps things lively with quick pacing.