Snowed-Inn Christmas is a 2017 American-Canadian made-for-television romantic comedy film directed by Gary Yates, from a screenplay by Carley Smale.
[1] Two writers for a New York magazine, Jenna Hudson and Kevin Jenner, are given the task of writing an article on a resort in Aspen, Colorado, with the author of the piece that attracts the most clicks being given a promotion.
With no way to get to Aspen and no place to stay, they are taken up by Chris and Carol Winters, a local couple who enjoy portraying Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus during the holidays.
The two spend time together – including visiting Kevin's family, who happen to live an hour's drive away – and begin to warm to each other.
As the flight is about to leave, Jenna realizes that Andrew is not right for her, and instead she goes to Kevin's family's house for Christmas, and the two declare their love for one another.
"[1] As to writing for a Christmas themed production, Smale notes there are parameters to what the studios are looking for, but the fun is in the characters placed in the story.
[10] Joy Lenz revealed the story line and set gave her the feeling of acting in "something that might have come from the Doris Day era", and that she was delighted with the prospect of doing an old-fashioned romantic comedy.
[11] Lenz asked the network to allow her and co-star Andrew Walker to create a music video for the movie, using the Lane and Freed song How About You?
[9] On the set Walker and Lenz were given license to rework scenes or craft completely new ones to give it more of a natural feel.
[11] Working off each other, Lenz and Walker would ad-lib and inject physical comedy into the story to create a more dynamic interaction between the characters.
[13][14][15] While noting the movie stays within a holiday rom-com formula, Jenna Guillaume of Junkee believed the film succeeded in its execution.
In addition, Smale's Santa story avoided being "heavy-handed, instead functioning more as a vehicle to explore ~the spirit of Christmas~ and the romance of whimsy.