"Christmas in Mississippi" holds up well as a Christmas and holidays film. The plot is simple, but it's different enough, and with a setting and romance that are unusual enough, that one stays interested and entertained by this film. There isn't snow for a white Christmas in this TV movie set in Gulfport, Mississippi. A couple of scenes show the Gulf coast and coastal highway by the town, which is holding its first Christmas light show in five years.. That's because the town has been rebuilding from a hurricane (fictional) that devastated the town five years earlier.

Holly Logan is returning home to be with her mom, Caroline, for the first time since her dad died three years before. She has been in New York as a free-lance photographer and is in the running for a photo editor job with a major magazine. Considering that this was set in 2017, far into the electronic and computer age with the demise of many print publications, that's quite a stretch too. But, also back home the past year has been her childhood sweetheart and former boyfriend. They haven't seen each other for nearly 10 years, and she is bitter about their break-up. But neither of them have married.

And now, she finds out that Mike has been put in charge of resurrecting the city's light show and festivities. But he too had been gone, and Holly gradually learns about his background and why and how he happened to return to their hometown. Besides her mother, Caroline, there are some other key people with interesting parts of the story. One is Mike's 10-year-old nephew, Jack, who is under his care while his dad is on active Army duty overseas. Another is Mr. Kriss who is in town to play Santa Clause; Mr. McGuire is a friend of Caroline. Benny and Betty are friends of Mike and a couple who have just become engaged.

The story is pleasant, somewhat engaging, and keeps one interested in if and how Mike and Holly will get back together. The story doesn't end her though, until the light festival the following year. Most people should enjoy this as a romance and family movie for the holidays. Here are a couple favorite lines.

Holly Logan, to her mom, "I can't believe you still have this pickup." Caroline, "Of course I do. It was your father's pride and joy." Holly, "I thought I was his pride and joy." Caroline, "You were. He love you just as much as he loved this truck."

Mike, leaving with Holly for an evening date, "Uh, Caroline, I promise to have her back before Christmas."

'Christmas in Mississippi' on paper didn't overly excite me. The title is fairly uninspired and the story formulaic-sounding. Yet my love of Christmas, the positive reviews and having seen a lot of films and television episodes that sound nothing special on paper but manage to be executed quite beautifully in a way that was quite unexpected. Haven't seen enough of Jana Kramer's filmography to judge her properly but have liked Wes Brown and Barry Bostwick in other things, even the bad stuff.

To my relief, 'Christmas in Mississippi' was a lot better than anticipated and was utterly charming and lovely to watch. It is a lot more interesting than the title suggests and the story synopsis in my mind doesn't do enough justice to the feels felt watching. That's of course from my experience and not everybody will agree. 'Christmas in Mississippi' thankfully does not try to do too much or bite off more than it could chew, but a lot of effort clearly went into the film and there is a lot to like.

Am going to mention those things first. One of the best aspects was the scenery, which looks stunning and captured in its full glory by the always attractive photography, courtesy of a crew that clearly loved the setting. The music is not overused or overbearing, have seen this with a lot of Christmas films (Hallmark have a reputation for too loud and intrusive music in their festive output). The direction is sympathetic but never routine. The performances are all great.

Brown is a very charming and always natural leading man and Bostwick steals his screen time. Kramer's performance has gotten a more mixed response, personally found her very winning in her role and didn't find her bland at all. Her chemistry with Brown felt genuine and the relationship itself didn't feel rushed or stuck in a rut. The writing on the whole didn't feel mushy and never had too much of the cheese factor. Loved the portrayal of the community and its spirit, a lovely touch and realistic. The story may not do much new, but it has a nice light-hearted energy, is heart-warming and has an immense amount of charm.

It's not perfect. It does sappy at times in the middle act.

Some suspension of disbelief is also needed towards the end.

Otherwise, surprisingly good. 8/10.

There are only so many Christmas romcom stories and plot devices. This movie uses a few of them, but weaves them together well and maybe with a new twist or two. We have the high school sweethearts, Holly and Mike, whose relationship didn't end well. There is a cute kid and in this case his Dad is in the military overseas while Mike, his uncle takes care of him. There is an important job at stake as the holiday approaches. There is the small town banding together. And probably more.

It's how you tell the story that makes it good or bad. In this case the writers put together a number of good elements and interlaced them to make special things happen. There are a few very heartwarming moments, at least one surprising, but also some that aren't. The surprising one really grabbed me leaving tears in my eyes.

Jana Kramer was delightful and her Holly even had a funny embarrassing moment or two. But her chemistry with Wes Brown's Mike was fun to watch. They worked through past hurts, endured a fresh misunderstanding and then went on to redevelop their friendship and more. Trace Masters did his job as Jack pulling on our heartstrings. Faith Ford was also solid as Holly's mom.

As usual with Christmas romcoms things get sappy and maybe stretch credulity a little, but for lovers of this kind of story, this is a good one. I recommend it even for the casual Christmas romantic.