Nestled in the snowy streets of Bedford, Ohio, “Fall Into Winter” is a delicious mix of romance and small-town charm that has made it to the top of the Netflix list. This holiday treat is about a candy maker named Kerrie Murphy, whose life turns upside down faster than a batch of chocolate melting.
The story starts with a well-known turn of events: Kerrie’s brother Jake says he’s leaving their family’s favorite candy store, Murphy’s, and moving to London—not the one in Ohio, but the one across the Atlantic. Jake sells his share of the business to Brooks McLead, Kerrie’s old enemy and the last person she’d want as a business partner. This makes Kerrie’s life very disorganized.
Brooks isn’t like most people who elope from their jobs. He leaves his life in New York City and returns to Bedford, where he wants to change the neighborhood candy shop. The next scene is a delightful clash of personalities: Kerrie, the candy maker who loves tradition, and Brooks, the businessman who talks easily but has big ideas. Things don’t go as smoothly when they first meet as a lumpy chocolate batch. There’s tension, a sense of competition, and sparks that point to more than just business rivalry.
As the town’s yearly Winterfest approaches, Kerrie and Brooks have to figure out not only how to make Candy but also how to deal with their complicated past and surprising attraction to each other. The story looks like it will be even sweeter than the chocolate snowflakes they’re making, with just the right amount of tension to keep people interested until the end.
Candy, Chemistry, and Character Complications
Lori Loughlin plays Kerrie Murphy. She is a candy maker from a small town whose life is as well-organized as her chocolate displays. On the other hand, her act is as subtle as a chocolate truffle that isn’t quite round. Loughlin has difficulty convincing viewers that she’s more than just a polished TV star playing dress-up in a small town, even though her character is deeply rooted in her family’s candy-making practice.
Kerrie is the perfect holiday romance lead: she is highly protective of her family business, doesn’t like change, and has been angry at her new business partner for ten years. Her character arc says she will change, but it gives us more certainty than real growth. From what I’ve read, she’s not a complicated character; she’s more like a walking collection of rom-com tropes.
Brooks McLead, played by James Tupper, is the classic corporate refugee who becomes a small-town business owner. He was the bad guy in high school and might become your love interest. He gives the cute Murphy’s Candy a businesslike look. Even though the characters could be interesting, Tupper seems stuck in a story that doesn’t let him go beyond what you’d expect from a love comedy.
The supporting characters break up the monotony of the main plot in small ways. Alexandra and Adam, who work at the shop and are a local chef, have a secondary story that is sweet but frustratingly underdeveloped. Their friendship is crammed into just three minutes on screen, and it’s more of a plot device than an important part of the story.
The chemistry between Loughlin and Tupper seems forced, and “Fall Into Winter” lacks the sparkly drama that would have made it stand out. People watching feel their interactions are more like contractual duties than real love discoveries. They want something more real and less fake.
Ultimately, the characters live in a world that looks more like a postcard than a real place. Everything is perfectly set up and sterile, and there isn’t the messy realism that makes human ties so interesting.
Sweet Tensions and Sugary Resolutions
The story of “Fall Into Winter” unfolds like a batch of holiday candy: the ingredients are mixed with mechanical precision, but there isn’t a surprising spark that would make it more than just formulaic storytelling. The story is mostly about Kerrie Murphy’s delicate world of Candy, which is upended when her brother Jake decides to sell his business share to Brooks McLead, her rival in high school.
The story starts with Jake’s sudden exit from London, which immediately creates tension. Brooks comes to Murphy’s Candy with big plans to bring it up to date. He is fresh from working in business in New York City. His ideas are very different from those of Kerrie, who is stuck in the past. This creates a work battleground that is ripe with romantic potential.
In the side story, Brooks’s ex-girlfriend Erin Smythe offers him a high-level job as COO, a common way to make romantic doubt at the last minute. This possible job opening is a turning point that tests Brooks’s fresh dedication to the candy business and his growing bond with Kerrie.
Once the problems are solved, Winterfest is the perfect place for a holiday romance, where problems melt away like chocolate in warm hands. In the end, Brooks decides to put love and small-town charm ahead of corporate desire, turning down the COO job after a chocolatey epiphany. The predictable but satisfying ending sees Murphy & McLead Candy open, representing their union in their personal and business lives.
The plot has all the typical elements of the genre: initial hostility, increased understanding, outside temptation, and finally, a happy ending. Even though it’s not original, the story is exactly what people expect from romantic holiday comedies: comfort food for the eyes.
Winter’s Visual Confection
“Fall Into Winter” turns Bedford, Ohio, into a beautiful snow globe of holiday romance, with every frame appearing to have been carefully chosen to evoke the most winter love. The story is told through cinematography with a soft, dreamy look, equal parts memories and pure visual sugar.
Murphy’s Candy becomes the visual focal point. It’s a cute, tastefully decorated place that looks more like a holiday postcard than a real business. Pure white snowflakes, shiny chocolate displays, and surfaces that look too clean to touch create a clean version of small-town America that only lives in romantic comedies. The candy shop is more than just a place; it’s a character that stands for family, custom, and the sweet possibility of making connections you didn’t expect.
The winter background creates a classic soft-focus setting perfect for romance. The snow-covered streets, twinkling lights, and warm interiors all work together to create a magical feeling of closeness. Every scene seems to have been filtered through a thick layer of powdered sugar, making the world look so perfect that it almost seems like a dream.
Even though the photography is meant to be magical, it feels more fake than real. The art style turns into a shiny covering that can’t compensate for the story’s lack of depth. This is a great example of style trying (but only partly succeeding) to stand in for real story content.
Conversations Sweeter Than Candy
“Fall Into Winter” has conversation that moves like a chocolate truffle dropped on a warm sidewalk: sticky, predictable, and a little painful to watch. The script reads like it was put together from a relationship movie template, with lines so overused anyone could have written them.
There is a scene where Kerrie dramatically pulls out her phone, supposedly to check for messages. Still, she sees a badly staged screenshot that says “no new messages.” This scene makes me cringe. It’s the kind of funny moment that accidentally happens and shows how weak the script’s story is.
Kerrie and Brooks’s small talk tries to build love tension. Still, it sounds like it was made by a computer program that only wants to make the most generic rom-com exchanges possible. There are tired candy jokes that try to be funny but don’t work. They could power a whole drinking game, but drinking might be the only way to enjoy the script’s linguistic gymnastics.
The worst parts are the forced conversations about Jake’s “experimental candy phase” and Brooks’ high school nickname for Kerrie, “Bean,” which sounds more like a rejected sitcom plot point than real character growth.
In the end, the story shows that substance is often sacrificed for predictability in holiday romantic comedies. The story is like a soufflé that never quite rises; it’s flat, lackluster, and needs a lot of spice.
Melting Grudges, Sweetening Connections
“Fall Into Winter” tells a story about gradual, easy changes rather than big ideas. The main idea is about second chances, both in love and business. Kerrie and Brooks are two characters stuck in their ideas about the past.
Their relationship becomes a metaphor for making Candy: two parts that don’t seem to go together slowly come together to make something that works well. The high school grudge that used to shape their interactions slowly fades away, like sugar melting into chocolate to make it smooth. Brooks’ sudden return and business partnership help Kerrie grow by questioning her rigid views and his business-focused thinking.
The disagreement at work is a metaphor for a bigger change in one’s life. Their different approaches to business—Kerrie’s traditional way of doing things versus Brooks’ plans for modernization—reflect their journeys of coming to terms with things and compromising. Every task is a chance to break down a wall, whether it’s an emotional wall or a wall about how to make Candy.
Forgiveness turns out to be the secret factor that holds their story together. Teenagers used to feel bad about the Winter Snowball Dance episode. Still, now it’s a turning point for understanding between everyone. The real story arc is how they got past past misunderstandings. This shows that personal and professional relationships can be fixed with understanding and honest conversation.
Ultimately, the movie sends a simple message: we grow when we’re ready to forget about first views and give second chances a chance.
Deliciously Predictable or Cinematically Stale?
“Fall Into Winter” turns out to be the perfect holiday romance comedy—a sweet treat that’s easy to guess what will happen and easy to forget. It’s like a mass-produced chocolate truffle: it’s perfectly satisfying but lacks depth or surprise.
The movie delivers exactly what the genre promises: a snow-covered love story where love wins, business foes become partners, and personal growth is as easy as chocolate melting. The actors Lori Loughlin and James Tupper do a great job with their parts, but their chemistry seems more fake than real.
Technically, the movie is a rom-com because it takes place in a small town, there is professional rivalry, unresolved high school tension, and a perfectly timed job chance that tests the commitment of the main characters. The plot is so well-known that a romance comedy algorithm could have planned it.
“Fall Into Winter” is a movie that people who want comfort food to watch while they wrap holiday gifts or drink hot cocoa will enjoy. Although it won’t push your thinking or give you anything new, this book will satisfy your need for a typical holiday romance.
Call for action? Perfect for people who love romantic comedies and watch many movies over the holidays. You should look elsewhere if you want depth, nuanced writing, or real emotional complexity. This is just pure movie sugar—sweet, enjoyable for a short time, but ultimately not very good for you.
The Review
Fall Into Winter
The holiday romantic comedy "Fall Into Winter" does exactly what it says it will do and nothing more. Like a mass-produced chocolate truffle, it's well-made but has no character. The movie relys too much on genre tropes and expected plot points, riding on the familiar charm of small-town romance. It might please die-hard fans of holiday romantic comedies, but it doesn't give anything new or memorable. Lori Loughlin and James Tupper do a great job with their parts, but their chemistry is more like a contract than a spark. The plot flits back and forth between forced humor and fake emotion, making the movie less heartwarming and more lukewarm.
PROS
- Picturesque winter setting
- Familiar and comfortable romantic comedy formula
- Professional performances by Lori Loughlin and James Tupper
CONS
- Predictable plot
- Lack of genuine chemistry between lead actors
- Cliché-ridden dialogue
- Minimal character depth
- Overly manufactured romantic tension
