"Christmas in the Clouds": A refreshing take on a familiar plot
An agreeable little romantic comedy set in a breathtaking mountainside resort, "Christmas in the Clouds" plays a bit like "Fawlty Towers," Native American-style. Written and directed by first-timer Kate Montgomery, it wrings a bit of freshness from a very old plot: the mistaken-identity love story.
Ray Clouds on Fire (Tim Vahle) is the manager of his tribe's struggling ski resort (played, quite nicely, by Robert Redford's Sundance Resort). When he hears that a critic from a posh guidebook will soon arrive to rate the resort, he's thrilled — particularly when the critic turns out to be a knockout from New York named Tina (lovely Mariana Tosca).
Only problem: She's not a critic, but is a young widow who's been carrying on a pen-pal correspondence with Ray's father, Joe (Sam Vlahos), thinking Joe is a younger man. She meets Ray, thinks he's Joe, and we're off to the races. Meanwhile, the real critic (M. Emmet Walsh) shows up and experiences numerous calamities because everyone's busy making sure Tina's having a pleasant stay.
Cast predominantly with Native American actors, "Christmas in the Clouds" feels like it takes place in a real community, with people who seem like longtime co-workers and friends. There's an occasional amateurishness to the proceedings: Some of the editing, particularly the person-to-person cuts during conversations, feels awkward and chopped, and a few of the performers aren't quite at ease on camera.
And the distributor's emphasis on "Christmas in the Clouds" as a family film (it's been billed, erroneously, as the holiday season's only PG-rated release) doesn't seem quite accurate: It's hard to imagine kids having much interest in what's essentially a romantic comedy, with a night of (unseen) casual sex between two people who don't really know each other serving as a crucial plot point.
But these flaws are redeemed by the film's genuine sweetness and how Montgomery manages to make even a holiday sing-along neither saccharine nor forced. And two performances steal the movie: a gray mouse in a handmade feather headdress and a very deadpan Graham Greene ("Dances with Wolves") as the resort's frustrated vegetarian chef.
As he delivers a tableside eulogy for a now-eaten buffalo ("We called him Kevin"), you can't help but smile. "Christmas in the Clouds" is that kind of movie; not quite laugh-out-loud funny, but pleasant, going down as smoothly as that buffalo.
Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com
"Christmas in the Clouds," with Tim Vahle, Mariana Tosca, Sam Vlahos, M. Emmet Walsh, Graham Greene. Written and directed by Kate Montgomery. 97 minutes. Rated PG for mild sexual content and some language. Lincoln Square, Uptown. Tosca will be present for the opening-night screenings at Lincoln Square.