The movie kicks off with great animation, and that's how you know you're dealing with a heavy-hitter flick. We meet Avery, a school teacher who makes toddlers give speeches about Christmas ornaments. She loves crossword puzzles and juice boxes. While she's in the teacher’s lounge, other teachers keep congratulating her, but she has no idea why. Her best friend Ruby explains that she signed her up to be a competitor on The Great Holiday Dash, something that is definitely NOT The Amazing Race. Avery is not thrilled.
Cut to Andrew Walker, selling juice—a real stretch for my boy AW. His character’s name is Wes, a retired professional athlete looking for his next big thing, and it turns out that next big thing is The Great Holiday Dash.
Avery thinks it over and realizes it could be a great way to bring attention to her school and maybe even get some extra funding. So she starts training, even though she’s never done anything like this before. She ends up meeting Wes at the gym, and it does not go well. Classic treadmill situation.
The competition begins, and Wes is shocked to see Avery from the gym there. The game is simple: there’s one silver bell hidden somewhere in America. The first one to find it wins. But this year, the contestants won’t compete individually—they’ll team up in pairs. Naturally, Avery and Wes are teamed up. The game kicks off with one team being eliminated after the first round. Luckily, Avery and Wes crack enough nuts to move on to the second round, which takes them to Boston. The next game involves shooting pucks, which works great for Wes.
Producer Dirk pulls Wes aside and tells him to flirt more with Avery for the ratings—“Wes, you’re the star! A little flirting will really boost the numbers.” That night, Wes and Avery actually connect. Gotta hate when that happens.
The next day, they head to New York City for a window display competition. Instead of immediately diving into the task, they spend more time talking and getting to know each other. Their theme is “Three French Hens,” so they go with a French theme for their display, and it looks amazing—almost like professionals came in afterward and finished it for them. And good for them—they WIN the round! They hug, and Producer Dirk tells Wes, “Good job.”
Next, they head to Texas for a dance contest. This competition is a little weird, but their dance quickly turns sexy, and they win again.
After a hitchhiking detour, they assume they’re out, but surprise—they’re not! So that’s a relief. They head to Oregon for the next round, but first, there’s an extracurricular gift exchange, for reasons that are unclear.
Avery and Wes make it to the finals, and the sparks are flying. However, when Avery overhears a conversation between Wes and the producer, she gets really mad. What she doesn’t hear, though, is Wes telling the producer that he doesn’t want to play the game anymore because he’s really into her.
The producer tells her about Wes’ feelings right before the final competition. They do a crossword puzzle and race to find the best gift under the tree. Wes falls and hurts his leg, so Avery continues on alone—and wins!!!
They celebrate by announcing what they’re going to do with their prize money—both plan to give back to the community.
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