We open our Christmas movie season with… ELVES, LOVE, CUPCAKES. A serial in three parts.
Katie is the envy of her corporate friends after quitting her job as a tax lawyer to open a bakery. As the movie opens, she’s on a panel about following your dreams, and attendees mob her afterwards to ask admiring questions about how she could be so brave. “You just have to believe,” she says confidently.
From there, she stops in her apartment for a quick minute to change clothes. She writes a check for rent, looking worried. After opening her empty wallet, she sadly RSVPs No to a happy hour invitation. Her closet is full of suits, which she pushes aside to grab her apron.
At the bakery, hours later, sweat is pouring down her face and she’s nearly falling asleep on her feet, but her pies are ready. Cookie dough is done. Scones are baked. No cupcakes… not since The Incident in which her little sister suffered irreparable lung damage. Muffins are cooling on the racks.
Katie looks at the clock and it’s 4 a.m. She can get two hours of sleep before it’s time to get ready for opening.
We see her yawning and heading back to work to open the doors at six. She drinks a big mug of coffee to pep herself up. As she cleans tables and sets out baked goods, she fields a call from her mom. “Everything’s super! Lots of customers.” “Well, honey, I wasn’t so sure about this career move, but I’m so proud of your success,” we hear her mom say.
Throughout the day, Katie deals with customers, negotiates with suppliers, ruins a batch of cookies, graciously replaces an entire pie that a customer drops on the floor, and at the end of the day slumps into a seat alone. “Living the dream,” she says.
“You need help,” her best friend Jordan tells her. Jordan used to help out in the bakery but can’t anymore because she got a new dream job selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door. Katie is thrilled for her but has no idea what she’s going to do now. Jordan says she’ll help hire someone. “It’s going to be tough to find reliable help around the holidays,” says Katie. “How hard can it be?” says Jordan.
They interview a series of bumbling would-be bakers, including one who’s convinced his cookie recipes are far superior to Katie’s even though Katie and Jordan spit them out after a taste. Another drops eggs on the floor, and when she goes to clean them up, she knocks a bucket of soapy water everywhere. Another seems perfect but after she leaves the interview, Katie sees her snarl at a customer and push him out of the way. Sigh. Christmas is coming and she’s barely able to stay awake, let alone pay her bills. Will she have to admit her dream isn’t coming true after all?
Tomorrow, part two… in which a mysterious short man dressed in green will show up to save the day! OR WILL HE?