We all know the format: a woman who moved to the big city returns to her small town — probably with the goal of developing land, closing down small businesses, or otherwise changing it for the worse — only to reconnect with a man she knew from her childhood. Without fail, the two fall in love, the woman from the big city comes to appreciate the charms of the small town, and the two work together to save the town/farm/business, etc.
Photo: Visit Carson City
To Spur Winter Tourism, a Mountain Town Made a Hilarious Christmas Movie Spoof
It’s a tried-and-true format for holiday movies from companies like Hallmark and Netflix, with titles like Small Town Christmas, Christmas with You, and Return to Christmas Creek. Sure, movies will occasionally break the mold — Hot Frosty, for example, tells the story of a young widow bringing a sexy snowman to life — but on the whole, it’s such a cliched plot that you’ll find thousands of social media videos online making fun of the trope.
Photo: Visit Carson City
And this year, one tourism board also decided to get in on the action. Carson City, Nevada, just released a hilarious Christmas video spoof in the genre, designed to convince people to visit the Sierra Nevada town this winter. A Winter’s Charm in Carson City nails the story line, complete with fake shots of a roaring fireplace, a generic hunk forlornly looking over his shoulder at the “big city girl,” cheesy winks to the camera, a true “meet cute,” and montages of the two falling in love over selfies and ice cream.
According to Visit Carson City, the local tourism board that made the movie, its “cheeky storyline checks all the boxes with plenty of holiday romance tropes,” including a “cookie-cutter plot line.” It’s meant to be a funny Christmas movie spoof, but also designed to show off the winter experiences available in Carson City, which sits about 15 miles east of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In the movie, the two just so happen to visit destinations like the twinkle-light-covered Governors Mansion, sprawling networks of hiking trails, a historic railroad museum, and local restaurants with outdoor fire pits.
It’s hilariously on the nose when it comes to parody, with the main character simply saying she lives in “Big City” and a generic park ranger who keeps turning to the camera and pitching Carson City tourism as the other characters look awkward and confused. Naturally, the movie ends with the two deciding to stay together forever in Carson City, complete with whipped-cream-topped hot chocolates appearing seemingly out of nowhere.
Photo: Visit Carson City
Carson City is the capital of Nevada and sits about 10 miles south of Reno, home to Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Close to Carson City are attractions like Virginia City (a former mining town loaded with old-timey bars and historic shops and museums), as well as Lake Tahoe and historic resorts like Carson City Hot Springs and Hope Valley. It’s also close to Genoa, home to the oldest bar in the state, and offers easy access to both a growing Basque food scene in Carson, and a growing celebrity chef food scene in Reno. 