Is it really too much to ask the writers to create two likable leads? Not perfect or amazing or genius people-just likable enough to care about their little twists and turns to romance land. How hard it is it to nail that one key element, especially since holiday romance fans will gladly swallow predictable plots and cheesy tropes, as long they're charmed by leads with even a little chemistry? Once Upon a Main Street commits the cardinal sin of crossing the line between banter, even a prickly back-and-forth, versus obnoxious bickering. Prickly can be good, we enjoy it to a point, because it keeps us on our toes, and prickly chemistry is only inches from sparks. But bickering grates. Like getting hit over the head. In the case of Once Upon a Main Street, it means getting hit over the head for half the movie by two overbearing, cranky leads. All wrapped in a more nonsensical plot than usual. I never warmed to Amelia (Vanesssa Lachey), starting when raved at the realtor. She had a hard Me, Me, Me! vibe. From their first confrontation as strangers, Amelia either lied or was just nasty; either way it was telling. If their roles were flipped, I couldn't picture Vic (Ryan McPartlin) doing the same. Or her sharing the hotel room if she had it first. The one bright spot was director Polly Draper's Rowena, an erratic ceramicist who stole every scene she was in. Too bad there weren't more of them. Honestly, if I wasn't cooking something complicated, I would've hit delete when this one failed the 15 minute test.

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