The movie kicks off in the big city for the annual Jingle Belle's live show. They're knockoff Rockettes. The people love it. I do not. In the middle of it all is Ashley Davis. She's a legend who has apparently been doing the Jingle Belle show for 12 years! Her boss asks to see her one night after a show — she is NOT being aged out, but she IS being replaced. She doesn't even get to finish out the season. She leaves and screams, "AGGHHHHHHHH!" She goes home to watch some Netflix Christmas movies and drown her sorrows in popcorn. Her mom calls and says that, since they know she's too busy to come to them, they're coming to her. They even bought tickets to see The Jingle Belle. She says, "No, no, that won't be necessary. I'll come to you."
So, she heads to her hometown of Sycamore Creek and is dropped off at The Rhythm Room. She immediately gets tangled up in some garland that a hunk is putting up on the lampposts.
The Rhythm Room is the venue her parents own. They hug, and then the parents immediately go to meet with the women who own the building. Turns out, the landlord keeps raising the rent on them, making it hard for the venue to bring in big artists, which makes it hard to make money, which makes it hard to fix the faucets. But who needs money when you have a Luke? Luke is the garland guy from before, who also comes by and helps with repairs when they need him. He agrees to give Ashley a ride to her parents' place, and they spend the ride talking and getting to know each other a little bit.
The next day, she heads down to the venue, and it doesn't take long for Luke to show up shirtless. She finds out that her parents are in quite the bind, and there's a juice bar interested in taking over the lease and back-paying the 6 months' rent they're behind. When all is said and done, her parents are in a $30,000 hole. But something the landlord says inspires Ashley to put together an all-male dance crew that will bring in the people. And who better to lead the revue than shirtless Luke? She'll call them the Merry Gentlemen... THAT'S THE NAME OF THE MOVIE!
Luke is hesitant at first, but if it helps save The Rhythm Room, he'll give it a shot. She recruits the hunky bartender and her sister's husband, who also happens to be a stripper for bachelorette parties. She works on coming up with a routine, and the guys are all taking it seriously. Luke doesn't feel like he's getting it, so she slow dances with him, and the sparks begin to FLY!
It's finally time for the big revue debut, and Luke is freaking out and breathing into a bag. Luckily, Ashley has some tricks that she's picked up to help with nerves.
The tickets are $30 a pop, and the crowd... well, it's a start. But the boys crush it, and the crowd LOVES it.
The night is a success, and the landlord tells Ashley to keep up the great work. Luke congratulates Ashley on her big success, gives her a necklace, and asks to walk her home. They get some pizza and really start to open up to one another. She didn't expect to enjoy directing a show as much as she did.
She finds another dancer, and they start putting together some new dances. Everything is going great! They're even selling out!
But one of the guys slips and falls, spraining his ankle just before showtime. This throws the boys off, and they have to press pause to try to figure something out. Luckily, there's a guy named Danny who is always at the bar doing a crossword puzzle, and he joins in on the fun. It works. Another successful night! After the 12/21 show, they're only about $10,000 short.
Ashley goes to talk to Luke some more in his barn. Talking leads to dancing, and dancing leads to kissing.
They are so close to the $30,000 goal when Ashley gets a call from her old boss — they have a 911 situation, and she needs her back ASAP. They're willing to give her a 25% raise and a 3-year contract. The problem? She needs to be back by the big Christmas Day show. She goes to talk to her parents, and they tell her that she has to take the offer. It's her dream. She texts her boss and takes the offer.
Luke doesn't take the news as well. "The city girls are all the same," he says. "The only reason I was doing this show is because of how inspiring you are."
She heads off to the airport, and he goes on stage to start dancing, but he can't do it. Suddenly, she walks in, and he can dance again. She tells him that she could do it, she couldn't leave. They celebrate with a big kiss — complete WITH A LIFT!
They all celebrate Christmas together with Christmas dinner at The Rhythm Room, and they share one more big ol' kiss!
