A Very Country Christmas: Homecoming

Fans of UPtv's Very Country Christmas will not be disappointed in this third instalment of the movie series starring Greyston Holt as Zane (a famous country singer). The story is warm, funny, and entertaining. The writer did a good job building on the previous two films. The script/story does not try to do too much (I mean that in a good way), but rather focuses on developing the relationship between the characters. Holt's performance was strong. He looks like a country singer, not a bad voice either. This genre of film suits him well. The supporting cast was good. It was a cute performance by Raven Stewart as Quinn (the daughter). Rob Stewart's performance was strong in what arguably was a more challenging role to play. I liked the two radio jockeys, especially their scene with Cake (the over the top pop star played by Charlotte Hegele). The movie ended with a couple of nice musical performances: first by Deana Carter (as Jolene) and then by Zane and Quinn. The latter was very heartfelt; Raven Stewart has a beautiful voice. Indeed, in the last 20 minutes or so the movies instils a bit of Christmas cheer and holiday spirit. Finally, fans will be happy with the ending as it suggests a fourth installment of the Very Country Christmas series.

I really enjoyed the first one (haven't seen the second one) but this time around, Bea looks like she could. Not. Care. Less. You'd think the honeymoon phase is portrayed as happy and a couple absolutely besotted with each other but I could sense the awkwardness from my couch. These 2 have 0 chemistry and I feel as though Greyston tried to put in the effort for the sake of the movie, but Bea's terrible acting convinced me she hated making this third movie.

This is the third instalment in the "A Very Country" trilogy. Don't you just love a rom-com trilogy? If you liked A Very Country Christmas and A Very Country Wedding then you will adore this film. The paparazzi are back to put a wrench in their post honeymoon plans. These two are really in the grove and their chemistry really shows on screen.

If you liked the 1st and 2nd Zane/Jeanette movies, you will probably like this one also. There really isn't very much depth to the storyline, so if you didn't see part 1- A Very Country Christmas 2017 or part 2- A Very Country Wedding 2019, this movie will probably feel like it rambles all over with no point. Some characters from the 2nd movie were given small parts that seemed unnecessary. Though there are some clips from the 1st movies, it would be better to record it and watch them all in order.

I was really looking fwd to it because I love movies with music star themes, I did love the 1st 2, and I like Greyston Holt. The absolute best part of the movie is the Quinn/Zane duet near the end. It was a uniquely beautiful song.

One major point - in my program guide, this movie is listed with the correct title but the date and synopsis from A Country Chrismas. I took a chance that the new movie would air, and luckily it did.

I had so enjoyed the first two movies in this series that I bought a US DVD so I could watch it before its wider release. I really like Bea Santos and Greyson Holt and the first movie, particularly had a real spark to it. Sadly, the third one doesn't. It leans quite heavily on the awful 'Cake' which seems to tilt it towards being a comedy, while the introduction of the bereaved Grandfather takes it in the opposite direction. Raven Stewart is cute as ever, and now she can sing, too, but Bea Santos didn't seem to have her heart in it at all, which was the real disappointment because she was so great in the first two. Perhaps she recognised that the theme has run its course. My betting is that there won't be a forth one, however much we fans might have wished for it but I look forward to seeing Bea in something that stretches her undoubted talent next time and may that be soon.