Christmas on the Range

7.8 stars

'Christmas on the Range' is my favorite Hallmark ranch adventure thus far. Maybe not my favorite romance on a ranch, but for farm and cowboy themes, this takes the cake. The reason for it is because there is actual drama and tension and it's more authentic than most.

First of all, you have a son who has been estranged from his father for years because of a feud between two families. His father is apparently the "villain" of the story. This is beyond standard Hallmark conflict and adrenaline. For Hollywood this would be considered light drama and action, and is obviously blunted for the Hallmark audience. There is even a physical altercation, almost nonexistent for the average family oriented "romance". However, this is not a romance film by any means. That aspect is downplayed, but still sweet with the limited amount afforded us. They certainly make up for the lack in the last 7 minutes, but it should've have come sooner.

The primary story is about a long history of anger and resentment that Clint's (Gonzalez) father Brick (Martinez) has harbored toward Kendall's (Cahill) family for decades. The cause is not immediately shown and we have to stick around for about 90 minutes before it's revealed. At the start, Clint and Kendall begin a shaky friendship based on misconceptions and bitterness due to the feud between their families. Eventually they discover there is much more to this squabble than they realized and immediately get to work figuring out how to mend fences. With the help of Clint's mom (Wagner) and the townsfolk, maybe it will work itself out, but Brick is a tougher nut to crack than anticipated.

The actors are at their best, this is a first-rate campaign featuring a cowgirl vs the ranch baron.

This is a different kind of Christmas movie: it has more drama and conflict than your typical Christmas romance film. At the center of the story is Kendall Riley (played by Erin Cahill). Kendall runs the family ranch, which she inherited from her father, and is one inspection away from having The Last Chance Ranch certified organic. Clint McCree (played by Nicholas Gonzalez), our other protagonist in this story, has come home to visit and help his sick father (Brick McCree, played by A Martinez) on the family ranch (which borders Kendall's land). The two families have a troubled past. As Christmas approaches, Kendall faces the real possibility that she may lose the ranch due to some dirty tactics used by her neighbor. However, she receives help from a questionable individual: i.e., the neighbor's son Clint. The story is more than simply a romance between Kendall and Clint. The sub-plots try to dig a bit deeper into troubled family relationships between father (Brick) and son (Clint) and (former) husband (Brick) and wife (Lillian, played by Lindsay Wagner). These family dynamics, of course, represent challenges to the leads' romance/relationship along the way. The story engaged me, that is, it pulled me in from the start. The writers do a decent job of developing the main characters in this; they are a bit damaged; they feel a bit more real. The story/script has a bit of a light side to it as well, with some humorous scenes involving snooping and gossiping friends and towns' folk. The acting, overall, was strong. Cahill and Gonzalez both had convincing performances. Moreover, the chemistry between the two worked well on screen, I thought. The supporting cast also had a good performance. Martinez and Wagner both had strong performances individually, though, I thought, their chemistry was a bit lacking. The movie also provides some beautiful scenic views of the ranch/landscape. We do get a couple of scenes that try to instill a bit of Christmas spirit and cheer as well. All in all, as another reviewer on here said, this one is "a nice change from the usual stuff" this holiday season. It is an entertaining new edition to UPtv's Christmas movie lineup.

This was a really good Christmas movie Clayton Georgia so beautiful.

The cast Erin Cahill Nicholas Gonzales A Martinez Lindsay Wagner great cast lots of good support cast.

I assumed this would be another run-of-the-mill Christmas movie. It has a slightly darker feel so I sort of found the uptempo festive music slightly at odds - but it comes together in the end. There is a bit of light relief in the salon - which also feels disconnected but ties in eventually. The salon slightly reminds me of Runaway Bride so I have expected Erin Cahill to come in and make a platypus face, but alas no. Ultimately this is still a feel-good movie and in some ways the bitterness makes it sweeter. Also, the end credits are quite quirky and definitely unique to this movie - raises the festive nature after the struggles.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was well acted, a cut above many of the Hallmark/Gac/UP movies in my opinion. While I wouldn't really call this a Christmas movie per se there was smatterings of Christmas here and there and some places were nicely decorated for Christmas.

The two leads, both very good looking, had great chemistry! The story unfolds slowly as does the romance which kept me engrossed in the story/movie. There was action, romance, angst, anger, humor, jealousy and Love! All human emotions played out perfectly in this unfolding drama with a touch of Christmas.

I loved seeing the ever gorgeous and great actress Lindsay Wagner. I really hope we see more of her in the future.

The other actors in the movie did a great job and they all brought a lot of humor to the movie.

I will rewatch this movie again next Christmas. I highly recommend this movie.