User reviews

While the story works OK for a 'cute' movie and is very family friendly, I found the main couple (Mary and Jack - such original names!) in this movie to have no chemistry at all. None! In fact, Mary seemed downright embarrassed and uncomfortable around Jack, especially when he brought up any serious topics. And as for Jack, after watching this actor in many of the Stargate shows, I know he is capable of much better acting and have no idea why he was pigeonholed into something like this.

The show was ultimately not realistic, and Mary would have known better than to go begging about how her project was a labor of love - very unprofessional. The story line was very amateur at times, with plenty of time dedicated to watching everyone be called to dinner and eating, Mary and the family all joining in for care-taking, etc. While an instance or two of this is good and emphasized family involvement, showing it over and over again was tedious overkill and added nothing to the plot. It was almost as if they were looking for filler fluff.

Overall, fine for a family showing, with good moral lessons, but lacking if you were looking for anything more.

'Christmas Lodge', yet another recently seen Christmas film seen during my favourite holiday, could have gone either way. It could either have been very charming, cute and heart-warming, which is more my idea of what a Christmas film should be like. Or it could have been too schmaltzy and forced with unsubtle moralising. There are quite a number of examples of both extremes around, as well as a fair share of festive films that have elements of both and induce mixed feelings with me.

One Christmas film that fits into both camps and has elements of all the above is 'Christmas Lodge'. There is much to like, one can see why it would connect with viewers and the effort that was put in. For me though, for all its good intentions and that it had its heart in the right place, 'Christmas Lodge' was not a great (or even particularly good) film and it is not hard to see why there are people that didn't care for it (also understand, and share some of, their reasoning). Left me mixed if anything.

Will start with the good things. It's a good looking film, with the best aspect of 'Christmas Lodge' being the luscious scenery which the photography complements beautifully. The music avoids being too constant or over-scored and captures the essence of Christmas quite well. The acting to me seemed better than average (which is not an opinion shared by everybody) despite less than average roles, with likeable performances from Erin Karpluk and Michael Shank and an absolutely adorable dog.

There are moments of real charm and genuine heart, and all the good intentions are there. The message means well.

Despite all of that, 'Christmas Lodge' really could have been a good deal better than it was. It is too heavy-handed, with all the religious referencing, too much of it and none of it being subtle, being rammed down the throat too much. The script is on the limp side and is too thick on the schmaltz and corn, complete with an awkward flow. There could have been more to the characters than just festive cliches.

Too much of the story doesn't engage enough, with too much of the film dragging and with it being too thin. The scenario is too heavy on the contrivances and some serious suspension of disbelief is needed in the final act. Really do wish that the central relationship was developed more, the build up just wasn't there and it just felt rushed and underwritten. The chemistry between Karpluk and Shank was there but the progression and extra spark were missing.

Although a watchable enough film much of me regrettably was rather mixed and left lukewarm here. 5/10

The '4' is for the scenery, which is lush, and for Erin Karpluk, who turned in her usual competent performance despite the lame dialogue, and for the cute little girl and her dog.

The title is a cheap attempt to cash in on the season. This movie has little to do with Christmas except for the obligatory family-togetherness lesson. For family togetherness to work as a plot device, there has to be a smidge of conflict beforehand. But in this movie everyone was so nice, so bland, that their 'apartness' could have been cured with an invitation to dinner or a night of board games in any month before Thanksgiving and the 'project' brought them all together anyway.

As someone else mentioned, there was utterly no chemistry between the romantic leads. Even though both Erin and Michael Shanks are competent actors, it's hard to see why they would take roles that offered so little scope for their emotional range either as individuals, romantic partners, or family members. Everybody in this film suffered from botox of the emotions. Believing in God doesn't and shouldn't equal living your whole life in emotional neutral. If you can't know pain, you can't appreciate joy.

Frankly, it wasn't the religious expressions that turned me off as much as the blatant unreality of the basic setup. Even Christian business people can't simply walk away from 3 months worth of scheduled work to satisfy their ailing grandfather without suffering consequences to their business's reputation for years to come. That kind of blatant guilt trip ought to be unthinkable for an ethical elder of the family. And any grant-funding organization that steered a huge part of their budget to the family business of an employee's dad would be in serious hot water with everyone from their private donors to the IRA.

I had to wonder, too, what message the writers/director thought they were sending, because it came across to me like 'If you're a Christian and pray a lot, you can convince total strangers to allocate millions of dollars to give your family's company money to rebuild an old lodge just because your ailing grandfather once had happy memories there.' Silly me; I thought Christianity meant more than using God like a cash machine. Especially at Christmas.

I agree with some of the other comments; overall, I think it was a pretty good movie. I liked the lead actress and the message of the movie. The mother was too old for the part, and it wasn't really a Christmas movie per se. I also agree that there was absolutely NO chemistry and no buildup to the relationship between Mary and Jack. I did not see them together at all, and perhaps better casting or better character development could have improved this.

The scenery was beautiful and shot well.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to other viewers if you are looking for a clean, wholesome movie that the entire family can enjoy!

Let me say categorically that Mrs. Shullivan and I had wonderful childhood memories of our own Christmas's past and so this film brought back feelings of our own family Christmas's that were very special. After reading some of the other negative reviews I can only ascertain that these scribes do not believe in the magic of Christmas, or maybe their own families are not very close so the film was not believable to them.

As for those of you who are purest Christmas believers, who enjoy being surrounded by family at this magical time of year, and who have some level of faith in living a Christian life, then this film "Christmas Lodge" should be on your viewing list. The two lead characters names are Mary whose job is to find private funding for restoring historic buildings, and the country Christmas Lodge owner named Jack whose lodge is old and badly in need of extensive repairs. Christmas Lodge was built by Jacks' great grandparents more than 100 years ago and the Christmas lodge has hosted many families over the past two centuries including Mary's family and grandparents when she was a young child.

Mary is played superbly by actress Erin Karpluk, who had a recurring role in the hit action/drama television series Rookie Blue. Jack's character is played by the seasoned actor Michael Shanks who has played versatile character roles in other films ranging from the biographical film Mr. Hockey the story of Gordie Howe, to the successful television drama series Saving Hope. Now Michael Shanks character is a widower and he has a cute pixie of an 11 year old daughter named Charlene, played with devilish charm by the youngster Michelle Creber. In walks Mary (Literally in the woods) in to their unsuspecting lives while Jack is slowly trying to restore Christmas Lodge to its past glory days with nothing more than spit and muscle and little capital funds to pay for the rebuild.

Now Mary's own family is very busy in the renovation industry with her father and her two brothers working independently on various renovation projects trying to maintain a living. Mary's grandfather has been bed ridden for quite some time but his past memories of Christmas Lodge and the love and Christian upbringing that he has bestowed on his extended family made Mrs. Shullivan and I warm and emotional. Call us saps if you will, but Christmas Lodge is a story of caring for one another and believing in the goodwill of all mankind. Grandpa is played by John Innes and his bedside visits and long chats with his granddaughter Mary only wish that our own parents and grandparents were still alive. They are very sensitive and touching scenes and add great value to the movies theme....especially near the end of the film.

The film has a romantic story line and the spirit of Christmas comes to a wonderful climatic ending with Mary's family at Christmas Lodge well worth waiting for as the film closes. So for those other reviewers who commented they could not watch the entire film I must surmise their past Christmas's were filled with stress and grief and this film is about hope and love.

Michael Shanks and Erin Karpluk are wonderful in the lead roles. This is a family friendly Christmas film. I give it an 8 out of 10 rating, and suggest that if you are a lover of the Christmas spirit that you won't be disappointed with Christmas Lodge.

Not too bad.

It's a nice little story with a positive undercurrent.

However, the continuous invoking of religion really starts to grate towards the end. I guess it's an American/Canadian thing.

Luckily the beautiful surroundings of Vancouver and BC do compensate a bit for the "message" that's constantly rammed home. And the actors do a nice job of showing a close family, without getting too sappy.

I guess, in the end, this movie will really be loved by the very religious, yet when one looks beyond that, there's still a decent Christmas movie behind all of it for us non-believers.

I Have Reviewed OVER 500 "Christmas Films and Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.

When you watch a "Christmas theme" film you know what your in for. Now does this film break new ground? "No" but not every film maker wants to do that. Some of them want to tell stories about "Faith, hope and love" and that is what they did here and they made a film well worth watching!

Some people might be bothered by the overall religious themes in this but this a "Christmas Film" with a nice message that family traditions are important & that's is what makes "Christmas Special". You are almost not hit over the head with the message but the film is so good you won't care!

In this film Mary Tobin has wonderful memories of family gatherings at the Christmas Lodge. When she arrives for a weekend vacation, she quickly realizes that the lodge she loves has fallen into serious disrepair. With a lack of funds she is sets out to find a way to save the lodge.

I really enjoyed the film and its message about why traditions are important. Now it never tell you that outright but it shows you. The film is well paced and the leads are very charming. Michael Shanks is excellent and I hope to see him again in other films.

If your someone that grew up with large family gatherings for Christmas then you will enjoy this film. I also want to point out this film makes you want to celebrate life with your loved ones! So watch it with someone you love. If your a guy watch it with your girlfriend.

I have now watched this every Christmas for the past 3 years. The film just gets better to me.

With all the sweetness and light in Christmas Lodge, just viewing it will get your teeth a rotting. The people depicted here are just too good to be true. Even the guy who dumps Erin Karplunk does it in a nice way.

I will say that the film boasts some lovely scenic photography of British Columbia in this Canadian production. Right in the middle of the forest primeval is a now rundown resort that Erin Karplunk and her family used to go to. The great grandson of the builder of Christmas Lodge is Michael Shanks and he's trying to restore the place, but it's an uphill battle for he and his little daughter.

Then in the God moves in mysterious ways category Karplunk shows up with the soon to be dumper boyfriend and she works in a foundation that gives grant money for restoration of old buildings. In this film you KNOW she's going to get it done by hook or heavenly crook. And fate has decreed that Karplunk and Shanks of course are fated to be mated.

Despite my cynicism I did enjoy Christmas Lodge and for those who are into restoration and there are many in my neck of the woods who are. Preservationists, this film is for you.

Some of the plot elements aren't just impossible to believe, but send a mixed message about values. (See "Flatter than roadkill", which sums this up well.) The casting of Mary's parents and grandfather made it hard for me to follow the story. The mother looked liked the grandfather's age, and way older than the father, so I couldn't figure out how the grandmother could be dead. (What? Then who's the white-haired lady taking care of the grandfather, his second wife?) The least they could have done was have Mary clearly call her "Mom" from the second she was introduced and several times in her first scene. Maybe the intention was to say "it's okay to not dye your hair, work out, etc. if you and your husband share true love", but it was too confusing to work.

Finally, a good, Christian Christmas movie. One with romance, family, giving, etc. This isn't on par with A Christmas Carol (and few are), however, the whole family enjoyed it. There were feel good moments throughout and in the denouement. Don't be fooled--those that decry its overt Christian overtones, are the ones that hate it for that very reason, but can't be honest about it. Yes, Christmas is about Christ, the Savior, not paganism revisited. The spirit of Christmas is bigger than Christ, as all can attest to--it's about giving and having good times with family and friends. If you're looking for a movie that all of your family can watch and enjoy--and all have an entertaining time doing so, then I believe Christmas Lodge is right up your alley.

It wasn't the bludgeoning, over the top, religious nonsense that utterly destroyed this movie (though that would have been bad enough), nor was it the incredibly bland acting (you know a movie is bad when the dog does some of the best acting). It was the incredibly dull, lifeless script. These are supposed to be real people? I've seen better acting by cardboard cut-outs like Al Gore!

The only redeeming quality of this film is some of the scenery, which is quite nice.

I'm a sucker for light Christmas romance stories but this one is a turkey. Avoid at all costs.

7.2 stars.

It gave me some goosebumps now and then, and the story is rich with goodness and love. It's one of the more Christian oriented films dropping prayers and God's name and they even said "Jesus" once, which is very rare in any film. That all being said, 'Christmas Lodge' is less about the lodge and more about a woman's relationship with the dead or dying in her family. This theme lends itself to making the movie more morose and less joyful for me, however it is still a very heartfelt and inspirational story that anyone can enjoy. There are better religious Christmas movies to see on Hallmark (this feels like a Hallmark film), but I'd say if you are stacking the Christmas films in your must watch pile, this one probably qualifies as a back-burner one.

There are gaps in the story, the romance is sped up in the last 15 minutes from good friends to way more than that, so it feels like several minutes were edited out in order to fit the film in the time allotted.

They jammed god into every plot hole & crummy line they could. It's unbearable. Run screaming in the opposite direction.

Very sweet and inspiring movie with a great and positive message! This is the kind of movies should win in the oscars. A warm and brave message if charity, goodness and love! I really recommend this movie!

A woman working for a historical preservation firm in Seattle (Erin Karpluk) stumbles upon a lodge in the Oregon wilderness that was special to her & her family when she was a little girl. She seeks to get it fixed up before Christmas with the blessing of the proprietor and his daughter (Michael Shanks and Michelle Creber).

"Christmas Lodge" (2011) is a family drama that premiered on TV. While it's obviously a Christmas movie, the bulk of the runtime involves the handful of months leading up to the Holidays and so it can be appreciated in any season. It's just the ending that takes place during Christmas.

Despite being a TV production with the limitations thereof, this flick is a breath of fresh air and was just want I needed - something warm, hopeful and encouraging. Not only do you get the beauty of the Great Northwest wilderness and the lodge, you also get Erin Karpluk and a refreshing air of goodwill and love amidst the inevitable challenges of life. I've only seen Erin in one other movie, the well done "Wyvern" (2009), and her winsome spirit and all-around loveliness are perfect for this type of picture.

You don't have to be concerned about the script absurdly checking 'progressive' (degenerate) boxes like in "Holiday in Handcuffs," which was eye-rolling. This is a true Christmas movie without being preachy or sectarian. Secular critics naturally complain about the scenes involving saying grace, the Bible and words about God but the two families are clearly believers and this is how Christians are in everyday life. They're not perfect, of course, but love & peace are their general standard of conduct and the Creator is dear to them. Besides, like I said, none of this is overdone. How any of this could be construed as "inappropriate" or "offensive" is perplexing.

The film runs 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot in Langley, British Columbia, which is about 15 miles southeast of Vancouver. There are some establishing shots of Vancouver (or maybe Seattle), as well as at least one street shot of Manhattan.

GRADE: B.

This movie had no competent script, the actors were sleepwalking through their parts, there was no chemistry between the romantic leads and all the actors seemed like they were cardboard cutouts. There was no conviction from anyone in this. It was totally unbelievable.

The settings and scenery were nice. But there was no sense that Christmas was even anticipated in any way. No snow on the ground, no lights or decorations anywhere, no Christmas music, no Christmas spirit, this film was totally lacking in life.

God and Christianity were poorly interpreted in this vehicle and the whole premise was lacking substance. It had a lot of potential and so much could have been done with these actors and the setting had they perhaps had the right director, but in the end it was very boring and forgettable.

I had such high hopes before watching this that it would be a memorable and heartwarming story. It was a big disappointment.

Cut above the average Christmas movie, Michael Shanks and Erin Karpluk both do a great job, nice chemistry between them, you really want them both to find what they're looking for. The scenery is beautiful, but what really sets this movie apart is the emotional and spiritual depth, believable snd inspiring without being forced or cheesy. One star off for a somewhat rushed ending, felt like it could've used another 20 minutes. Still, one of the better Christmas movies, very enjoyable, highly recommended.

Being big fans of Stargate SG-1, we were happy to see Michael Shanks in a subsequent role. He's a good actor with a gentle touch, and brought the same approach to this role.

Here we have an almost abandoned guest lodge in the mountains falling into ruin while the last remaining son in the line falls increasingly behind trying to make needed repairs. While on a weekend getaway, a woman whose family used to stay at the lodge happens across it and decides to help get funding for its restoration. By coincidence (wink wink) she happens to work for a foundation which provides funding to save historic buildings important to towns and cities.

The movie has plenty of affinity building scenes and the details about restoring the property actually make sense. Sometimes writers write these things without a clue, but not here.

It gets a bit sentimental, but it's a nice watch.

I like a slushy romantic Christmas movie but this was barely related to Christmas at all. Erin Karpluk puts in a reasonably good performance as the female lead but I should have smelled something odd when everyone seemed to be wanting to get her married off to a totally unsuitable beau.

The pace is pretty lethargic as we get introduced to a wide range of family members that never seem to have a bad to word to say to each other, something that is right out of the ordinary in my experience. Almost surreptitiously the religion slips into the dialogue and for a while can be ignored but as we stagger on through the story a Bible appears, grace is said without a murmur before anything is eaten and we're endlessly informed that all around is provided by the good Lord in the sky.

While the story is a fairly standard wishy washy slow road to love the religion becomes so outrageous that I couldn't help but start to laugh out loud every few seconds whenever it raised its head. Whatever soppy story there was became a distant second to the hilarious God stuff.

Needless to say, there's no sex in this at all. I can recall only one kiss. There were some lingering shots of hands being held though. Quite forgettable.