The always lovely Sarah Lancaster stars in this by-the-numbers inspirational Christmas TV movie. Inspirational, for those who don't know, is code for religious (usually Christian). I'm not particularly religious myself but I don't have an issue with religious or spiritual themes in movies. However, I know from many reviews I've read on IMDb that some recoil from these movies like vampires from crosses. So if religious subject matter bothers you, be prepared before watching this so you don't gripe about how they "tricked" you or something. Also, I should point out that the religious elements do not overtake the movie; they're just there in the background and occasionally at the forefront. Mostly just little scenes like Sarah's character will say "How are we going to pay the huge bills to save the farm" and her dad will smile and reply "Oh we'll find a way" then turn to look at a nativity scene he's got laying out in his living room. Cloying perhaps but harmless to all but the nastiest among us.
The plot's a mixture of familiar elements: Sarah's family is in danger of losing their farm to a greedy land developer just as her ex, a country music star who left her when they were teenagers, returns to town. About 95% of all movies made about farms seem to be about how the farm is about to be taken away from its owners. Must be hard running a farm when there are villainous land developers lurking around every corner waiting to turn your heritage into a parking lot. I like Sarah Lancaster but I've come to the conclusion after seeing her in so many shows and TV movies that she is only ideally suited to a narrow range of roles. Here, she's not really convincing as a Southern farm girl. For one thing, her accent comes and goes. She looks great in those jeans, though. But the main problem here is that her character is a pain in the rear for most of this movie. On the one hand, you feel bad for her because she has to shoulder the burden of saving the farm while her parents, who are approaching senility it seems, laugh it off like bags of money are just going to fall from the sky if you believe hard enough. But then we have the romantic plot, which is just a mess and does her no favors. So her high school boyfriend left her and she's bitter about that. She's also gorgeous and smart and, you know, over thirty....so maybe get over it already?
Vets Barry Corbin, Gregoy Alan Williams, Brett Rice, and Rebecca Koon offer solid support. Jill Wagner is sadly wasted here. She really should be playing the lead in things like this, not the sassy best friend who appears for only a few scenes. The major weak spot in the cast is Alan Powell. He has no chemistry with Sarah and just seems smugly nonchalant most of the time. They obviously didn't help him with good dialogue but his character's basic purpose is to end conversations by putting his head down, saying something like "Well OK" and shuffling off. This, coupled with the actor's inability to fully open his mouth to speak, makes it hard to like or relate to him in any meaningful way. I just didn't care about his character's flimsy problems (he embarrassed himself intentionally dancing badly on a charity TV dancing show -- what?) and I was never invested in the romance with Sarah's character. She should've moved on with her life and this guy should hire a better agent.
It's not a bad movie of its type but it is very familiar and corny. You'll see every slight twist in the plot coming a mile away. I knew as soon as I read the plot description how the family's financial problems would be resolved, and I'm sure you will figure it out quickly, too. Anyway, not bad but not great. Harmless fluff with a little bit (just a little) of seasonal spirituality to give it appeal to an audience that might want something different from a Christmas movie than Santa and Rudolph. Oh and those who like seeing Sarah Lancaster in tight jeans will also enjoy it.
