Raised by her grandmother, Meemaw (Lindsay Wagner), after the death of her parents, urban power broker Haley (Laur Allen) hasn't been back to her family's Nashville ranch in years, but is summoned by her brother, Charles (Archie Kao), in a last-ditch effort to save their beloved land from the bank. When she reluctantly arrives just prior to Christmas, her introduction to ranch hand, Kate (Amada Righetti) goes terribly awry. But now they must put their differences aside and band together to save the homestead... and perhaps discover that finding love isn't always where (or who) you expect. (dir. Christin Baker, US, 2021)

Review:
Characters & Performances – Haley is a workaholic in the big city, she has been given her biggest project yet for her company, while trying to find love in the big city. Her work has come at a price though, as she has been stepping away from help her family ranch and now a trip back there will change how she wants to look at life and give her a chance at finding love, breaking her away from the business driven mind that she has been operating with. Laur Allen is great in this leading role, showing the ruthless side of her career, but the damaged side from her personal life. Kate is the ranch hand who finds herself isolated in her work, spending her time either talking to the animals or talking to herself, she has given plenty of her time to help the ranch remain successful, which will see her clash with Haley on why things aren’t going to plan, but after their awkward first encounter, they both sense a good in each other that will find a solution to the problems. Amanda Righetti does a great job at bringing to life someone who is different to Haley, someone who seems wiser to what is important in life. When it comes to the supporting cast, we have Charles the brother who needs support, as well as Meemaw who has always looked out for her grandchildren on the ranch, wanting to keep it for them.

Story – The story here follows a workaholic social media manager living in the big city who needs to travel back to her home ranch to help them decide what to do in the future after a bad year in business, leaving her in a position where she can do the quick solution, only to find herself remembering how special the place is to her, while falling in love once again. This is a story that will have the deeper meaning of needing to support your family and that money isn’t going to be the answer for everything in life. The story will take us down memory lane for Haley, proving that you will never forget where you came from. This will also play into the idea that Christmas will make people change for the better.

Themes – Christmas at the Ranch is a romance movie set at Christmas where the loneliness people search for love and will find it in the place, they are least likely to look for it. The film will use the two main settings to show the different lives Haley could have, with the big city overworked location against the more relax ranch life, where you can get a chance to breath.

Final Thoughts – Christmas at the Ranch is a Christmas film that is filled with the romance of the magical time of the year.