Romantic Christmas Movie Reviews

Welcome to the database of romantic Christmas movie reviews that I have compiled for both Peace Love Christmas and Jeff Marshall, Movie Blogger.

If you like a little love in the frigid air at Christmastime, you’ve come to the right place. In this database, which will be updated often, you will find all of the romantic Christmas films I have reviewed along with the director, cast, plot and my detailed thoughts along with my rating from 0 to 5 stars.

By the way, if you’re looking for Hallmark Christmas movies, they have their very own page.

My suggestion in using the database is to take a look at the titles on the Table of Contents, click on a title that sounds intriguing, and it will take you directly to my review. 

As I mentioned above, this will be a consistent work in progress, so if you don’t find a title that grabs your attention, come back again and maybe your luck will change.

If you’d like to suggest a movie to add to the database, please do so in the comments at the bottom of the page.

My hope is that this will be a time-saving resource for you during the holidays when you are in the mood for a couple hours of relaxation in front of the television.

Over the course of the next few weeks and months, keep an eye out for other databases that will be added to the site – including comedies, dramas, religious movies, children’s movies, animated movies, holiday specials and documentaries.

A CASTLE FOR CHRISTMAS (2021)

DIRECTOR: Mary Lambert

STARRING: Brooke Shields, Cary Elwes and Lee Ross

PLOT: To escape a scandal, a bestselling author journeys to Scotland, where she falls in love with a castle and faces off with the grumpy duke who owns it.

RATING: **1/2 out of ****

REVIEW: This may be a Netflix film, but you can see Hallmark stamped on its tooshie throughout the entire running time. It’s an average, watchable time passer. On the plus side, one has the gorgeous scenery of Scotland, which indeed is magnificent and gives easily the best performance in the movie. The titular castle is quite stunning, and the overall production values are better than normal.

On the negative side, we have a script that hits every – and I do mean EVERY – cliche ever made for this type of film. The behavior of the characters is not motivated by true emotion or realistic reasoning but by the Mad Libs-like template to which 95% of these filmmakers are seemingly required by law to adhere. Moods change on a dime, decisions are made for no reason whatsoever and characters are introduced and inexplicably dropped.

Plus, Shields and Elwes have zero chemistry, and although they’re both still pretty enough to be atop the wedding cake of a middle-aged couple, there is no charisma in either of their performances. In fact, most if not all the supporting players are more interesting than the two leads.

A CHRISTMAS ROMANCE (1994)

DIRECTOR: Sheldon Larry

STARRING: Olivia Newton-John, Gregory Harrison and Chloe Lattanzi

PLOT: Snow strands a young widow and her two daughters with a banker holding their eviction notice.

RATING: ** out of ****

MY THOUGHTS: I wanted to like this holiday film more than you’ll ever know. Olivia Newton-John was my first crush growing up. She had a glorious voice and a natural radiance. Unfortunately, acting was never really her strong suit. And with a title that includes the word romance, the fact that Olivia and Harrison have absolutely no chemistry together whatsoever puts an immediate nail in the coffin.

Everything here feels forced and unconvincing, despite the overall feel of gentility and goodness. The young daughters, one of whom is played by Olivia’s real-life daughter, are unbearable. Sadly, the viewer ultimately doesn’t care whether this admittedly beautiful looking pair of characters wind up together or not. It’s all done with a lot of love and care, but unfortunately the craft doesn’t live up to its heart.

A COWBOY CHRISTMAS (2023)

DIRECTOR: Jeremy Drummond

STARRING: Teagan Vincze, Brennan Martin and Brenna Coates

PLOT: Ella Wade, an ambitious marketing executive at a leading firm in New York, is sent on her latest assignment to a remote ranch in Canada. Hoping to pitch her marketing plan to a high-profile CEO who’s on vacation, she arrives fully prepared for business but ill-equipped for the countryside’s grit and rustic charm.

RATING: **** out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: This movie manages to get virtually everything right that most of these Hallmark-esque holiday romances get wrong. In fact, this is one of the best non-theatrical Christmas movies in general I’ve seen in quite awhile. Now mind you, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel; but it excels at what it sets out to do and well exceeded any expectations I had for a movie with this title.

First and foremost among its attributes is an extraordinarily appealing performance by Vincze, who has all kinds of Bryce Dallas Howard vibes going on here. She is absolutely winning and is surrounded by a charismatic group of supporting actors who make the most of their limited time. I was reminded of the familial supporting characters of NOTTING HILL. We also have the gorgeous scenery of the Canadian countryside. And the filmmakers mercifully don’t overkill the ‘fish out of water’ aspect of the story. The only real disappointment here is Martin’s low-key performance which puts a slight damper on the central romance.

Movies like this are why I go out of my way hunting for projects that flew under the radar or never had a real chance of true popularity. I love to be surprised – and this is indeed a most pleasant surprise!

CUPID FOR CHRISTMAS (2021)

DIRECTOR: Blayne Weaver

STARRING: Melanie Stone, Ryan Carnes and Richard Kind

PLOT: Cupid, the god of love, is burned out. He wants desperately to retire and hand the bow and arrow over to his protégé: the well-meaning, romantic and completely hapless Ruby. But Ruby’s promotion may be in jeopardy when she falls in love with one of her subjects.

RATING: *** out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: Full disclosure here: I watched this movie at 2AM with a 101 temperature, so I was a bit more vulnerable than usual. I don’t know if it was feverish sentimentality or the Christmas spirit finally starting to kick in, but I genuinely enjoyed this admittedly hoakey, cheesy, eye-rollingly predictable holiday comedy.

It wore me down and won me over with its determination  to be exactly what it wants to be, nothing more and nothing less. It accepts its cheeseball constraints and does its best to thrive within its limitations. And that’s really all I can say. The cast is game and fun, particularly Stone, and if you enjoy your Christmas movies as much as I think a lot of you do, well, you may hate yourself in the morning, but you’ll enjoy yourself while it’s happening.

FALLING FOR CHRISTMAS (2022)

DIRECTOR: Janeen Damian

STARRING: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet and George Young

PLOT: A young, newly engaged heiress has a skiing accident in the days before Christmas. After she is diagnosed with amnesia, she finds herself in the care of a handsome cabin owner and his daughter.

RATING: *1/2 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: Nothing would make me happier than a Lindsay Lohan comeback movie that would propel her back at least somewhat close to where she was before all her shenanigans began. This ain’t it. Netflix lost signal 3-4 times while I was trying to slog my way through 93 minutes of Christmas cliches – perhaps I should have taken that as a warning from the movie gods.

I’m going to start calling films like this Mad Lib Movies – the same plot and characters from every other movie of its ilk, but all you need to do is fill in the blanks with different adjectives and proper nouns. The beginning of this movie is nothing less than painful to watch – I mean sub-par Saturday morning live-action kids show bad. You can’t help but convey apologetic vibes to everyone involved. After that it turns into the normal Hallmark-style Christmas event we all know like the back of our hands.

This movie does have the distinction of featuring the most annoyingly perky child performance I’ve seen in ages. And I’m not saying this to be catty or petty, but Lohan’s appearance here is somewhat distracting. She’s obviously had work done even though she’s only in her mid 30s, and it makes it seem like she has difficulty expressing facial emotions. Every time she smiles, it feels like miniscule elves are pulling the sides of her mouth up with invisible string. The whole thing feels surprisingly cheap considering it’s a Netflix production.

The only enjoyment I had was thinking of the name of the leading man – Chord Overstreet. It sounds like someone out of a James Bond movie.

HAPPIEST SEASON (2020)

DIRECTOR: Clea DuVall

STARRING: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis and Alison Brie

PLOT: Abby plans to propose to her girlfriend Harper while at Harper’s family’s annual holiday party. But she discovers her partner hasn’t yet come out to her conservative parents.

RATING: **1/2 out of *****

WATCHED ON: Hulu

MY THOUGHTS: Based upon word of mouth and early reviews, I fully expected this to be a wonderful holiday discovery. Alas, it turned out to be a disappointment. There are bright spots here and there along with a couple standout performances, but the majority of the characters here are highly unlikeable and written as caricatures rather than living, breathing human beings.

And without giving too much away, I would have much preferred Stewart to end up with another character in the film rather than Davis. It’s more the fault of the screenplay than the performance, but the character of Harper becomes increasingly insufferable and by the end, you want Stewart to run out of the house and never look back. I’m not overly familiar with Stewart’s work (I’ve never seen a TWILIGHT movie) but she gives the film’s best performance, even though the character itself doesn’t have much of an arc to it.

Daniel Levy from SCHITT’S CREEK provides most of the movie’s laughs, and although it’s more personality than performance, he does have a monologue toward the end that was probably the highlight of the film for me and provides the one moment of true emotion. Things start to look up a bit toward the end, but it’s mostly too little too late.

Sometimes a happy ending can atone for a multitude of sins, but if I’m looking at this movie as a whole, I can’t help but see a lot of missed opportunities and failed potential.

HOLIDATE (2020)

DIRECTOR: John Whitesell

STARRING: Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey and Jessica Capshaw

PLOT: Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each other’s platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way.

RATING: * out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: The opening shot of this borderline unwatchable romantic comedy sees our heroine extinguish a cigarette on a plastic Santa Claus outdoor decoration while exclaiming “F**ing holidays!” One would be inclined to think, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Hallmark-land anymore”. However, as the end credits begin to roll, you realize that is exactly where we’ve been – just with more naughty words and sexual innuendo.

I’ve said it before, a romcom is only as good as the chemistry between its lead actors – sadly Tom & Jerry had more sexual chemistry than Roberts and Bracey here. I haven’t seen Roberts in that many projects, but she comes across to me as someone who has trouble projecting warmth onscreen. She has the brittle and obstinate parts down pat, but when the obligatory moments come when she is supposed to be reduced to romantic Jell-O, she doesn’t have her Aunt Julia’s charm and affection. As for Bracey, he’s just another personality-free stud who acts like he’s auditioning to become the next Hemsworth brother.

The supporting cast is peppered with some familiar faces, including Capshaw from my beloved GREY’S ANATOMY, but there’s not a single character here worth mentioning. Kristen Chenoweth, in particular, is saddled with a character that is such a waste of her talent that it becomes almost offensive. The humor feels forced and labored, and I literally laughed just ONE time.

THE HOLIDAY (2016)

DIRECTOR: Nancy Meyers

STARRING: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jude Law

PLOT: Dumped and depressed, English rose Iris agrees to swap homes with similarly unlucky in love Californian Amanda for a much-needed break. Iris finds herself in a palatial Hollywood mansion while Amanda navigates the lanes of a picture-perfect English village. Soon enough, both lovelorn ladies bump into local lads perfect for a romantic pick-me-up.

RATING: ****1/2 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: There’s a lot of stuff I can’t explain about the world: Does life exist on other planets? Do UFOs visit our galaxy? If a Kardashian falls when no one is around, does it make a sound? But the biggest unexplained phenomenon in my life is how a rom-com hater such as myself has managed over the course of many years now to continually fall in love with perhaps the most rom-com rom-com ever made.

I no longer try to explain – I just accept.  It works for me on a meta plain that makes me happy, and I’m able to forgive nearly ever flaw and view it through rose-colored glasses.

The scene in which Diaz meets Law’s little girls is something I could watch on loop for eternity. While Diaz and Winslet rule the roost, it’s Jude whose performance knocks me for a loop here – he’s the ideal man who puts the rest of us to shame, and he somehow doesn’t make us hate him for being so perfect. I’m not sure how he pulled it off, but he does. Jack Black is also at his most charming and least grating. He plays a film composer in this movie, which has always been my dream job, so the film gains brownie points there, too.

I don’t brag about liking this move as much as I do, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and the truth is that I really love this movie.

HOLIDAY IN THE WILD (2019)

DIRECTOR: Ernie Barbarash

STARRING: Kristin Davis, Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe

PLOT: After her husband ends their marriage, Kate embarks on a solo second honeymoon in Africa. There, she and pilot Derek rescue a baby elephant. While nursing the elephant back to health, Kate discovers how much she loves her new surroundings.

RATING: ***1/2 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: Perhaps I’m getting a bit sentimental in my old age. This Netflix movie has bad Hallmark presentation practically stamped on it. And indeed the first scenes are really rough. Badly written, badly acted, cliche after cliche… But I have to admit once the movie moved on to Africa, I was won over and even found myself tearing up a time or two.

What was refreshing for me is that the romance actually played second fiddle to the story of the elephants. When the movie concentrates on the animals, it works. The scenes at the beginning and end that take place in New York do not. And while Davis and Lowe are appealing, I do wish stronger actors had been cast in the lead roles – that would have helped immensely. But while this is not going to become the next holiday classic, I can’t deny the fact that it was an enjoyable watch, and animal lovers are going to eat this up!!

Call it a minor league OUT OF AFRICA. Definitely guilty pleasure potential here!

LET IT SNOW (2019)

DIRECTOR: Luke Snellin

STARRING: Mitchell Hope, Kiernan Shipka and Isabela Moner

PLOT: A snowstorm hits a small midwestern town on Christmas Eve, bringing together a group of highschool students. They soon find their friendships and love lives colliding, and and Christmas morning, nothing will be the same.

RATING: **1/2 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: Yet another Netflix entry into the holiday film marketplace, this is basically a YA version of LOVE ACTUALLY, and like a bowl of plain Greek yogurt, it goes down smoothy enough but you’ll forget about it by supper time.

The cast of ridiculously attractive youngsters made me feel super old and out of the loop because I couldn’t tell you who a single one of them was. The only face I knew was the wonderful Joan Cusack, who unfortunately has a thankless and totally obligatory role as a tow truck driver who wears aluminum foil on her head.

There’s at least half a dozen blossoming teen romances we witness unfold here – this could have been called TEENAGE LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE (that’s for all you older readers out there!). This is pretty much family friendly – I don’t recall much if any swearing at all and a few kisses here and there are the extent of the hanky panky. If you have a junior high female in your family, you might want to give this a shot. Otherwise, as long as you don’t expect too much, there are worse ways to spend a cold afternoon at home.

MY DAD’S CHRISTMAS DATE (2020)

DIRECTOR: Mick Davis

STARRING: Jeremy Piven, Olivia-Mai Barrett and Joely Richardson

PLOT: A 16-year-old girl tries to play matchmaker for her widowed father during Christmas time to help them both move forward from the sudden and tragic death of her mother two years earlier.

RATING: ** out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: Yet another cookie-cutter Christmas concoction going through the same tired routine as a trillion other holiday movies you’re likely to see this or any other season. It’s beginning to get increasingly difficult to review films like this – part of me just wants to copy and paste from earlier reviews and change a few names.

But this movie feels particularly DOA – even the actors seem tired and portray their characters rather somnambulantly. Piven, in particular, acts as though her were trying to channel the spirit of Steve Carell, but he doesn’t possess the humor or the pathos of Carell’s best performances. And Richardson is absolutely wasted in such a throwaway role that one can’t help but wonder why in the world she agreed to appear. Perhaps the filmmakers have dirt on her?!?!

The chemistry between the cast is non-existent, almost shockingly so. Piven and Barrett are supposed to be father and daughter, but you’d think they were third cousins twice removed who just met each other three days ago. Having unexpectedly lost my mother shortly before Christmas years ago, this is going to inevitably have a scene or two that hits me in the gut. But that’s due to human nature and not any accomplishment by the filmmakers.

REBA MCENTIRE’S CHRISTMAS IN TUNE (2021)

DIRECTOR: Emily Moss Wilson

STARRING: Reba McEntire, John Schneider and Candice King

PLOT: Years after their personal and professional breakup, the singing duo of Georgia and Joe Winter agree to reunite after their daughter asks them to participate in a Christmas concert, only to find themselves getting back in tune on stage and off.

RATING: ***12 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: I’m going to hate myself in the morning for saying this, but this Lifetime Christmas original is a winner! I’m in shock and never expected to type these words. In fact, I kinda started watching it hoping to come up with a few new slams and barbs. But by golly, this thing works REALLY well. I even caught myself with a lump in my throat at the end.

Let’s be honest, McEntire is not ever going to be confused with a great actress, but you know what – she knows that and works within her abilities. She’s almost becoming like Dolly Parton in that regard. On the other hand, I was mightily surprised to appreciate the performance of Bo Duke himself, John Schneider. His voice can’t compare to his companion here, but he gives it his all and carries the more dramatic parts of the movie.

I was even more appreciative of a supporting performance by Candice King as their daughter. King looks like a younger, thinner Meghan McCain, and there are moments where she is simply radiant. There is even a small performance by BATTLE OF THE NETWORK STARS participant extraordinaire John James.

Things admittedly get off to a rocky start, and it takes a little while for the juices to get flowing. And there’s no doubt where things are going to end – can’t exactly call this an original. But it is performed with such gusto and enthusiasm, it becomes a rather infectious experience.

SINGLE ALL THE WAY (2021)

DIRECTOR: Michael Mayer

STARRING: Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers and Luke MacFarlane

PLOT: Desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about being single, Peter persuades best friend Nick to pose as his boyfriend on a trip home for the holidays.

RATING: ***1/2 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: This is one of the better recent holiday movies I’ve seen. The LGBTQ+ storyline is inevitably going to attract some viewers while dissuading others, but the good news is that the characters’ sexuality here is irrelevent. With a couple minor tweaks, the romantic triangle here could encompass any color of the rainbow.

This movie doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but what sets it apart for me from the other dozens of cookie-cutter Hallmark-esque holiday movies is the cast and the well-rounded characters. Jennifer Coolidge comes close to stealing this movie, as she does pretty much everything she appears in lately. And whoever cast her and Kathy Najimy as sisters deserves some kind of award.

Also refreshing is how the filmmakers deal with the love triangle – all three participants are dealt with fairly and honestly, and the one left out in the cold is not just thrown to the side for the sake of the script’s convenience. Everyone here is extraordinarily appealing.

SURVIVING CHRISTMAS (2004)

DIRECTOR: Mike Mitchell

STARRING: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini and Christina Applegate

PLOT: A wealthy executive has no close relationships and becomes nostalgic for his childhood home as Christmas approaches. When he visits the house and finds another family living there, he offers the residents a large sum of money to pretend they are his parents. Soon he tests the family’s patience, and when their daughter arrives, things get increasingly tense.

RATING: ** out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: This was a really tough watch. There is nothing more painful than watching an actor TRY to be funny – and fail. Poor Affleck. At least he was having a good hair day. And being surrounded by more adept comedic performers doesn’t help matters, although no one, including my beloved Catherine O’Hara, manages to remain unscathed.

The romantic storyline between Affleck and Applegate is appalling. A plot line involving a young teenager’s porn addiction seems gratuitous and in poor taste. And even though I’m seemingly full of negatives, I didn’t HATE it – I’ll settle for a strong dislike. Although wasting a comic genius like O’Hara should be grounds for cinematic assault charges.

TRADING CHRISTMAS (2011)

DIRECTOR: Michael M. Scott

STARRING: Faith Ford, Tom Cavanagh, Gil Bellows and Gabrielle Miller

PLOT: A widow from Oregon trades homes with a Boston professor who is eager to finish his novel, only for their friends and family to complicate matters.

RATING: *1/2 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: A relentlessly irritating holiday romance that borrows more than a little from Nancy Meyers’ THE HOLIDAY, we are subjected to one couple dull as dishwater and the other like fingernails on a chalkboard. Take your pick. This is one of those movies that would last a total of 20 minutes if the characters involved acted like normal human beings.

There isn’t a single moment of originality or inspiration that doesn’t feel borrowed from hundreds of other similar stories. Bellows, in particular, who feels like the second cousin of Kevin James, is devoid of a single ounce of charisma. I didn’t care about any of these characters, and not only did I not care if they wound up together, I thought it would be for the best if they didn’t. Ford is an actress I adored on MURPHY BROWN, and she does manage to inject a bit of humanity here and there – she alone keeps this from being an outright catastrophe.

But there was hardly a second of this film I believed or held any interest for me. Even those who disliked THE HOLIDAY will surely hold it in a bit higher of esteem after watching this vanilla knock-off.

YOU LIGHT UP MY CHRISTMAS (2019)

DIRECTOR: Rhonda Baraka

STARRING: Kim Fields, Adrian Holmes and Christina Sicoli

PLOT: Inspired by true events, Emma returns to her hometown built around her family’s pioneer Christmas Light Factory two weeks before Christmas. However upon Emma’s return, she discovers the lights have gone dim in the once festive town, prompting her to reconnect with an old flame to set their hearts and the town ablaze with light again.

RATING: **1/2 out of *****

MY THOUGHTS: If your only reason to watch this Lifetime movie is to see a reunion of THE FACTS OF LIFE cast, seriously don’t bother. Mindy Cohn and Lisa Whelchel appear very briefly in a couple inconsequential scenes, and Nancy McKeon is literally onscreen for about 10 seconds. To advertise this as a reunion is a bit misleading. And personally that was the only reason I had any interest in watching.

However, being the trooper, I stuck with it till the end. If you dig all the Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies, this will probably be something you’ll like. For me, it was a textbook example of an “average” movie. Nothing horribly wrong, but nothing memorably great. The actors are likable, but the story is predictable, and you’ll know exactly what happens after the first 20 minutes. This is not going to be the next Christmas classic, but if you’re in the right demographic, grab a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy.

More Christmas Movie Reviews For You:

Top 10 Popular Christian Christmas Movies and Specials

Angel in the House Movie Review

Free Hallmark and Hallmark-like Christmas Movies on YouTube

35 Free Romantic Christmas Movies on Tubi