SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH

Name: SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH
Item: SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH
Author: Review

"Romance on the Ranch"

Family Content: +2 Moderately questionable elements.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH is a romantic drama airing on UPtv about the owner of an event ranch on the brink of foreclosure. The owner, Carrie Williams, discovers that her bookkeeper hasn’t been paying their monthly loan and has now absconded with all their money. The mean young banker gives her only two days, until Christmas Eve, to raise $15,000. As Carrie struggles to drum up the money, an unexpected man shows up to stay at the ranch. Despite having ulterior motives, the man soon finds there’s more to the ranch than just a money opportunity.

SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH has some funny and touching moments, with a good third act. However, though the main plot is solid, some of the scenes and conversations in the first and second act feel forced and rigid. This results in a few awkward scenes. That said, SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH has a strong Christian, moral worldview promoting loyalty, charity, family, and forgiveness. It’s also very wholesome. However, there’s a sequence of mild peril when a young child goes missing, but he’s soon found safe.

Content:

(CC, BB, CapCap, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong Christian, redemptive, moral worldview about the running of a Christmas festival at a ranch and inn promotes loyalty, charity, family, and forgiveness, plus when times get a boss takes care of and looks out for her employees, and the words of “Silent Night” about the birth of Jesus Christ and His divine identity are heard in one scene, and forgiveness is chosen over revenge when a scandal arises;

Foul Language:

No crude or profane foul language, but “gosh” is used on multiple occasions;

Violence:

None;

Sex:

No sex, but a couple kisses passionately in one scene;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Multiple lies are spoken during the movie but rebuked, a case of embezzlement and fraud occurs, and a banker is a villain.

More Detail:

SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH is a romantic drama on UPtv about an event ranch and inn that hosts a local Christmas festival every year. Carrie, the owner of the ranch, is working overtime trying to make sure everything is ready for when the first guests arrive, right before Christmas Eve. As she’s prepping, she gets a call from her banker telling her she needs to come and talk to him immediately. She brushes him off, excusing herself for the business that must take priority. However, later in the day, she finds out that one of the ranch’s checks to a vendor or has bounced.

Concerned, Carrie rushes into the bank and discovers that her accountant has drained her whole bank account and, even worse, hasn’t been paying the monthly deposit on the loan. Now $15,000 in debt, she must come up with the money in two days, or else the bank will foreclose on the ranch. Not to be dismayed, she works overtime trying to come up with the money before the deadline.

Meanwhile, an unlikely man shows up at the inn claiming to be on vacation. Carrie isn’t fooled, however, when she recognizes him as the handsome developer, John Dunn, who’s been trying to buy her ranch for some time. His sights are set on buying and expanding the place to make it more profitable. He believes the ranch isn’t capitalizing on its potential since it’s near a popular ski facility.

John relentlessly pursues Carrie around the ranch, trying to convince her of the benefit of selling to him. The day before Christmas Eve, Carrie thinks she’s managed to raise the $15,000 to save the Christmas ranch and inn. However, a plot twist reveals that she may have to sell the ranch anyway.

SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH has some funny and touching moments, with a good third act. However, though the main plot is solid, some of the scenes and conversations in the first and second act feel forced and rigid. This results in a few awkward scenes. Most of the actors are cast well, but the awkward scenes hurt the movie’s authenticity. Also, the Christmas festival seems to attract too few people.

SAVING THE CHRISTMAS RANCH is totally wholesome. There’s a sequence of mild peril when a young child goes missing, but he’s found hiding safe and sound in the woods. Also, the movie has a strong Christian, moral worldview promoting loyalty, charity, family, and forgiveness. MOVIEGUIDE® advises only a little parental caution and discernment for very young children.