by Adam Thas & Alison Thas
Alison: Christmas on the Ranch was an easy choice for Adam and I this year. We live in the Chicago suburbs and with filming locations included Mundelein, Long Grove, and Arlington Heights being practically down the street, we knew we would have fun spotting these locations in the film. We also knew that we weren’t going to be getting a huge production since it was produced by a small Chicago-based production company. Lower budget doesn’t always equate to a bad holiday film, so we were willing to give this a go.
Christina (Jade Harlow) hosts a relationship radio show in Chicago that has been canceled (but she can never can find love herself. THE IRONY!). With the rise of podcasts, Christina decides to switch gears and try her hand at podcasting. This move means she also has to move to New York City. On her drive there, she narrowly avoids a collision with a horse and ends up crashing her car into a covered bridge. The horse just so happens to belong to a handsome, single, ranch owner, Corey Henderson (Houston Rhines). Naturally, the auto body shop doesn’t have the part she needs to fix her car so Corey offers his guest house to Christina. Over the next few days, Christina learns what life on the ranch is like and the two of them proceed to fall in love. Christina, of course, is torn. While she very much wants to podcast (I think? More on this later...), Christina cannot deny that she is enjoying being around the horses and Corey. Will Christina succumb to the pressure of podcasting in New York City or will she choose life on the ranch?
This movie was terrible. Allow me a minute to air my grievances: The character of Christina, our female protagonist, was barely developed. Why is she a relationship expert? What is her holdup about being in a relationship? Why does she have a passion for podcasting? I wish I knew any one of these answers. What confuses me the most is that the writers had windows of opportunity to provide some backstory for Christina. Corey and Christina go out for the dinner the first night she’s staying at the ranch. Corey literally asks her about her life back in Chicago and, instead of answering, she deflects and he ends up talking about himself. The next day, Christina is hesitant to get on a horse. Why? Who knows! Corey goads her into getting on the horse and, in just one ride, Christina is over her fear and is able to ride all about the ranch on her own. The character development is unbalanced. We learn so much more about Corey than Christina that when the third act rolls around, it is hard to feel the tension that the writers want us to when Christina is faced with the choice between NYC and the ranch. I didn’t have a clue as to why she’d choose either. The chemistry between Christina and Corey’s characters is also almost nonexistent. There is a formula for this. We know they are supposed to fall in love and end up together but, again, why? It didn’t help that both actors played their parts with such low energy. It felt like they didn’t care, which in turn made me not care.
What bothers me the most is that these issues I mentioned could have been solved with little to no money. It was as if the writers’ main focus was on the plot and they completely forgot about making us care about the characters. The premise of the story was good, the locations were beautiful (although the fake snow was quite possibly the worst fake snow ever), it felt like this movie had all of the makings to be decent. Instead, the film fell flat. Adam and I debated about whether Christmas on the Ranch or Best. Christmas. Ever was the worst film we’ve watched for this column. Yes, Best. Christmas. Ever had two accomplished actresses and a more robust budget. Their failure should be considered worse since they seemed to have more to work with. I just cannot excuse how little the writers did for us in Christmas on the Ranch and so this film is at the bottom of my list.
Adam: Well, I’m going to let Alison cool off a little and let you know what I thought. With these holiday rom-coms, I’ve come to appreciate is what they can do with so little budget. I’ve said it before that this is a chance for so many people to get their foot into the door of movie industry. Many of these movies have production budgets in the thousands rather than the millions and some of the things that make movie budgets rise are things like sets, action, and actors. What we then get are a lot of these movies in existing locations with no action, and small casts talking. Christmas on the Ranch is no different in that regards.
The first movie we reviewed last year was Reporting For Christmas and, while it wasn’t great, there were some things to like. Much like Reporting for Christmas, Christmas on the Ranch had the same writer, same filming location (Long Grove, Illinois), and the same production company. It’s the hope that when you see a movie like Christmas on the Ranch as a second effort that the filmmakers expand on lessons learned and put out a better product. This is not the case at all. In fact, Christmas at the Ranch is a huge step backward. I can excuse low production values like Reporting for Christmas having the worst Christmas tree ever. However, I can’t excuse boring. There is a reason why many of these actors never “made it” and it’s because they’re boring. The plot is boring. The only light of hope I can bring to this one is Saige Chaseley, who plays the daughter. She’s bubbly and the only one trying to bring any personality to the character she’s playing. I hope she gets more chances. Besides her, there is little to like in Christmas on the Ranch and it is a disappointingly soulless example of the worst these movies can be.
As a resident of Chicago, I’m happy to see movies being made here, and I hope that it continues, but as far as this movie; even if you’re a fan of the genre, I’d skip it. There is very little to like and way better similar movies out there. I had thought about putting this one on the bottom of the list but Best. Christmas. Ever. had Heather Graham and Brandy in it and my guess is at least double the budget. So while it’s bad, it’s not the worst.
Adam’s List:
1) Holidate (2020, Netflix)
2) Love Hard (2021, Netflix)
3) Your Christmas or Mine (2022, Amazon)
4) Hot Frosty (2024, Netflix)
5) Holiday Calendar (2018, Netflix)
6) Snowed Inn (2017, Hallmark)
7) The Princess Switch (2018, Netflix)
8) Falling for Christmas (2022, Netflix)
9) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, Netflix)
10) EXmas (2023, Amazon/Freevee)
11) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)
12) The Christmas Train (2017, Hallmark)
13) Holiday in the Vineyard (2023, Netflix)
14) Meet Me Next Christmas (2024, Netflix
15) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)
16) Reporting for Christmas (2023, Hulu)
17) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)
18) A Christmas Vintage (2023, Amazon)
19) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)
20) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)
21) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)
22) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)
23) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)
24) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)
25) A Perfect Christmas Pairing (2023, Amazon)
26) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)
27) Christmas on the Ranch (2024, Hulu)
28) Best. Christmas. Ever. (2023, Netflix)
Alison’s List:
1) The Princess Switch (2018, Netflix)
2) Your Christmas or Mine (2022, Amazon)
3) Love Hard (2021, Netflix)
4) Holiday Calendar (2018, Netflix)
5) Falling for Christmas (2022, Netflix)
6) Holidate (2020, Netflix)
7) Hot Frosty (2024, Netflix)
8) The Christmas Train (2017, Hallmark)
9) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, Netflix)
10) Holiday in the Vineyards (2023, Netflix)
11) Meet Me Next Christmas (2024, Netflix)
12) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)
13) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)
14) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)
15) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)
16) EXmas (2023, Amazon/Freevee)
17) Snowed Inn (2017, Hallmark)
18) Reporting for Christmas (2023, Hulu)
19) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)
20) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)
21) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)
22) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)
23) A Christmas Vintage (2023, Amazon)
24) A Perfect Christmas Pairing (2023, Amazon)
25) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)
26) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)
27) Best. Christmas. Ever. (2023, Netflix)
28) Christmas on the Ranch (2024, Hulu)
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