Christmas With A Crown (2021)

Rated: PG

Genres: Family, Romance

Starring: Lisa Durupt, Marcus Rosner, and Teryl Rothery

Synopsis: When a successful woman returns to her hometown to revive her family's Christmas festival, she meets a dashing stranger who's volunteered to help organize the event. Sparks begin to fly between them, but little does she know that he's really a prince in disguise, longing to find the true spirit of the holidays

Review: The movie was quite boring. Halfway through I still didn’t care about what was happening. I adore Teryl Rothery but she didn’t pull of being queen. The whole movie was about planning a festival but there was very little Christmas. 

Scoring: 2

Christmas With A Prince (2018)

Rated: G

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Starring: Kaitlyn Leeb and Nick Hounslow

Synopsis: A busy doctor reluctantly agrees to allow an injured prince to convalescence secretly in her pediatric ward. 

Review:  This is not a movie about Christmas.  Rather, it’s one that takes place at Christmas. However, it’s darling. The children are precious and have so much personality. The love story almost seems secondary to the story of the children. 

Scoring: 3.5

 

Christmas With A Prince: Becoming Royal (2019)

Rated: PG

Genres: Drama, Romance

Starring:  Kaitlynn Leeb, Nick Hounslow, and Charles Shaughnessy

Synopsis: Dr, Tasha is off to St. Savarre to spend Christmas with Prince Alex.  He proposes and they immediately being making plans.  Princess Miranda, unhappy about the news, concocts a plan to halt the nuptials.

Review: As with the first movie, Christmas is merely the time of year it’s taking place.  There are no Christmas traditions.  Unlike the first movie, it isn’t filled with adorable children.  The love story picks up where the first movie left off but this would work as a stand-alone.  It’s a decent story but it felt a little superficial.  The evilness of Miranda felt the most real.  Still, if you like a simple and easy romance, you’ll like it.

Scoring: 3.5

Christmas With A Prince: A Royal Baby (2021)

Rated: G

Genres: Drama, Romance

Starring: Princess Tasha insists on accompanying her husband, Prince Alec, on his royal tour even though she’s pregnant.  When complications arise, they must figure out how to handle the situation.

Synopsis: Things get complicated for the expecting Prince Alexander and Dr. Tasha when a Royal State Visit is planned abroad, passing through her hometown.  The couple must struggle with defying tradition and delivering, literally, on expectations.

Review: This is the third movie in the series and being the third I expected it to not look so low budget. The only real Christmas is when they say it’s the first Christmas for the babies.  The plot has so many holes. A woman who went to a boarding school for the upper class in Europe doesn’t know what spoon to use or what to wear?  A woman who gets the best medical care in two countries doesn’t know she’s having twins?  And so on. It’s a cute movie but could’ve been better.  By itself it has failings but as a finale to the trilogy, it's great.

Scoring: 3.5

Christmas With A View (2018)

Rated: PG

Genres: Drama, Romance

Starring: Kaitlyn Leeb, Scott Cavalheiro, Patrick Duffy, and Vivica A. Fox

Synopsis: Secret aspirations between a failed restaurateur and a celebrity chef threaten their blossoming Christmas romance.

Review:  A little syrupy with more than a few slow moments but overall, it’s a nice story. The leads have good chemistry and acted well together. 

Scoring: 3

Christmas With Holly (2012)
Rated: G
Genres: Drama, Family, Romance
Starring: Sean Faris, Eloise Mumford
Synopsis: Mark Nagle leaves his job and home in Seattle when his orphaned niece Holly (six), who stopped communicating since her mother's death, isn't allowed to pass to the next grade. He moves back in with his single brothers Alex and Scott. Also new to the island town is Maggie Conway, who bought a toy shop and needs her sister Kate's support plus interns after firing the experienced manager to try a child-oriented concept. Holly and her toy store help bring Mark and Maggie together. 
Review:  Such a sweet story. Watching the differing personalities of the brothers as they care for Holly and how Maggie brings Holly out of her shell is lovely. 
Scoring: 5

Christmas With My Ex (2022)

Rated: NR

Genres: Drama, Family

Starring: Denise Boutte and Travis Cure

Synopsis: Christmas chaos unfolds when a woman is forced to spend the holidays with her family and her ex.

Review: While this takes place at Christmas, there’s very little Christmas or Christmas spirit. It’s mostly dysfunctional family drama. I did like the part of the story involving homelessness and shelters. Overall, it was just too much. 

Scoring: 2

Christmas With The Andersons  (2016)
Rated: PG
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Family
Starring: George Stults, Christy Carlson Romano, and Julie Brown
Synopsis: Mike and Caroline Anderson have always gone all out with parties and gifts for Christmas with their 10-year-old twins Brendan and Julia. But when Michael loses his job just before the holidays, it looks like Christmas is canceled -- until they receive a visit from wacky Aunt Katie, who helps them realize they can still pull off Christmas with no money, and rediscover what's most important.
Review:  At first the movie didn’t really have my attention. Rich people treating people as if they’re beneath them is very expected. They got my attention when the family hit hard times and had to come together as a family celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. 
Scoring: 3

Christmas With the Carters (2022)

Rated: TV-MA

Genres: Comedy, Family

Starring: Bryan G. Thompson, Sophie Knolton, Leslie Holmes-Dupree

Synopsis: When a family heirloom that is the key to celebrating Christmas is stolen, the family must do anything and everything to steal it back from a psycho-Santa fanatic.

Review: It seemed like it was trying so hard to be funny, but I wasn’t amused.  It was boring and a little, or a lot, over the top.  The acting was also subpar.  Skip it.

Scoring: 1

Christmas With the Chosen: The Messengers (2021)

Rated: NR

Genres: Musical, Religion

Starring: Austin Reed Alleman

Synopsis: Artists perform new and classic Christmas songs from the set of "The Chosen."

Review:  This is beautifully done.  Alternating between music and religious discussion.  The music is performed with a background that has a Nativity feel.

Scoring: 3

Christmas With The Darlings (2020)

Rated: G

Genres: Family, Romance

Starring: Katrina Law, Carlo Marks, and Steve Bacic

Synopsis: A woman helps a charming man look after his orphaned nieces and nephew during the holidays.

Review: Darling is the perfect word for this movie. The children and grownups are so perfectly written and acted. The story has so many layers. There are lots of Christmas traditions.  I especially enjoyed them decorating the outdoor trees including ornaments that were edible for the animals.  The puzzle is a perfect symbol for their experiences. You can’t help but root for their happiness. This will be an annual must see for us

Scoring: 5

Christmas With The Karountzoses (2015)

Rated: NR

Genres: Comedy, Family

Starring: Robert Krantz

Synopsis: On Christmas Eve Michael Karountzos finds out he didn't get his anticipated promotion and must now deal with fourteen Greek relatives at his dinner table.

Review:  It felt like this movie was trying too hard to recapture the magic of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” while failing.  There were comedic moments, dramatic moments (like Michael reading a letter to his younger self), and religious moments, none of which worked cohesively together.  It wasn’t enjoyable.  Had it chosen a genre and stuck with it; it may have been successful.

Scoring: 1.5

Christmas With The King Family (1967)

Rated: NR

Genres: Family, Musical

Synopsis: The King Sisters are back with their family to celebrate their favorite holiday.  The family shares some of their favorite Christmas songs.  This includes many touching moments, including sister Alyce dedicating “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” to her son away in the army, who then surprises her on the show.

Review: I had never heard of the King Sisters.  I don’t know why.  They’re delightful.  It’s upbeat and charming with classic and familiar Christmas songs.  I really enjoyed it.

Scoring: 3

Christmas With The Kranks (2004)
Rated: PG
Genres: Comedy, Family
Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Cheech Marin, Jake Busey, Julie Gonzalo, Caroline Rhea, Felicity Huffman, 
Synopsis: With their daughter away, the Kranks decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate the holiday at the last minute.
Review:  This isn’t a favorite of mine because of the amount of animosity.  The beginning feels more like an anti-Christmas movie.  Everyone helping out at the end made up for it, a little.  Despite my personal feelings, this is a Christmas classic for many.
Scoring: 2.5
Christmas With Tucker (2013)
Rated: NR
Genres: Drama, Family
Starring: James Brolin, Gage Munroe, and Jodie Bissett
Synopsis: A young boy learns to be a man after the death of his father and forms a special bond with a dog.
Review:  There are many places where this movie drags but seeing the relationship between Tucker and George as well as how good George is to his grandparents make it worth it. 
Scoring: 3.5

Christmas With You (2022)

Rated: PG

Genres: Family, Romance

Starring: Aimee Garcia and Freddie Prinze, Jr. 

Synopsis: Follows a pop star who's got a career burnout and escapes to a small town where she finds not only inspiration but a shot of love.

Review: This was a sweet love story with the daughter and grandmother playing roles that brought a little levity to a story that could’ve been too heavy. We see some Hispanic traditions.  There’s Christmas spirit alongside the romance. 

Scoring: 3.5

Christmas With A Capital C (2011)

Rated: NR

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Family

Starring: Ted McGinley and Daniel Baldwin

Synopsis: An attorney returns to his small home town in Alaska and quickly rocks the boat by getting an injunction against the nativity display tradition and attacking Christmas.

Review:  Another examination of Christian vs secular Christmas but it wasn't done well. The constant fighting and back and forth makes it awful to watch and it’s way too preachy. 

Scoring: 1