Hallmark For All Seasons

“Christmas in Montana” originally aired on December 14 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, starring one of HMM’s popular mystery leading ladies, Kellie Martin.  Her co-star was TV’s own illustrious Maytag man, Colin Ferguson, who some may recognize from last year’s “Christmas on Mistletoe Lane” starring Alicia Witt.  This movie was set in Montana, but unfortunately, none of that gorgeous scenery was shot there.  It was all from Ontario, Canada.  The screenplay for this was written by Julie Sherman Wolfe, who also wrote not only the adapted screenplay for “The Christmas Club,” but also “A Christmas Love Story” from a couple of weeks ago.

In a nutshell

This was a quiet, thoughtful, slow-paced movie, a bit reminiscent of “A Summer Romance,” which was also set in Montana.  Those not in the mood may find this movie lackluster, but I rather enjoyed it.  Did I love it?  No, but it was a nice way to spend the evening.

Plot (from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel website)

Before the holidays, Sara (Martin) goes to Montana to help resistant Travis (Ferguson) save his ranch. Can time on the ranch help restore her faith in Christmas in time for a miracle?

Actors

I thought this was a nice cast.  Not particularly exciting or full of personality, but as this was a more mature storyline with more mature characters, I appreciated the cast very much.  I especially liked Ava Preston, who played Sara’s teen daughter, Chloe.

Chemistry

The best chemistry for me came from the mother/daughter relationship between Sara/Chloe (Martin/Preston).  At the beginning of the movie, they were hesitant around each other, distant and uncommunicative.  I enjoyed the slight attitude from the daughter that erred on the side of “but still respectful” that showed that even though they were going through a rough patch due to the loss of their husband/father a few years prior, they still loved each other.  And that bore out as the story continued and Sara and Chloe just started opening up about their joint grief.

I do think Kellie Martin and Colin Ferguson had good chemistry, but it wasn’t a “WOW LOOK AT THEM!” type of chemistry.  They were two hurting people who found healing in each other.  It was nice.

Tropes

There were several, but not as many as I figured for a “let’s save the ranch” kind of storyline.  Sara had a promotion that hinged on saving the ranch, as well as a deadline of Christmas Eve to get it done.  She was a widowed single parent to a teen.  There was a shot of a snowglobe, and a LOT of hot cocoa imbibed throughout the movie.  Sara had a minor slip & fall into Travis’s arms at some point, followed by some CGI snow falling as they left the barn later that afternoon.  They sort of went tree “shopping” albeit on the ranch, and then later decorated it, with Sara and Chloe each receiving special ornaments as gifts.  Lastly, Sara and Travis slow danced near the end of the movie.

Bingo Card Score for “Christmas in Montana”

I managed to cover 10 spots, but no bingo.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

There were several curious things about this movie, but I’ll hit one big one and two small ones. First the small ones.

Travis asks Sara on a date and she somehow packed a fancy green dress in her suitcase?  Why?  She was only meant to be there for a few days to work and crunch numbers to figure out how the ranch could qualify for its second mortgage request.  Who packs a fancy cocktail dress for that?

Secondly, they constantly talked about how cold it was in Montana, including things like “it’s only going to be 20 degrees at the bonfire,” and yet despite them being outside for most of the movie, we NEVER saw their breath in the air, and their noses never turned red.  At some point, she was sitting outside in an Adirondack chair just chilling out, seemingly unaffected by the bitter cold.

But the real sticking point for me was the way Travis was constantly saying, “We don’t charge family and friends for that,” in regards to renting the barn, charging for the Christmas trees, and numerous other things around the ranch.  He says he was a lawyer in another life, so he’s not stupid, but he’s clearly not got any business sense and shouldn’t be allowed to run the ranch at all if he can’t see the barn for the year-round wedding rentals.

Feelgoods

I had two things that I loved in this movie.  Travis kept making fun of Sara for being all business and not slowing down to relax and just hang out.  In one scene he gave her a cup of hot cocoa and basically said, “Let’s wait and talk business when we’re done with our hot chocolate,” to which she replied, “Okay,” before chugging the entire mug of cocoa in one fell swoop.  That made me laugh out loud, and I wrote in my notebook, “I would totally do that!”

The other feelgood pretty much came from Ava Preston as teenager Chloe.  She was the best part of this movie, hands down, and I enjoyed every moment she was on screen.  She is a natural actor and so effortlessly charming.

Re-watchability

I wouldn’t rush to watch this one again, but if nothing else was on TV and this came on, I’d probably tune in for a bit and see if it sucked me into watching the rest of it.

The Ranking

“Christmas in Montana” is right near the middle.  Not the best, but not the worst either.  I think that’s a fair “grade” for this movie.

1. Two Turtle Doves (air date: Nov 1) – 742 pts – weighted score: 123.7 (86.8%)
2. Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses (air date: Oct 26) – 719 pts – weighted score: 121.0 (84.9%)
3. Love to the Rescue RE-RANKED (air date: March 23) – 708 pts – weighted score: 120.6 (84.6%)
4. Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 685 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
5. Mystery 101 (air date: January 27 (HMM)) – 454 pts – weighted score: 94.2 (80.5%)
6. Love on the Menu (air date: February 23) – 642 pts – weighted score: 113.8 (79.9%)
7. Holiday Hearts (air date: Nov 23) – 663 pts – weighted score: 113.0 (79.3%)
8. Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
9. Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
10. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
11. The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
12. Love, Fall and Order (air date: Oct 12) – 636 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
13. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
14. Holiday Date (air date: Dec 14) – 647 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
15. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
16. Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (air date: Nov 29) – 627 pts – weighted score: 107.0 (75.1%)
17. Over the Moon in Love (air date: Oct 5) – 613 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
18. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
19. Check Inn to Christmas (air date: Nov 26) – 619 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
20. My One and Only (air date: Aug 31) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
21. Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
22. A Summer Romance (air date: Aug 17) – 577 pts – weighted score: 103.7 (72.7%)
23. The Christmas Club (air date: Nov 27) – 588 pts – weighted score: 103.5 (72.6%)
24. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
25. Forever in My Heart (air date: Sept 14) – 560 pts – weighted score: 102.4 (71.8%)
26. The Mistletoe Secret (air date: Nov 11) – 585 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7%)
27. Christmas Under the Stars (air date: Nov 16) – 576 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
28. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
29. Holiday for Heroes (air date: Nov 8) – 566 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
30. Time for You to Come Home for Christmas (air date: Dec 8) – 582 pts – weighted score: 98.4 (69.1%)
31. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
32. Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays – 558 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
33. A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love (air date: Nov 17) – 548 pts – weighted score: 96.9 (68.0%)
34. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
35. Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
36. Sense Sensibility & Snowmen (air date: Nov 30) – 560 pts – weighted score: 96.1 (67.4%)
37. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
38. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
39. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
40. Christmas Scavenger Hunt (air date: Nov 3) – 561 pts – weighted score: 95.4 (66.9%)
41. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
42. Christmas at Dollywood (air date: Dec 8) – 553 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
43. Picture a Perfect Christmas (air date: Nov 10) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
44. Christmas in Montana (air date: Dec 14) – 556 pts – weighted score: 94.4% (66.2%)
45. A Christmas Duet (air date: Nov 25) – 540 pts – weighted score: 94.1 (66.0%)
46. Write Before Christmas (air date: Nov 17) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.1 (66.0%)
47. Christmas Camp (air date: July 11) – 530 pts – weighted score: 93.9 (65.9%)
48. Our Christmas Love Song (air date: Nov 24) – 537 pts – weighted score: 93.4 (65.5%)
49. Love and Sunshine (air date: Aug 3) – 504 pts – weighted score: 91.7 (64.3%)
50. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
51. A Christmas Miracle (air date: Nov 14) – 494 pts – weighted score: 90.1 (63.2%)
52. Christmas at the Plaza (air date: Nov 28) – 517 pts – weighted score: 90.0 (63.1%)
53. Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
54. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
55. Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
56. All Summer Long (air date: Aug 24) – 512 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
57. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
58. Christmas in Rome (air date: Nov 30) – 494 pts – weighted score: 86.8 (60.9%)
59. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
60. A Christmas Love Story (air date: Dec 7) – 525 pts – weighted score: 85.1 (59.7%)
61. Merry & Bright (air date: Nov 2) – 483 pts – weighted score: 84.4 (59.2%)
62. Christmas Town (air date: Dec 7) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.8 (58.8%)
63. Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2 (air date: Nov 24) – 465 pts – weighted score: 83.4 (58.5%)
64. Nostalgic Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 446 pts – weighted score: 79.2 (55.6%)
65. A Merry Christmas Match (air date: Oct 25) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.3 (54.9%)
66. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
67. Rome in Love (air date: July 27) – 436 pts – weighted score: 76.7 (53.8%)
68. A Homecoming for the Holidays (air date: Dec 7) – 458 pts – weighted score: 75.9 (53.2%)
69. A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas (air date: Nov 7) – 398 pts – weighted score: 72.3 (50.7%)
70. A Taste of Summer (air date: Aug 10) – 403 pts – weighted score: 70.9 (49.7%)
71. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
72. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
73. A Cheerful Christmas (air date: Dec 15) – 410 pts – weighted score: 69.5 (48.8%)
74. Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

What did you think of “Christmas in Montana”?  Comment below and let me know!

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