Cranberry Christmas (2020 TV Movie) User Reviews

Rekindling romance

[cgvsluis · 6/10 · 1 January 2021]

The heart of this story is about a hardworking couple who were childhood sweethearts and have kind of let life get in the way of what really matters, each other. Together they own a cranberry bog/farm and a business called Cranberry Lane that specializes in all things Christmas. The two are brought together again to run the towns Christmas festival. The truth is these two really do love each other and have both been willing to make sacrifices for the other's happiness.

It was really nice to see a hallmark film about rekindling the romance in a marriage and talking about some of those difficult topics like career vs. family.

I for one enjoyed a more mature Hallmark offering.

Might have beens ...

[Pete-Claus · 5/10 · 27 December 2020]

Potentially, there was a really good movie to be found within the broad outlines of the overall situation and the plot. In this adaptation, however, while the actors pleasantly went thorough their assigned paces to reach a meaningful conclusion, there was almost no chemistry between any combination of the actors -- just a little, here and there. No Zing! No spark. Kind of like watching paint dry.

Eh.

[smithduke · 5/10 · 31 October 2021]

Not a fan of rekindling romances. To me, I'd rather watch new romances. I found this rather boring and I really didn't feel any love between the characters. It's not one I will watch again, although I do like the lead actors very much.

Disappointing

[Jackbv123 · 6/10 · 23 November 2021]

I'm a huge fan of Nikki DeLoach. She usually does movies for Hallmark that have a little more depth than all the fluff out there.

There are plenty of rekindling romance movies., Like at least one other reviewer, they are not my favorite. My enjoyment is in new developing relationships. This was a little different than most of the rekindling ones in that it involved two married people who had been together since they were very young. And it didn't involve a time travel, alternate universe, or dream reset. Nikki did one a little like this a couple of Christmases ago.

Nikki does her usual good job reaching down below the surface to pull up the feelings that are most important for her character and ones that most of us value. Benjamin Ayres plays well opposite her. There is chemistry, but it's quiet because that's what the setting requires.

The problem is there just isn't anything that makes the movie stand out like I usually expect from Nikki. That's more because of the story than anything. No great highs or lows. No surprises. The only tension is the future of their relationship. There is a little secret Gabe is holding until "the right time", but it was disappointingly trivial. There were some clues. "The right time" turns out to be about half way through.

Middle of the Road

[chiltonsjillfreeport · 6/10 · 11 December 2020]

The sets for Cranberry Christmas were so luscious and the movie was such a hive of activity it took me a while to realize there wasn't much going on under the surface.

Hallmark gets props for a grown-up, un-kitschy plot: what happens when a long-married couple/business partners, separated now over conflicting career dreams and too much distance, are much thrown together at their beautiful Maine cranberry farm?

The plot device here is an intrusive Martha Stewart-ish character (unaware of their separation) who descends on the farm to ostensibly bring Dawn/Nikki DeLoach and Gabe/Benjamin Ayres together for a host of Christmas doings.

The hitch is, Dawn and Gabe's interactions are of a drive-by sort and fall flat, lacking chemistry. They manage some awkward, rather than longing or tension.

Cranberry Christmas was pretty to look at, with a ton of warm Christmas Busy. But for all the family swirl, this pairing lacked the heart to make me really care if Dawn and Gabe patched it up.

DeLoach is so good (here, as always), I had to wonder if a co-star with more charisma might've sparked this one up. As much as I enjoy her in a movie, it's nothing I would watch again.

Cranberry Christmas

[JoBloTheMovieCritic · 6/10 · 29 November 2020]

6/10 - Hallmark brings us something a little different this time around as a married couple grows closer around the holidays

just okay

[taylornan · 7/10 · 1 December 2020]

I found this movie to be kinda slow and boring. No chemistry between the lead actors. It was okay but I would not watch it again.

The best one thus far this 2020 season by Hallmark

[toddsgraham · 8/10 · 16 November 2020]

This is the 5th Hallmark movie I have seen of the 2020 Christmas movie season. Hands down, the best movie thus far. Nikki Deloach was excellent; she has always performed great in Hallmark movies. Benjamin Ayres was pretty good too. And the supporting cast was great. The storyline/plot was a bit outside the norm for Hallmark, which I really liked here: the focus was on a troubled marriage as opposed to two people meeting and falling in love. I think this worked well; it touched on some important issues in this regard. I love Hallmark movies because of their Christmas spirit and festive atmosphere. You will not be disappointed: this movie provides all of this. Overall, well worth the watch, especially if you are a fan of Hallmark Christmas movies (as I am).

Not to be confused with Mary Berry's Christmas!

[adamjohns-42575 · 6/10 · 28 December 2022]

A Merry Berry Christmas/Cranberry Christmas (2020) -

Nikki DeLoach, playing Dawn, was definitely the problem in the relationship she had with husband Gabe (Benjamin Ayres) and that really old fashioned haircut didn't help.

She did seem more appropriate for him than Danica McKellar in 'You Me And The Christmas Trees' (2021) though and I could see the love that was lost and to be found again between them.

I actually liked that this story was about them refinding each other and not the standard return to their hometown and getting together with the high school crush trope that I usually see, although of course some of them are done very well.

What I found hard to believe however, was that people really got so excited by these local news segments or TV programmes as they are depicted to do in these films. Do they really boost the numbers or make them the big bucks or am I just a miserable old pessimist? And are they really make or break things?

I have to say that I felt that the solution to the leads estrangement was pretty obvious right from the start. As with most things it was a break down in communication.

In general everyone in the film was fine. They seemed to have layered up Benjamin Ayres in every scene to hide the fact that he was so slim and obviously not a farmer of any sort and the Grandma overacted more than slightly, but it didn't really effect anything too much.

Full of the season and really quite inoffensive, I would watch this one again.

6.25/10.

Cranboring descriptive already used by another reviewer. But I promise I thought of it before I read any of these reviews!

[ron_smith-89134 · 1/10 · 18 December 2020]

I regret that somebody already coined the word Cranboring. I must have fallen asleep five or six times. My wife kept waking me up. How sad. Beautiful people. Beautiful scenery. How lovely everything was! But BORING. No punch! No real grit. No real substance. I felt like I was swimming around inside a bowl of oatmeal. Boring, boring, boring!

Hallmark Christmas Movie for Grown-Ups

[rebekahrox · 8/10 · 7 December 2020]

This is a mature and well acted offering that explores what it takes to have a happy marriage despite the challenges. Nikki DeLoach and Ben Ayers were fantastic and have wonderful chemistry. It was like they were really married and in love. They were a perfect match. Nikki is so sincere in her delivery, you really believe that everything that comes out of her mouth is from her heart. The whole cast was great, except grandma was a little teensy bit over the top. Sorry Grandma. The script was excellent with humor, heart, and a few tender moments. And it managed to avoid most of the Hallmark set pieces. Even the big misunderstanding near the end was handled with maturity and aplomb. The challenges to the happy ending were complex and real. No phony silliness at all. A breath of fresh air.

Was hoping for better

[ssc7 · 4/10 · 9 November 2020]

As a huge Hallmark fan, and of Nikki's since Awkward I've like all of her Christmas movies. Seen the male lead in some as well. Just didn't care for this one. Liked the fact the couple story was different. But just seemed to fall flat. All the other parts were too familiar. They had a chance to really make a different movie. How about some real couple struggles, not all stars, rich, etc. Just a thought. Really didn't care for the "Oprah" character, what was even the point of that? Another 2020 Hallmark fail in my opinion. Looking forward to more with Nikki though.

A Sweet Christmas Movie

[Dog-River · 8/10 · 12 December 2020]

There's been quite a few Christmas movies I've watched this holiday season that had a bit too much unnecessary giddiness in them. But this one was an enjoyable watch. No over the top giddiness, the characters were likeable and it had a good story. The leads had great chemistry together and the supporting cast did well too. I would definitely recommend this to family and friends.

CranBORING Christmas

[ginasharp · 2/10 · 13 November 2020]

I was so excited for this title, finally a Hallmark movie about a married couple getting their "spark" back and reconnecting instead of boy meets girl. But it was a let down! The storyline was okay but this movie could've been so much better. The movie did NOT sell me on this couples relationship, they were so boring and no sparks! They ran around working and talking mostly to others instead of each other. I thought they would be pushed together to run their farm and start doing activities together but no, it wasn't like that at all. One thing I could not wrap my head around was how they acted like they didn't even know each other? It was so odd, I mean I get that they were separated for 3 months but when u have been married for over ten years so know them and at least feel a certain comfort level , they acted like they just met. I am forever a Hallmark fan, but this movie was a sad dud. Now waiting for a romantic good movie about marriage. Boo......

A different journey toward Christmas love

[splashpont · 9/10 · 8 November 2020]

This film, with a great cast, is more interesting than the usual romcom that we're so accustomed to on at least three Christmas channels on cable and one other service.

The acting is good but the husband is toxic asf

[xxnrtkhz · 1/10 · 25 October 2022]

The acting is great, but the message is flawed. The husband is also toxic as hell. The husband is a cranberry farmer, he and his wife have a company called cranberry lane. They are separated and heading towards divorce. He informed his wife that one of the major reasons they aren't working is because he wants to see her more, have her travel for work less, he feels like the company is her priority, he wants to spend more time on the farm, and she's working too much. This is a family farm that he has inherited. The farm is commercial and it depends on sales, and her company is cranberry based. You'd think that he'd appreciate the work she's doing, and the effect she's having on his families brand and sales. He is instead resentful of her and her success. She is living at her sisters house. Her brand gets recognized by a national television show. They want to come and do a segment on her brand and the farm and her family, the tv show doesn't know about the separation . She reaches out to her husband to get him onboard for this huge branding and publicity opportunity for THEIR company, their brand, the farm, and town where they host a cranberry festival. The husband turns it down, and says things between them are confusing enough. He knows this is the kind of oppression that she's been working towards and didn't even really consider it, because he doesn't care about the boost this could have for the company because that's mainly his wife's thing. When he tells his parents he turned it down, they tell him to do it because it will bring tourist and sales to the farm, then he decides to be cooperative. That man turns around and does a whole 360 once he realizes that it benefits his farm, mind you he is also is apart of the company but her clearly doesn't see that as his. They fake the funk for the camera crew and their festival goes over so well the host shows up and extends the taping so they have to extend the faking about being a happy couple. The wife even moves back in the house because the host comes to town and the husband invites her to stay with them. It is apparent that the wife is shocked by how cooperative he is being, this change of heart and play acting is confusing for her and giving her hope that they can work it out. She walks on eggshells about accepting the opportunities she's been working towards for her business because she doesn't want to break the fragile peace with her husband. She even turns down a tv show because she knows that he will leave her if she accepts it or tells him about it and has to tape in New York. Meanwhile the husband is telling her that he has purchased a neighboring property to expand the farm and he wants to add a gift shop and tastings ect and she's telling him that she'll fully support him. It's sad and toxic and I want hallmark to show healthy relationships and dynamics cuz this ain't it. Also I won't tell how it ends.

Decent Movie

[pattersonjamie-12079 · 8/10 · 6 November 2020]

This movie was a little slow, but the cast was so good. I enjoyed it but wouldn't go out of my way to watch again.

I'm sorry, what?

[MickyG333 · 5/10 · 19 December 2022]

5.4 stars.

If I was one of the writers at Hallmark and my boss told me I have a deadline to come up with a title and theme for 5 Christmas films today, I bet one of the titles would inevitably be 'Cranberry Christmas'. Why, because it rolls off the tongue, but a flashy name does not guarantee a good movie. In fact, it might be pretty bad like the real 'Cranberry Christmas'.

I could imagine the conversation with my boss:

Boss: "Give me a good title for our next movie in the next 10 seconds".

Me: "ummm, what, why, I need time to think on it."

Boss: "Just for giggles, now, spit it out"

Me: "uh, Christmas with Crawdads?"

Boss: "No silly, something Christmassy, something that is fun and colorful, bright, and jolly"

Me: "Christmas with the Cranberries".

Boss: "Sounds good, what is it about?"

Me: "It's about a family named Cranberry, a real sour bunch and they don't enjoy Christmas, a cool little play on words."

Boss: "make it happen, I like it".

Ooops, it never came to fruition, because someone else in the department already got approved for 'Cranberry Christmas'... turned out to be a big mistake.

What is the theme of this movie? It's not the cranberries, it's not Christmas, it's about saving a failed marriage.

The leads have ZERO chemistry. No, they have Absolute ZERO chemistry, it's the anti-chemistry. And is this absence of energy and chemistry by design?

What I learned from this is that it's actually a fairly realistic view of a couple who have grown apart. How do you salvage such a relationship? One must sacrifice pride, self-respect, even their own desires in order to provide an effective olive branch. It's messy. Some of this movie depicted it well, the rest of it was hogwash.

This movie was made because there was a deadline and they were out of ideas. This was on the back burner for a very long time (it had to be, right?).

Pleasant Movie - Relaxing

[vintagegeek-97465 · 8/10 · 14 November 2020]

A nice traditional Hallmark pre-Christmas movie. Characters were right for their parts. Happiness quotient was on target. Some are over the top with giddiness and you just can stand it. Ending was a little blah. But the expected result.

Love rekindled

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 22 February 2022]

Nobody should watch Hallmark films with massively high expectations, their Christmas output particularly. If a Hallmark fan or wanting to see as many Christmas films as possible, expectations would understandably be higher. They are very formulaic with most of them being more of the same narratively and structurally, apart from sporadic attempts at changes of pace. There are a fair share of them though that are surprisingly above average and even good amidst the many average and less ones.

The 2020 output from Hallmark did vary in quality but was not near as bad or wildly uneven as it could have been. None of the films from the batch were really terrible, and a small handful of them were actually very good. Along with 'Five Star Christmas', 'Cranberry Christmas' is one of the very good ones and benefits from trying to do something outside the norm and the presence of the reliable Niki Deloach in the female lead role. 'Cranberry Christmas' is a fine example of why Hallmark's Christmas output or even Hallmark in general should not be immediately scorned at.

It drags a little early on where the film takes a little time to get going.

Did think too that the grandmother could have been written and played with more subtlety as she did jar slightly with everything else.

'Cranberry Christmas' succeeds very well everywhere else though. It is visually pleasing and has a professional look. The appropriately festive locations especially. Enough of the soundtrack is nostalgic and pleasant enough. The direction is accomodating while not going through the motions. Nikki DeLoach and Benjamin Ayres don't overplay, any mannerisms not overdone, and neither do they hold back too much. Deloach especially is very good and the main reason to see the film. Their likeability shines through and their chemistry charms, personally actually thought it was there.

Moreover, the dialogue is tighter and less stilted than a lot of Hallmark Christmas films and the cheese and sentiment isn't as much. The story raises some important relevant issues in a tactful manner, making the film heartfelt at points, it also engaged me and was charming and heart-warming while not taking itself too seriously. Did appreciate too that there was more to usual. The characters may be well worn cliches, but they came over to me as likeable enough and any negative character traits didn't come over as over the top like can be the case in Hallmark Christmas films. Actually cared for these characters, not the case with a lot of recently seen Christmas films.

In conclusion, very well done and even very good. One of the best 2020 Hallmark Christmas films easily and one of the few highly recommended. 8/10.

Great movie

[dianamarinelli · 10/10 · 3 April 2021]

I love this story bringing a estranged couple back together and not a first love first sight story which I was glad. The chemistry was amazing and love the story.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!

[spiceladyvickibird · 10/10 · 19 November 2020]

I'm addicted to Christmas, humor, and business. I want to watch it over and over again, constantly.

Thoroughly enjoyed the acting and the story

[markleroy-16-750085 · 9/10 · 25 October 2022]

Finally a Hallmark Christmas movie with descent acting! Every actor seems far better connected and motivated through the movie. The story line template is typical of Hallmark yet maintains a uniqueness worth watching.

The lead actors (Nikki Deloach & Ben Ayers) are especially engaging on both parts. On screen the two are certainly 'together' and in love. Both deliver emotionally connection and enticing interaction. Their timing in dialogue is spot on. Perhaps this is in part due to better direction or editing.

In Hallmark movies, even when the leads offer a good perfomrance, the supporting cast is often lacking in emotion and delivery. Not so in Cranberry Christmas. I enjoyed all of them, especailly Marci T. House, as Pamela. Pamela is THE one to offer the typical "job offer" out of town or clear across the country, naturally interfering with the love interests. Marci's performance was so very enjoyable to watch in this presentation.

One of the better Hallmark Christmas movies for sure.

Great movie

[SunnyDaise · 10/10 · 18 December 2022]

This is what Hallmark and all the others need to be making more of - 40 somethings a bit further on in life! I got so fed up of seeing over 40s actors doing millennial characters and plots that I was giving up on this type of movie. When viewers have grown up and aged with the actors, we can't buy into them being the younger generation! This story is great - there's no agenda, no pushing trendy issues just good old sticking with marriage and/or wider family and making it work. It's so important that they show the couple and the sister/grandma set up because there are so many multi-generational household out there and that takes just as much if not more hard work than a marriage. I'd love a sequel.