Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Woman returns to the ranch she left; mild language, kissing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
A Cowboy Christmas Romance
What's the Story?
Ten years before the action begins in A COWBOY CHRISTMAS ROMANCE, Lexie (Jana Kramer) left her beloved family ranch in Arizona when her controlling father turned over the reins to her brother. She was expecting to take over herself and assumed misogyny guided her father's decision. Now she's a successful big-city real estate broker handling huge deals. With a large bonus waiting for her if she can seal the next deal, she reluctantly goes to her hometown, assigned to persuade a stubborn local rancher to sell his ranch to a large corporation. The owner is a third-generation rancher, Coby (Adam Senn), smart, handsome, and dedicated to keeping his failing ranch afloat and in the family. Lexie must negotiate relationships with her estranged brothers and dad (Bruce Thomas Harrison) while helping Coby, who she's fallen for, get back on his feet. Things don't go as planned.
Is It Any Good?
The set-up is great in this well-made holiday romance. Two people have a chance encounter at a bar. It's a well-written scene that feels real and intriguing between two people with real chemistry, who will later be antagonists. In A Cowboy Christmas Romance, Adam Senn and Jana Kramer are winning as two smart people who interest each other but have goals that are at odds. The film's direction and script guide them through a mostly plausible journey toward each other, and their happiness spreads to include both of their families, groups that had to some degree been warring. Christmas fits right into the mix. The dialogue is snappy, sometimes even wise. A horse trainer says of horses, but really referring to other people, "You can't get anywhere (with them) unless you stop trying to control ‘em."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about parents' efforts to help their children and how sometimes those well-meaning efforts unknowingly cause pain.
How well does the movie portray the difficulties and challenges of a running a ranch?
A single dad is raising his daughter. Does Coby seem like a good dad? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 23, 2023
- Cast : Jana Kramer , Adam Senn , Bruce Thomas Harrison
- Director : Jake Helgren
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studios : Netflix , Lifetime Television
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Holidays ( Christmas )
- Run time : 85 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 19, 2025
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