Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Wholesome holiday romance is predictable and slow-moving.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
A Very Vintage Christmas
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In A VERY VINTAGE CHRISTMAS, Dodie (Tia Mowry) has moved west from her East Coast home to open an antique store with her friend Olivia (Agam Darshi). She's borrowed funds from her dad and is determined to make a success. At the same time, she is sad to be away from home during Christmas for the first time ever. Ed (Jesse Hutch) has been traveling the world and has recently returned to his small hometown to be near his mom Margaret (Patricia Richardson) and fix up their old family home. He's instantly interested in Dodie and is happy when she reluctantly enlists his help in finding the owner of a box full of romantic mementos that was hidden in a 1930s art deco wardrobe she has for sale in her shop. The pursuit leads them to a surprising outcome.
Is It Any Good?
This would be a fun movie for kids if it had any children in it. Instead, it features adults whose thinking is at times childish. While seeking the whereabouts of a couple that got together 50 years before based on an old photo, Dodie and Ed focus on going to a Christmas event in town. They seem to believe that somehow someone who was on the scene 50 years ago will still be there and recognize the people in the photo! Magically, an extroverted woman who's been annually playing an elf all those years remembers the couple. What are the odds? If it's hard for an audience to believe, imagine the actors' plight.
Jesse Hutch makes a likable Ed but Tia Mowry' has her work cut out for her as her character sets the movie's whimsical agenda—searching for that memento box's owner. She's forced to spout one illogical and wishful thought after another. Equally baffling is her new business strategy, that attaching fabricated origin stories to vintage items will boost sales. And what entrepreneur with a brain would open a store filled with Christmas decorations and old tchotchkes only a week before Christmas, pretty much missing the biggest buying season of the year? But that's part of the hopeful innocence that makes this a gentle choice for a child audience. Somehow, despite terrible planning and magical thinking, everything turns out all right. It even snows on Christmas.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes a Christmas movie great. Do we prefer showcases of "Christmas spirit"? Or do we want to watch miracles and fantasies? Or perhaps it's both?
Why do you think Dodie becomes obsessed with finding the lovers of 50 year ago?
Why do you think Dodie doesn't want to get involved with Ed? Why do so many movies push the narrative that women can't have a successful career and a relationship?
How is this a typical holiday romance? Is there anything unexpected here? Does it matter if it's predictable?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 27, 2019
- Cast : Tia Mowry , Jesse Hutch , Patricia Richardson
- Director : Paul A. Kaufman
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studios : Netflix , Lifetime
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Family Stories , Holidays ( Christmas )
- Run time : 87 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : November 10, 2025
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