An Evergreen Christmas

A man rages at his teen daughter and belittles her; later she has bruises on her arms. Though we don't see him drinking, he is brutal and appears to be inebriated in several scenes. Two men angrily face off with a baseball bat and a rifle; actual violence is avoided.

One sweet kiss. A brief discussion occurs concerning sleeping arrangements for an unmarried couple. They share a bed but are never seen there together.

A few insults: "tramp," "butt." An obviously racist man sneers at a boy of Mayan heritage and calls him an "illegal."

Young adults drink at a bar; one man becomes drunk. It's suggested that a mean bully drinks; he appears to be inebriated in several scenes.

Parents need to know that An Evergreen Christmas is intended to be an uplifting holiday movie, strongly promoting simple values of family, community, and personal responsibility ... and showcasing its star, Charleene Closshey, a composer, musician, and singer. The well-worn concept of big-city shallowness and self-absorption versus the authenticity and integrity of small-town living is at the heart of this film. Serious themes -- the death of a parent, racism, and abandonment -- emerge as a young woman reevaluates her life and her purpose. The opening scene shows a man collapsing and dying; his funeral follows soon after. Then much of the story concerns his family's grief, their adjustment, and the economic turmoil surrounding that death. A brutal father with a racist agenda threatens his teen daughter with violence in several scenes, one of which later results in bruises on her arms, though the actual abuse is not shown. The film has a racially diverse cast and contains a few scenes with drinking and drunkenness.

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