User reviews

The story itself was intriguing to me. A woman searching for the history of an old ring she came across and it leads her to a small town. I liked seeing a different lead actress, but I will say I'm not quite sure she was the right fit for this role. Her acting was a bit stiff. I enjoyed finding out about the story behind the ring, but the movie itself was a tad boring at times for me. Not a bad film, but not great either.

1) No chemistry between the leads 2) Woman lead is a terrible - unbelievable, poor actor 3) The side story is stupid

Normally I like David Alpay - but he's not good in this movie! Very aloof and unlikable.

I respect Hallmark for trying new actors in these movies - but Nanzeen Contractor just isn't cutting it in this role.

I fell was falling asleep halfway through it - turned it off. I guess when I have nothing better to do, I'll finish watching it. Not at the top of my list ...

The Good. I liked the actress Nazneen Contractor (nice to see a new face), and David Alpay was okay (not one of my faves, and used too much). The scenery and Christmas decor were beautiful. I loved the locations used, -as opposed to the overly used locations of so many other movies of theirs. The "idea" behind the plot had a lot of potential, *but the execution..... well, not so much....

The Bad. Why is it that year after year Hallmark struggles sooooo painfully bad in finding decent writers??? Everything about this movie was cliche, from overly used scenes, to painfully predictable dialog. The meet/cute was exactly the same as e v e r y other Hallmark movie... girl meets boy, words are exchanged and they butt heads to start off. Everyone's parents are always dead, -this movie is no exception. The leads boss at work is almost always a female, or a token person of another race. (Heads up Hallmark, -we're not *all feminists).

The Ugly. This is a Christmas movie. HELLO. Last time I checked, this is the Celebration of Christ's Birth. IF you want to be INCLUSIVE #Hallmark, maybe INCLUDE the ACTUAL story of Christmas in some of your movies. (rant over on that). Yes folks, this movie included another small town "Christmas shopping bazaar". In one scene, when David was pulling up to Nazneen, it was snowing, but when he got out of the car, it was not snowing. It was so distracting and laughable, I had to rewind and watch a couple times!! Everything about this (and e v e r y other Hallmark gem) was ooey-gooey, sappy, saccharine-sweet dialog. This movie had the one near-miss kiss and one to finish it off (goodness forbid there should be a display of affection, -which is perfectly natural to see without corrupting someone). Heads up Hallmark... we're NOT all 10 year olds watching.

Nazneen Contractor and David Alpay, I feel bad for you both. You didn't have much to work with, but I appreciate your efforts!

There were so many things that appealed to me about this Christmas story.

The story starts with a plucky internet reporter, Kendra, who works for some on-line magazine whose specialty is quizzes like which reindeer do you most resemble? She has been dying to write more serious articles to take their on-line magazine in another direction. Kendra's mother passed away and her father had been holding on to her mother's wedding ring which had been passed down to four generations...but since his passing a couple years ago the ring has gone missing. It has become Kenra's practice to check in antique shops looking for her mom's ring. This is what she is doing when she finds a very similarly styled ring to her mom's, but this one has an inscription that says "Forever My Christmas Love 1948". She learns from the shop owner that you can track the maker of a ring by the jewelry mark...which she does to a small town. The mystery and story behind this inscription intrigues Kendra and she makes a pitch to her boss to write a human interest story about the ring...the boss who just wants to sell advertising thinks the quizzes and celebrity gossip get more eyeballs on the page, so she categorically says no. Kendra decides to take a few days off to do her own sleuthing convinced that she can write an article that will be good enough for her boss to change her mind. Once in the small town she discovers the jeweler has passed away, but that his son is running a bakery out of the same location. The baker is very friendly and is able to find the receipt ledger, which by description and date lead to the purchaser of the ring. Meanwhile in said small town she keeps bumping in to the same handsome but slightly grumpy and suspicious guy...who turns out to be the grandson of the purchaser of the ring and coincidentally the biggest celebrity gossip of the moment. When Michael finds out she is a reporter he becomes even more suspicious that she is really there to do an article on him...and of course when her boss finds out he is involved with the ring story through eavesdropping...red lights her article as long as he is mentioned or featured. "You are the most effectual person I have ever met"

The real story becomes solving the mystery of the ring and the back story of Michael's grandparents, William and Pearl, who ran the small town's general store which was at the heart of the town and a big deal at Christmas. Struggling to keep it operational Michael's brother and he are considering selling the store...which leads to them having one more last big Christmas at the store, including doing all of the Christmas traditions that their grandparents did.

Together Michael and Kendra piece together the story of the ring... "Even though you were looking for your mother's ring, I'm glad you found my grandmother's." "My mom would have loved Pinegrove." "You made me believe you were writing a story about true love. About how love takes sacrifice and risk." Of course there is a misunderstanding...and it ends with a suspenseful moment...will our protagonist finally get together in the end, it was sweet and thoughtful and involved two people striking out on their own to do the work they were meant to do, which may be risky but they will be able to sleep at night, and of course it involves the ring. ...taking buildings of the past and updating them for the future. I am always intrigued by stories from the past...I love trolling antique shops and finding treasures. This was so much fun to follow the inscription to the heart of the story and have it be one of true love. "You're a part of the story now." The actress who played Kendra was a little different than Hallmark's usual lead and I for one liked her, she was gorgeous, independent, self-assured and maybe a little sassy. She and the male lead played well together...but the big star was the mystery of the ring.

I really wanted to like this movie but the lofty, corny dialogue in scene after scene just made that impossible. I enjoyed Nazneen Contractor in her role, she was sweet, honest, dedicated, likeable and driven to find answers about the ring and herself. She seemed to have good chemistry with all the other cast, just not David Alpay. I found her to be believable, but not him, he seemed aloof. So the romance part didn't work for me, of course the eye-rolling, gag worthy dialogue didn't help matters. It's an interesting story, not necessarily one to avoid

This is my 11th Hallmark Christmas movie of the 2020 season. Thus far, this one is at the bottom of my list. Overall, it was a big disappointment. The acting was mediocre at best. David Alpay's performance was OK. I have seen him a couple of times in Hallmark films; his performance was similar in those roles. Nazneen Contractor, on the other hand, was unimpressive. Though her performance improved in the latter half of the film, overall, it was not so good. She did not draw me in with her performance at all. There was no chemistry between the two leads as well, which is a problem in a romance movie. The supporting cast, which Hallmark usually does a good job at casting, was quite mixed. For example, a Hallmark regular, Casey Manderson who played the brother (Scott), was terrible, while Kendra's boss (Colleen Wheeler as Linda) and friend (Kazumi Evans as Sarah) at the magazine both had good performances. The story and script were not bad, but due to the acting, I never was drawn into the movie (I was not engaged); I found myself on multiple occasions grabbing for my iPad, which is never a good sign. The scenery, props and sets were very polished, festive. I did find the atmosphere - i.e., Christmas spirit and a festive environment - to be rather lacking in this Hallmark film; this is something Hallmark usually does a good job at creating. Overall, this edition to Hallmark's 2020 Christmas season was a complete letdown.

This was a very sweet movie!. Even though this story has been done countless times before, it still felt fresh to me and held my interest throughout. The lead actrees, Nazneem Contractor, was very engaging in her role and she is what ultimately made the movie work for me. Nothing groundbreaking here, but the execution was good and I think you will enjoy it!

Yes all Hallmark movies are predictable, but I like these two leads and the story was a little different than the usual. I liked David Alpay and Nazarene Contractor- I don't get the complaints. I thought they had nice chemistry, were both sensitive, thoughtful adults. Living in Los Angeles during Covid, with no snow, no Christmas pageants or tree lighting ceremony- is it all seems a little bit surreal, but I enjoyed this one.

The story didn't start out to be writer sent to do hit piece, but it turned into that. Cliché after cliché was added to the story so that by half way, any viewer could write the detail outline for the rest of the movie. And to make it all worse, the climax was even more cliché than the rest of the movie and had no emotional impact for me whatsoever. The actors in the very final scene even looked like they were almost listlessly going along just to finish it out. The story had no big highs or lows, or surprises. The dialogue was flat.

About half way through, characters kept asking, "what happened to the ring?" And I kept answering them with the as yet unrevealed, but totally obvious answer.

Nazneen Contractor and David Alpay started out with the obligatory animosity. Michael had a chip on his shoulder so big I'm surprised he could stand up. Then all of a sudden, the chip magically disappeared and the two actors started to build a little bit of chemistry. Unfortunately, I don't think that survived the conflict (which was just as predictable as the ring's fate). I already mentioned that the last scene lacked any passion.

All these movies that have the reporter-premise make the reporters out to be so idealistic, which usually means also naïve. Kendra ranks up there for naïve. And you don't scheme with your coworker by video chat (without ear buds) where everyone in the entire office can hear what you are talking about.

If you haven't watched several hundred Christmas movies, or even more than a dozen or so, the story might be worth watching.

When a young woman buys a ring in an antique store, she wants to find the story behind the inscription inside it. So she travels to this quaint little town and there she unravels the mystery of how the ring went missing. It's a charming little story perfect for Christmas. Full of warmth, love, and nostalgia.

Kendra is looking for a family heirloom. However, she founds another treasure, an engagement ring from 1948. While tracking the owners she runs into Michael Jones, a famous architect who has gone off the radar after a controversy.

At first it was hard for me to get into the story, but then the ring's history had me very intrigued. The story of the Michael's grandparents was probably my favorite part. I liked Nazneen Contractor as our main lady (I will admit that there were two scenes which had me laughing because her acting was kind of bad). I liked David as well, but the chemistry was just not there for me. Actually, it was confusing, they mostly didn't have it, but there is one particular scene (the baking scene) in which they really seemed to be having a good time. The romance is not the main focus of this movie and I liked that. Or maybe the chemistry was that bad.

You can smell the pre-ending problem miles ahead. It was quite predictable. However, I will say this again, the story alone of the ring was worth it to me.

Not all Hallmark's Christmas films in my view are bad, just to get that out of the way now. Was actually pleasantly surprised, and still have been, by a fair share while understanding why they won't be everybody's cup of tea. The premise for 2020's 'The Christmas Ring' wasn't that appealing to be honest, very same old, same old, but Kazumi Evans in support is always worthwhile and have liked David Alpay in other things. Also Christmas films with touches of mystery have been good mixes before.

2020 was a bit of a mixed bag for Hallmark (though surprisingly not too bad all things considered with the circumstances), and 'The Christmas Ring' is one of the weaker films in the batch. Hallmark have definitely done far worse and there are certainly worse Christmas films about, but 'The Christmas Ring' just wasn't my cup of tea sad to say. There are good things, very few Hallmark films are irredeemable, but they are outweighed by the more glaring flaws.

'The Christmas Ring' has good things. The best aspect is the production values. The scenery is truly lovely, magical even at its best, and appropriately festive. Makes one want to go there and definitely at Christmas. The photography complements them beautifully.

There are moments of affectionate nostalgia in the soundtrack, with sprinklings of Christmas song favourites. Kazumi Evans is a welcome zesty presence, while Coleen Wheeler is also committed without making a cliched kind of character too much of a stereotype.

Nazneen Contractor, interesting to see an unfamiliar name for female lead, on the other hand is far too stiff and also bland, on paper her character is likeable as she has well intentioned goals but the character in the film doesn't really grow and is almost too naive. Alpay also doesn't work, his character is very detached and uptight (neither of which are softened enough, even when the very sudden signs of change happens) and Alpay's acting is very cold and aloof. There is no chemistry between them, they look uncomfortable together and seem too mismatched and the romance is not very well developed. The conflict is contrived and predictable, it takes a while for anything to progress and any development comes out of nowhere and is rushed through. Casey Manderson is annoying.

Generally the characters do not come over like real people and instead like too perfect or excessively negative caricatures. Evans and Wheeler have the characters that have the most spark and that is mainly down to their ability to do a lot with their material. Furthermore, the story is dull as dishwater from being way too thin and excessively predictable from being the same formula as with most Hallmark films with all the long well worn out cliches done to tired effect. Some of it is very repetitive too, the final act is contrived and lacking in realism and the ending is too neat and can be seen from miles away, Hallmark really do need to get some new ideas. The script is very stilted and is full of cheese and sugar to the point that it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Most of the music is too overbearing and lacks any kind of subtlety.

In conclusion, mediocre. 4/10.

It is the star of this film. Unfortunately, maybe the only one. Because the chemistry is missing, the story is flat, the good intentions are just support for cliches. Sure, the charme of few scenes , more as result of not the impressive artistic skills of Nazneen Contractor is just precious and David Alpay saves what can be saved. But the sketch of jewell, the hypothesis around it, the old jeweler memory, yes, each is crumb of the soul of this film , nice when you see you, rotten after some time after you viewed it.

Nice story ,well done camera work , Lead Actor was well cast. The problem I have with this movie is the lead actress needs to go back to class.

5.8 stars.

This movie is not great, it's below average for Hallmark. The mystery is very basic, it does not take a Sherlock to solve. The whole plot is tired, the events are uninspired and predictable.

I don't understand how this movie got a 6.4 average. So many people voted 10 stars. Why vote 10 stars for a movie like this one, I just don't understand. And so many voted 1 star too. That is absolutely illogical. For a movie to be a 1/10 it would have to have no music, be impossible to follow, maybe in another language with jump cuts, dialogue is out of sync, lighting is so bad you can't make out who is in the shot, and it goes in and out of focus, and lack of any plot, no chemistry etc. Let's be realistic people. It's like when a doctor asks a person with a sprained ankle what is your pain on a scale of 1-10 and they say 11. First of all, here's a pain level of 10 for you - GSW to the nuts. Same with rating movies, let's get real and rate this for what it is: below average, but not a total failure. The acting is ok, the music is fine, the setting is fine. It meets all the guidelines for an average movie, but where it lacks, it sinks the rating below average.

Next.

Seems funny seeing 1970 as vintage and mentioning 1948,1949 Feb.6 1949 and July 6 1949 dates Mitch my late husband and I were born.In same hospital St Edwards now St Edwards Crt Apts.July 2 1970 Mitch and I got married by A Justice of the Peace in Galena In.we would have been married 50 yrs July 2,2020.God took him home February 11,2013. Sorry got off track best movie ever great casting Thank you hallmark God Bless you all Happy Thanksgiving Merry Christmas blessed 2020 and 2021

Greetings, salutations, and a seasonal welcome to all you movie aficionados. Here are my considerations and recommendation for The Christmas Ring.

Story: 1.75/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.50/4 - Performances: 1.25/2 - Enjoyment: 1.50/2

Total 7/10

I love to be surprised by a movie: Whether it's by the story, the direction, the performances, or all the aforementioned. With The Christmas Ring, it was the story that grabbed me the most, which, in the ever-increasing multitude of similar Christmas movies, speaks volumes by itself. The writer adds freshness to the narrative by including a new slant, a credible twist, and robust characterisations. We've had plenty of Chrimbo quest movies where the lead is searching for a particular object; and/or the story behind the item. Here, it's the ring of the title. But the principal character is searching in antique and pawn shops for her parents' missing wedding band after their passing. However, she comes across a similar ring with an inscription. The bejewelled band gives her an idea for a seasonal story her online magazine could run. This idea leads her into conflict with her editor and boss, so she takes time off and begins digging into the mystery herself. What she finds on her quest is the truth behind her search for her parents' long-lost ring: A man disillusioned by love and trusts few people because of it: A family in need of patching up: Many new friends: The Christmas Ring's story which brings together a family and a township: And, of course, love. Mix this together with its charmingly absorbing characters, and you have the essential ingredients of a delightfully heart-warming Christmas Story. And luckily for the viewers, the director blends them with a tender atmosphere and a dash of cheeriness to give them just that. By good fortune, the cast is also excellent in their roles, making The Christmas Ring a pleasurable viewing experience.

If you only get to watch one Christmas Romance this season, I suggest The Christmas Ring would be a fine choice. I'd also recommend it for the newbies getting their romance on this Christmastime for the first time. Grab a hot chocolate, snuggle up under a duvet, and enjoy.

Please check out my HO! HO! HO! Christmas Belles list to see where I ranked the movie.

Take Care, Stay Well, And Best Wishes For A Merry Christmas.

4/10 - best compared to this year's The Photograph, this tale of two loves was not my favorite