The Christmas Shepherd

It's about a selfish father and daughter that refuse to return a dog to its rightful owner.

If you're looking for Anna Karenina or something cerebral, look elsewhere. If you're looking for an enjoyable holiday movie with decent acting and a nice story, pull up a chair. You do have to suspend your ideas about dog ownership rights but it's not really a crisis. I don't think Hallmark was making any kind of a political statement. I wasn't looking for a bullet proof plot and so I don't think it bothered me much. I chocked the little bit of fluff up to setting up the story. It's an entertaining little movie... just don't take the premise too seriously and enjoy it for what it is. I thought the acting was fine, especially the lead female.

This is one of the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies for 2014 -- they have been producing twelve of them every year for the last few years. It's one of their dog-centered pieces, as a German shepherd plays the go-between for the two romantic leads, Teri Polo and Mark Cummins and the effect is well done, with a nice, quizzical beast in the title role.

I have some issues with the production. It is supposedly set in Massachussetts in November, although there are several outdoors shots with trees wearing their summer leaves. There isn't much to it except for the central cast: widowed Teri Polo and her dog, widower Mark Cummins and his daughter, played by Jordyn Ashley Olson. It's a sentimental woman's movie that should please its intended audience of adult women and dog lovers.

This movie has such an unrealistic storyline. First of all the dog runs away after being frightened in a rainstorm, but in reality he would have run back home after the storm, and not keep running away! Then there is the fact that the dog had a collar on with his name on it, so it was obvious he had an owner. Finally, the poor owner was searching for her dog for 2 weeks before finding him, and there is no way due to the surrounding circumstances, that pet adoption was legal. There is no court in the land that wouldn't order that the dog be returned to it's rightful owner. I also doubt any owner would have left that dog behind, even temporarily. I know that there is no way I would have done so! Finally, it is unrealistic the way the family that adopted the dog was pretty much refusing to give him back to his owner, that a relationship between the father and daughter would have so quickly evolved with dog's owner. I think Hallmark could have done much better with this movie.

I have just spent a rainy afternoon watching a set of Hallmark Xmas movies. Some were good, and some were quite bad. This one was enjoyable. I liked how realistic it was about dating and being older and alone and what a hassle it is to try to 'date". Then the fear a person can feel when they meet someone. It was very respectful to the spouses who were no longer with them. It was a lighthearted, well acted sweet movie. The two lead actors and the kid where all very good. Of course the dog was good too. It kept away from the corniness that many movies like this tend to lapse into. If you want to watch a feel good, slightly romantic sweet movie, that also has a realistic more "quiet" ending, this is a good one.