The Christmas Shepherd

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.

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.

The producers probably couldn't resist the play on words in the title of this film. There are no sheep or sheep herders in this film. One might say that this film has gone to the dogs (or dog), but that would be a play on words that wasn't accurate either. No, it's a film centered around a German Shepherd.

"The Christmas Shepherd" is more dramatic and sad than most of the TV movies made for airing during the holiday season. It's very low key in the romance area, and is more about healing and getting on with life. I don't think it's accurate to call it a romance. It's clearly a drama and a Christmas story. In this plot, both of the main characters have lost their spouses.

Sally Brown's husband was in the military and after serving three tours in Afghanistan without an injury, he died of a hart attack in his last stateside tour. Sally has a son who is in the Army and stationed in Afghanistan. She is a famous author of children's books, but lives in the country of Massachusetts, preferring solitude away from the crowds that she had been around when her husband was alive. She has a couple of lady friends in town, and her best companion is her German Shepherd, Buddy, whom her husband brought back from his last tour in Afghanistan as a pup five years ago.

Mark Green is in the Army reserves and has a young teenage daughter, Emma. His wife and Emma's mother died a year or two ago, but we never find out the cause. Mark had a successful career in advertising but quit it after his wife died. He moved to a smaller town in Massachusetts to be near his sister and family, and owns and operates a coffee shop.

When Sally is in town one day, a heavy thunderstorm with fierce winds and lightning occurs, and Buddy is frightened by it and takes off. Sally is frantic over her dog's disappearance and spends weeks trying to find him, and is unable to work. The dog, in the meantime, many miles from home has been hurt and is picked up by a truck driver who takes him to an animal shelter. Mark's sister runs the shelter and Mark take Buddy home. As Emma gets attached to the dog, heartbreaks are in store as these people are brought together over Buddy.

One can guess how the story will end, but it's not the usual effervescent romance that develops in the formulaic holiday romance films. The plot is a good one, but two aspects of this film are troublesome. The first is the exaggerated association of coincidences or good luck being attributed to Buddy. The script pushes this notion in places, to the disbelief of this and probably many other alert viewers. The second is Teri Polo's overly dramatic acting for most of the film, especially her nervous anxiety and inability to even calm down. The role might have called for that, but if so, it's a distraction that makes it much harder to believe. Perhaps she and the director saw it as building empathy for the character with the audience, but in reality it's a picture of a distraught person who needs professional help.

Jordyn Olson is fine as Emma Green and Martin Cummins is very good as Mark Green. The supporting cast members are all fine. Overall, this isn't a holiday season film that will leave most with a good feeling, even with its supposedly happy ending.

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