Christmas with Tucker

Disregard 6 of the 7 bad reviews on this movie. It was an excellent movie with excellent characters and story. Story was based on a book which gives the movie some depth. I only give about 10% of the movies a perfect 10, but this one had that special quality.

James Brolin at age 73 as the grandpa. It was just perfect. He played in Marcus Welby at about age 30. In 2016 he was in "I'll be home for Christmas". In this film he has that tough John Wayne presence. At the end of the film a great confrontation with a bad guy- great drama. The grandson was excellent and was the main character with his affection for Tucker the dog. The grandma actually played the grandma on "The Road to Christmas" 2006. She was great in this role, so pleasant. The friend was played by Olivia from Heartland. We also see Dr Crane and Dr Hebert from Doc.

This movie had that special bond between boy and dog as well as proud grandparents. The story showed how the boy was building character. In one part the grandpa told him he had to give up Tucker. Now that was a complete surprise, but the drama was intense. Definitely worth the watch.

I absolutely loved this film and it had been many years since I first saw it. The acting is mostly top notch; especially the main characters: Grandfather (James Brolin doing what he does best), Grandmother (Barbara Gordon) and Young George (Gage Monroe). Heartwarming, family oriented, great winter and Christmas scenes, and plenty of action. In all fairness, I must disclose that I'm a dog lover and even have a yellow lab - similar to the one used in some of the scenes (yup - I know it is supposed to be a Golden Retriever but I'm willing to overlook this continuity problem because most people won't notice.). I feel like the mother was added mostly for eye candy and that is my guess as to why, she is used in the movie poster instead of the grandmother who had many more scenes and played her role beautifully! Speaking of movie posters - why is the one shown here on IMDB a German version? All in all, a great family film and if it doesn't have you reaching for the tissue box then I don't know what will!

7.8 stars.

A young boy lives with his grandparents on a farm over the holidays. He falls in love with this place more and more and although his mother and two sisters want him to come home soon, he is feeling less and less excited about it. One major reason, is a dog named Tucker that he's fallen in love with. I could go on about the dog and how they meet and about the questionable owner of the dog etc, but it's the same story that's been told time and time again. This is simply a magical tale of a boy and a dog and a family changed by circumstances that all boils down to a boy and a dog and how they impact all of those around (did I mention a boy and a dog?).

There are some missing pieces in the film, I think they should develop a few characters a little better. The grandfather is a bit of a mystery even if we see a lot of him. The boy's mother and sisters share only a minute or two of screen time. I don't know if this was helpful.

If I made an exception to my perfect score of seven policy for the hallmark channel I'd give this an 8, but common sense media's review ( see external reviews) has all I'll say about the movie and more. Good family fare, a refreshing departure from the getting to be cliche obsession with Christmas romances that have earned the Hallmark channel its nickname "The Harlequin channel." It was a family struggling to keep focused on what was important, what really counts. They make mistakes and learn from them while trying to cope with loss, but Harlequin channel take a hint: to score an 8 no one should have been moving in the direction of having a family.

Hallmark really should go back and look at its movies that it made 5-10 years ago because it's movies like this that I remember forever, not the ones they are mass producing now. This was such a sweet story. Sweet dog movies always make me cry and this one was no exception. I didn't realize until I finished that it was written by the same person who wrote A Dog Named Christmas. I enjoyed both, but I think I liked this one a little better. The young boy who played George was very likable and his connection to Tucker made the story great. James Brolin does a great job with his character as well. Actually, I really enjoyed all the characters. I don't like giving spoilers, so I won't say anything about the storyline. I will say that if you love dogs and a sweet story, this is one for you. It's going on my list of favorites, even if it makes me cry every time.