This time of year I love channel surfing for Christmas movies...and most seem to be written from the same outline with a twist here or there and offer very little challenge when it comes to picking up on the foreshadowing and predicting the finale ... I usually find myself mentally jumping ahead to the ending when I am no more than 1/3 or 1/2 way through and almost always being correct on all major details...the attractive girl with history, the attractive guy with history, a third party that facilitates their unlikely and usually acrimonious meeting, a slow to start to their awkward romance that explodes 3/4 of the way through into a passionate, feel good relationship, only to implode 10 minutes later with accusations of lying or withholding pertinent facts only to conclude minutes later with a reconciliation that is sappy sweet, mostly unsatisfying and almost always offering the viewer a corny gleam of hope that Santa is indeed alive and well... A Country Christmas Story is different; first of all, it is not very Christmasy; it could just as easily have been set during another time of year; but I found that it thoughtfully offered up dialogue on issues that are not seasonal nor frequently confronted from the eyes of a child and played that theme out with some great acting, several original country tracks worthy of more listening and a satisfying, believable and Santa-less ending...
