Despite its title, “A California Christmas” is not really a Christmas movie.
The 2020 Netflix flick is set in December – an opening placard indicates its 2 weeks until the holiday and thankfully it does, otherwise you would have no idea of a Christmas feel. Maybe it’s the setting which starts in San Francisco and goes through the Napa Valley.
The two main characters are a real life husband and wife team played by Josh and Lauren Swickard – the latter of whom also wrote the story. Both are decent in their acting abilities, and by the end you’ll notice how the actually chemistry between the two is enhanced by their real life relationship.
Callie (Lauren Swickard) operates a small family ranch that is sinking financially. She also cares for her cancer-stricken mother (Amanda Detmer) and little sister (Natalia Mann). Joseph (Josh Swickard) is a smarmy playboy sent by his money craving mother to buy the ranch since it stands in the way of a greedy and evil corporation making even more money. Joseph is said to have one skill – charming young women – and he ends up going undercover as the new ranch hand, falling in love with Callie, causing tension when his true intentions are outed, and ultimately saving the day. I’d offer a spoiler warning, but the progression of the plot is blueprinted from the start. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing – I for one love the charm and cheese of a good Christmas movie, but the lack of a holiday feel makes this one suffer a bit.
City Boy to Farmer Life is a standard trope, and most of the scenes depicting Joseph attempting to do ranch work and actually falling for Callie are glossed over with a quick montage – which is the gist of the movie. I loved the comical characters of Leo and Manny (Ali Afshar and David Del Rio) who made for some really funny scenes. The chemistry of the cast is one of the positive notes, and I would be interested in watching this as a television series.
“A California Christmas” isn’t awful, it just misses as a Christmas movie. A lack of desert heat and cowboy attire would be an improvement, and since Lauren Swickward is promising as a writer, she can hopefully adjust for the inevitable sequel.
