Lifetime
Lifetime’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Lifetime’ series continues with a title that promises rodeo action but instead remains home down on the range. When fiercely independent equestrian, Emma (Rebecca Dalton), finds herself ranch-sitting for a friend while caring for her injured horse over Christmas, she clashes with a brooding veteran, Noal (Corey Sevier) — only to discover that the magic of the season may be what they need to heal their hearts.
Rodeo Christmas Romance gives us a little bait-and-switch as it first seems that the rodeo romance that is going to develop is between rodeo participants Bill and Emma. It’s not until absent brother Noal shows up — stripping down and not noticing that his bed is a mess … and occupied by Emma — that it becomes clear that this is the romance of the title. Which does not involve a rodeo. There is also some bad blood between the brothers in which the romance has no bearing as Bill and Emma are just rodeo colleagues, but it takes forever for either Bill or Noal to finally reveal what the source of their issue is, similar to the sibling drama in Christmas in Alaska that took most of the movie to finally be addressed. Come to think of it, the issue is almost identical to Christmas in Alaska as one brother runs off to the rodeo while the other is expected to stay home and take care of ailing parents and the ranch, unable to fulfill his own dreams of being a veterinarian despite earning a scholarship. Instead, Noal’s only solution was to run off and join the military to honor his grandfather, and now a major injury (he was shot in the chest during an ambush in which he tried desperately to save his friend but failed, so there is even more trauma piled on Noal) has led to an honorable discharge and his return home, but he’s only there because he knows Bill is out on the circuit. He doesn’t know about Emma though, but he does manage to connect with her, initially through the care of her injured horse. The connection is so strong that they actually lock lips before the movie even reaches the halfway point, so there must be some drama coming to put the relationship in jeopardy. That main issue is Emma is planning to head back out onto the circuit once her horse is cleared to go. It’s what she’s always wanted to do, plus she carries a bit of a burden to perform and help Bill secure a sponsorship for their team (of which we only see Bill and Emma) since money is tight and he really needs it to help fund the ranch and the travel over the next year. Noal becomes conflicted because he wants Emma to stay, but he can’t do to her what was done to him so it will be up to her to make a decision on how she can follow her dream but stay in a relationship with Noal. Another potential issue is a woman named Kathleen, a waitress at the local diner (and that seems to be among her many jobs) who seems to purposely plant a kiss on Noal right in front of Emma — because he was standing under the mistletoe — but it’s hard to tell if she has eyes for Noal … or perhaps she really likes Bill. Even when it seems she is just a long-time friend of the brothers, there is still a sense she is interested in Noal … until she finally drops the broad hint that it’s Bill she’s in to. With all of the romance and family drama, there’s very little rodeo, just a few snippets of Bill out in the ring, but he’s mostly seen being interviewed in some truly cheesy scenes with terribly obvious canned applause playing at the end of the interview.
Lifetime
The script by Jennifer Snow is based on the book Catching a Christmas Cowboy by Leah Vale, and if you’ve read the book (or an except) the screenplay seems to bear very little resemblance to the novel in which the ranch has been leased to a group of women seeking to challenge the notions and traditions of the male-dominated rodeo world. Also, Noal’s name is Noah in the book, and it seems that Bill may not exist as a character, just mentioned in passing. There is also something in the novel about a gingerbread village that is nowhere in the movie, and it’s also the second book in the ‘Grit & Grace’ series, although they seem to be self-contained stories. So if you are a fan of Catching a Christmas Cowboy, you may want to take a step back from Rodeo Christmas Romance because the connection is tenuous at best. Snow had to work overtime to take the characters of Emma and Noah/Noal and add peripheral characters to basically create an entirely new scenario, which perhaps explain why it just ends up as being a ho-hum story that seems to focus more on the brotherly rift with Emma acting as a referee. That also explains why the Kathleen character is rather unfocused. Does she like Noal? Does she like Bill? Are they all just childhood friends? It’s hard to connect with any of the characters, but the story does pack one real emotional punch when Noal finally gathers up the nerve to present a flag (and production found the cheapest looking flag possible) and the medals of his friend to the man’s widow. There is more emotion in that one scene than there is in the entire movie. Director Mike Donis does manage to keep the story moving along, but I have questions about who decided to light this movie like a 1980s sitcom. Every scene, every room in the house (even at night), the barn (which has one window), is lit like everything was shot with an entire lighting array to ensure that no matter where an actor was on set, they would be lit and there would not be a single shadow present. That look just cheapened the movie, but the budget was probably not that high to begin with which meant limited set-ups and time to actually adjust lighting, so that was the cheaper option. Also, who decorated the porch of the ranch house? That red and gold mesh or tulle or whatever it was looked like colorful trash bags wrapped on the railing, and thankfully someone thought better of the gold because it suddenly disappeared in a later shot of the porch (but ended up wrapped around a Christmas tree) with just the red remaining … and still looking questionable.
Lifetime
On the other hand, that cast all do fine jobs with the characters they have been given. Rebecca Dalton’s Emma isn’t quite as tough as the Emma in the novel, but she is strong-willed and she knows what she wants out of life. Her desire to join the rodeo came from wanting to show men that women are just as capable, but the movie never really allows Emma to show off her skills, instead forcing the character into a romance while her horse is sidelined. Dalton at least makes the character engaging, she hints at her independent streak, and she shows that she has no intention of relying on a man. She also does a nice job in her romantic chemistry with Corey Sevier and the platonic relationship with Jim Watson, and there is a nice moment when she and Ann Pirvu get to team up and force the brothers to address their issues. For his part, Sevier has good chemistry with Dalton, and he alternates the brooding aspects of his character, from the rift with his brother to the trauma of his military duty, very well with the more upbeat and romantic parts. His Noal really seems to be a good match for Emma, and his performance is admirable and sensitive when he tells her that he is not going to try to make a decision for her when it comes to leaving or staying. Dalton and Sevier both work really well together and they make their relationship development feel natural.
Lifetime
Jim Watson is also very good as Bill, completely focused on the rodeo circuit and saving his family ranch, portraying his stubbornness well when it comes to talking about his brother. He also manages to project nothing but platonic friendship when it comes to Emma, never suggesting even a hint that Bill might be interested in her. They are business partners, plain and simple. Watson also shows in his early scenes with Sevier that there is some deep hurt between them, and when they finally talk about the past, his demeanor changes and they regain a true brotherly bond. Ann Pirvu is a lot of fun as Kathleen even though the character’s intentions are not clearly spelled out in the script. Pirvu does show that Kahtleen’s relationship with the brothers and their family does go way back, so she is totally comfortable with both of them, and she also seems to enjoy making Emma uncomfortable but in a joking way, letting us know that the two will become fast friends. Brandon Oakes has a few nice scenes as ranch handyman Justin, usually brought into a moment with Bill or Noal to dole out some sage advice, and he does it well. Stephanie Belding also does a really nice job as Dr. Winshaw, really convincing us that she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to the horse’s health … and also knows how to give some advice about life to Emma and Noal. Lisa Michelle Cornelius is also very good as Noal’s therapist, very understanding of his situation and wanting to make sure he is good to make the flag delivery.
Overall, Rodeo Christmas Romance has a whole lot of ideas going on at once, and perhaps had the script stuck closer to the source material it could have been more focused just on Emma and Noal (and perhaps they could have just left his name as Noah instead of trying to make it sounds like Noel for a Christmas movie). Good performances, terrible lighting and a lack of real rodeo action just make this a lackluster holiday romance.
Rodeo Christmas Romance has a run time of 1 hour 27 minutes, and is rated TV-PG.