Film Review: 'Christmas in the Heartland'

Teens Kara Gentry (Sierra McCormick) and Jessie Wilkins (Brighton Sharbino) are in for similar Christmases--and aren't quite looking forward to them. With both girls still grieving the loss of their mothers, Kara and Jessie are both preparing to spend Christmas with their grandparents--this being the first time either girl will have met them. Coincidence has Kara and Jessie seated next to each other on the plane ride to Oklahoma, and after bonding and realizing their shared plans for the holidays, the girls hatch a plan: swap places for Christmas.

The swap goes perfectly, with Jessie being welcomed by Kara's wealthy grandparents Elsa and Bob (Bo Derek and Christopher Rich) and Kara fitting right in with Jessie's boisterous grandmother Judy (Shelley Long), Jessie's uncle Roy (Bryan Whorton) and his sons, and Jessie's distant father Jim (Joe Don Rooney). As the days pass and Kara and Jessie continue to pose as each other, Kara finds herself fitting in well with the Wilkins family--and Jessie finds herself struggling to adhere to Elsa's standards as she grooms her "granddaughter" to win an upcoming Christmas pageant. As the girls' scheme comes closer to being exposed, another secret comes closer to being revealed--and what will it mean for these two vastly different families?

Given the film's taking inspiration from The Parent Trap--to the point of the film's alternate title being The Christmas Trap--Christmas in the Heartland is a film with a concept that requires a bit of suspension of disbelief to believe (having not seen the entirety of The Parent Trap, I'm only assuming the same is applicable). If you're willing to do that, however, Christmas in the Heartland becomes a modestly enjoyable holiday flick with a focus on family that is sure to warm hearts.

To get some negatives out of the way first, however, plotting proves to be a bit of a challenge for Christmas in the Heartland. Much time is put on both Kara and Jessie adjusting to their new environments and "families", and while some of it makes for entertainment and for emotional moments, some instances don't add much of anything and feel like padding. A key example is in a scene where Kara becomes involved in an impromptu football game to defend the Wilkins children from a bully, which is not only uninteresting, but also feels pointless other than bringing in an unnecessary conflict that gets resolved as quickly as it gets introduced. SPOILER ALERT The film's finale, like the concept, also takes some suspension of disbelief--mainly in regards to the fact that everyone's reaction (barring Elsa) to Kara and Jessie's deception plot and the other big secret is nothing but joy and acceptance. There's also the matter of the Dance Party Ending intercut with behind-the-scenes footage/bloopers, which straddles the line between harmlessly fluffy and overly cheesy. Spoilers Over

It's when the film is able to delve into the depths of its family-centric concept, however, that Christmas in the Heartland becomes an ideal feel-good Christmas flick. Sierra McCormick and Brighton Sharbino make for charming and likable protagonists as they bond with the families they end up with, even if the film waits a bit too long to have them realize how ill-conceived their plan was. SPOILER ALERT McCormick, in particular, brings a lot of emotion to the moments when she confesses the truth to Judy and later Jim, with the latter scene being the best one she shares with Joe Don Rooney. She's also magnificently fierce when she confronts Elsa on having mistreated her parents, with that serving as her best moment of the film by far. Spoilers Over Sharbino, meanwhile, does well with what she has and brings her all to Jessie's emotional moments. But unfortunately, Jessie never gets as much focus as Kara, and I was most disappointed to find she received no moment of catharsis regarding the emotional abuse she suffered under Elsa's care.

The side cast held to bring a lot of charm and heart to the film, with Shelley Long making Judy Wilkins equal parts funny and sweet. Joe Don Rooney is charming as Jim Wilkins, and shares strong emotional scenes with both McCormick and Sharbino. Christopher Rich and Christian Kane are strong in their respective roles and share a particularly touching scene together as Jeff and Bob Gentry, and comedy is brought to the proceedings through Bryan Whorton's Roy Wilkins (along with his children) and Tisha Bradford's June. Bo Derek throws herself into the magnificently cold and haughty Elsa Gentry, and Tiffany Fallon makes use of her few scenes to make something of an emotional impact as Sherry.

While imperfect, Christmas in the Heartland remains an enjoyable family holiday film once you get into the groove of its admittedly hard-to-swallow plot and allow yourself to become immersed in the characters and their feelings. With a solid cast, strong themes of love and family, and some decent music (including a top-notch cover of "O' Christmas Tree" to start the movie off), Christmas in the Heartland is worth checking out if you're looking for a good holiday film to watch with the family.

Score: 6 out of 10 bolo ties.