I was bored within the first five minutes.
I predicted the movie within the first two.
Normally, knowing how the movie is going to end doesn’t bother me, but when you don’t add in any interesting characters or a sub-plot that keeps you invested, you know that the movie has a problem. The Christmas Ring stars Nazneen Contractor and David Alpay in a story about a reporter, Kendra (Contractor), who is desperate to find her mother’s wedding ring. However, when she comes across another ring that looks similar to that of her mother’s, she immediately sets out to find more about the origins of this "new" ring. That’s when she meets Michael (Alpay), whose grandmother, Pearl, was the original owner of the ring. While he’s not too keen to speak with a reporter at the beginning, Kendra slowly breaks down his walls and, together, they discover a lot more than just the history of his grandmother's ring.
I have to say that I was disappointed with this movie. I know that it must be very difficult to come up with brand new movies every year for Christmas, but this one just felt as if there was no effort put in to make it even a little different from the hundreds of other Hallmark movies that have been made. Aside from it being a story about finding a ring, everything else was pretty predictable, filled with cookie-cutter characters and all. Between having a boss that only wants Kendra to write puff pieces, or in this case, quizzes, instead of the more substantial, human interest pieces she wants to write, to two characters coming together in a small town and finding love, there’s nothing new here.
To be frank, by the end of the film, I was just looking forward to it ending, rather than how it ended. Not only does Kendra not find her own mother’s ring, which was the whole reason she found this other ring in the first place, but she chalks it up to realizing that the only reason she was looking for her mother's ring was because she wanted a part of her mom back, which she now knows doesn't need in order to have her mom with her. While it's true, I find it hard to believe that after years of searching for this ring, she's suddenly content with never finding it again. I would've preferred it if the writers put in something at the end hinting at the idea that her search was not over. She's a journalist who, by the end of the movie, is just starting out on her own with an online magazine where she can write all the human interest stories she wants. Wouldn't the next great story be that of her finally finding her mother's ring?
The Christmas Ring is definitely one you can skip. While there’s nothing wrong with it per se, there’s nothing that keeps you invested enough for two hours to make you want to stay. Between lackluster merriment and a love story that I’ve seen many times before, The Christmas Ring missed the mark for me.
What did you think of this film? Let me know in the comments below!
***I do not own this photo.
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