MISTLETOE RANCH

Australia, 2022, 89 minutes, Colour.

Mercy Cornwall, Jordi Webber, Molly Belle Wright, Charles Allen, Kimberly Joseph, Andrea Moor.

Directed by Rhiannon Bannenberg.

Just as the title suggests, a ranch in the American outback, and Christmas. One could say that this is a nice film, one designed as family entertainment, the kind of film that is made and promoted by the Hallmark company, a pleasure for those who enjoy it, a putdown for those who want their romantic stories rather more subdued, even with the touch of the bleak!

This film has proven produced by Steve Jaggi. For those following his career in the last seven or eight years, they will know that he has produced many an audience-friendly story.

But the thing is, Steve Jaggi and his company are Queensland-based and his films are made, generally, in Queensland, with Australian casts. And, with many of them, they open in the United States, focusing on some characters who, for one reason or another, have to go home to Australia, have to visit Australia, and discover the people in the towns, the scenery and the coast of Queensland.

So, it is something of a surprise to find that this is a completely American story, no travels to Australia! And, with the winter and the snow, the film was, in fact, as with the others, shot in Queensland. And the cast, forsaking their own accents, all don American accents. And, one hopes, that Mistletoe Ranch is popular with the intended American audiences that it will be a box office success – and provide incentive and possibilities for Steve Jaggi to make more films. It can be noted that the leading man, Jordi Webber, is not Australian, but is from New Zealand, with Marie background.

The film starts very romantically, Aimee and James, growing up together on the ranch, love of horses, bonding, is proposing – and a leap ahead of eight years and a transfer to New York City where a Aimee is the assistant to a top photographer, no mean photographer in herself. And, we wonder, what has happened between a man and James, especially when we go back to the ranch and find that James has a young daughter, Juniper.

So, we can see the setup. Aimee returns home to her mother’s anti-house. And Aimee has inherited the ranch. James is still working with his assistant, Charlie, but in financial troubles. So James has cancel the traditional Christmas party for the people of the town. Aimee then find she has a mission, to organise the party, send out the invitations, get the tree, the decorations, find her mother’s recipe book… All with that American homely touch!

And there is a religious dimension. James’s mother is, in fact, the local pastor, often appearing with her clerical collar. And of further discovery, James married but his wife spends her time on tour, away from the family. So, the stage is set for rekindled love, Aimee to have to make choices about what she really wants in life, James and his future with the ranch… And, a fairytale like solution so that at the end, everyone is happy.

With the church element, and scenes of choir rehearsals, the screenplay is very much the externals of Christmas, a lot of talk about the magic of Christmas – but, it is something of a relief, that at the end, Juniper, joined by the choir, does sing Holy Night, a reminder of the true origins, of course, of Christmas.

Steve Jaggi has once again offered a nice film for a wide audience.

1. The title and expectations? Christmas, the ranch and horses? An American story?
2. The fact that the film was made in Australia, the Australian cast, New Zealand lead?
3. The scenes with a May and James when young, writing, talking, bonding, his proposal?
4. The action shifting forward eight years, the news of Amy’s mother’s death, Aimee inheriting the ranch and the house? Her career as a photographer, the celebrity photographer, her standing in, success, acclaim? The letters from home, having ignored them in the past? The news that the Christmas party was being abolished? Her future, the appointment in Iceland, her going back to the ranch? Audience interest in her and sympathy for her character?
5. The return, the encounter with James, his having a daughter, the story about his wife on tour? Meeting with Charlie and catching up on the news? Going into the house, everything covered up, the photo of her mother? The mother’s cookbook for the Christmas party? Wandering the grounds, the conversations with James, tension, mistaking the name of the horse, her settling in?
6. The financial situation, James on the loans, his love for the ranch, keeping on working, the possibility of the sale? Not wanting to sell off pockets of land? Charlie as his support? The discussions with a May?
7. The preparations for the party, a May bonding well with Juniper, decorating the house, the getting of the tree, the choir practice, James’s mother as being the local pastor?
8. The meals at home, happy, yet tensions, the future? Juniper and her influence?
9. The business discussions with James, possible clients? James’s wife returning for Christmas, their living separated lives, her continuing friendship, appreciating Aimee?
10. The party, everybody happy, the enjoyment, the crowds, Aimee and the phone call, the call to Icelandic? Her having to make a decision?
11. Meeting with Ivy in the cemetery, her tough stances? The coming to the party? Her looking at Aimee’s photos? The revelation of who she was, the influence on Amy? Her proposition about the partnership, the studio, the finance?
12. Ivy and the Christmas gift, the financial situation changing, the relationship between Amy and James? Juniper?
13. The Christmas atmosphere, the mistletoe, the talk of Christmas Magic? The final him, O Holy Night, and the explicitly Christian themes and the basic meaning of Christmas?