Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring

by Mike McGranaghan

A school of thought says movies like The Christmas Ring are “comfort viewing.” They’re intentionally predictable, and they telegraph every major development well in advance so that you can watch mindlessly, with no surprises. These qualities are allegedly part of their appeal. Several cable channels devote airtime exclusively to pictures of this sort. I suppose there’s a certain logic to that, provided there’s something that comes off as not being on autopilot. The new adaptation of the popular Karen Kingsbury novel fails that test.

Vanessa Mayfield (Jana Kramer) is a widow whose daughter Sadie (Megan Ashley Brown) is in college, leaving her alone and fairly miserable. She spends her time visiting antique shops in search of a lost ring that has great sentimental value. That’s how she meets Ben Miller (Benjamin Hollingsworth), a widower who owns one such store with his father Howard (Kelsey Grammer). Vanessa and Ben tentatively begin a relationship as he assists in her search. Trouble arises when Howard discovers he’s in possession of a ring that’s worth $25,000 – one he plans to sell. As befitting the “comfort viewing” label, you can undoubtedly guess where the plot goes next.

The obvious comparison here is to 2024’s Someone Like You, also based on a Karen Kingsbury book (and also directed by Tyler Russell). It, too, had an epically predictable story sprinkled with Christian themes. Stars Sarah Fisher and Jake Allyn had true chemistry together, though. The spark they generated elevated the film above its many cliches. The Christmas Ring has no such luck. Kramer and Hollingsworth are bland as unbuttered toast as an onscreen couple, so you constantly notice how badly the screenplay is contriving to get their characters together and devise hurdles for them to overcome.

Every beat of the movie can be seen coming a mile away. In fact, you know exactly where it’s going within the first ten minutes. After that, it’s all sitting around waiting for the characters to catch up. There’s a lengthy, nonessential military appreciation scene designed to pander to audience patriotism, plus two obligatory music montages set to cheery pop Christmas tunes. And, of course, the familiar faith-based signposts. Those are particularly awkward. As one example, a conversation between Vanessa and Sadie begins with the latter commenting that she loves the way her mother reads the Bible in the morning before switching the topic to something else altogether. For a film that seeks to be patriotic and religious, there’s an awful lot of insincere lip service.

Kelsey Grammer gives a typically fine performance, and there is absolutely nothing in The Christmas Ring to even mildly offend or upset anyone. It definitely is comfort viewing in that sense. You can turn your brain all the way off for 103 minutes. If you’re going to go to the trouble of making a movie, however, why not try at least a little bit? Plenty of others have succeeded in spreading yuletide cheer and delivering an inspiring faith message. Let one of them offer you comfort instead.

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