Terrible people make for fun stories, and terrible people are what you need to spice up cable TV Christmas movies!

By Jason Hink

It was inevitable. Watching and reviewing so many similarly-produced cable TV movies in a short time span was bound to result in some samey-ness (nothing wrong with that…in fact, that’s what we want in our TV rom-coms), but now, even the actors are starting to repeat themselves. In my last review (for Christmas in the Pines), Australian actor Dean Geyer starred with his real-life wife (Jillian Murray) in a story about outwitting a rival for ownership of a beautiful country cottage. In today’s review of 2020’s A Ring for Christmas, Geyer is back playing a potential love-stud, this time for co-star Liliana Tandon (who also penned this movie’s script) alongside a cast that includes Lorraine Bracco, Charles Hittinger, and Michael Gross. A production of Storyworks, Mill Creek Entertainment has released A Ring for Christmas on DVD for your yuletide pleasure.

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I know what you’re thinking. Even before I describe the story you know it’s going to have something to do with a hard-headed, strong-willed cutie heading to the sticks (perhaps the town she grew up in) to find herself, or to reconnect with who she is, or to (usually) fall in love (even is that part is treated as a byproduct of the visit, storywise). Well, you’re not wrong…and if you watch too many of these back-to-back-to-back, you know what’s coming—but the fun is in simply watching to see how these characters arrive at that destination. Again…I know, I know, we’ve seen this all before. So, as my grandpa used to say when treating a wound, let’s tear off the Band-Aid just get on with it!

Angie Moore (Liliana Tandon) leads what can only be described as a charmed life (what else?) in NYC (where else?), wearing designer clothing while living in her upscale apartment. And of course she works hard for her money….right? Riiight?? Well, not exactly. We don’t know what it is that she does, exactly, but it’s not a great career plan.

That’s because Angie’s soon paid a visit by her no-nonsense, raspy-voiced mom, Margaret (Lorraine Bracco), who grills her about expensive purchases and unpaid bills, and she has the receipts to prove it. How does she know so much about her daughter’s out-of-control spending habits? Easy. Angie is a trust fund baby. And far as I can tell, she doesn’t work; she simply lives off what her parents give her. But that’s now coming to an end. Because Margaret has had it! And she’s cutting Angie off. No more free ride, no more free lunch, no more free anything.

What’s a girl to do?

You’d think Angie would buck up and maybe, I dunno, get a job…but shame and guilt are not part of Angie’s genetic make-up, and just when she thinks her party-girl lifestyle is coming to an end, she stumbles upon a potential lifeline. An attorney’s phone call meant for her sister, Sophia (Kate Avallone), is picked up by Angie. And in that conversation, she learns it’s possible she can inherit a large trust! But there’s a catch; she only qualifies for the trust if she is married. So, it looks like she will have to go to work after all—and her job is finding a husband, stat—because she’s gotta be married by Christmas for this to all work out.

Having to ditch her NYC apartment, she moves back to her rural hometown (where else?) and sets out to find a partner, a lover, a husband—all for convenience, and all to get that ring get dat dough! (It’s at this point in the film that I really started admiring her drive. Real job be damned!)

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After browsing her social media for potential mates, she settles on Tyler Davis (Charles Hittinger), her grade school crush (he’s single, according to his account). But what she doesn’t count on is good-looking restaurateur Gabe (Dean Geyer), a sweet, polite, handsome former high school classmate who’s returned to town to help with his dad’s (Robert Walsh) failing restaurant. Will she be able to convince her school crush to marry her in time? Will her school crush find out about her scam? Will the hot chef throw a cleaver into her plan?

The spoiled, scheming, scammy nature of Angie really makes A Ring for Christmas fun, bringing a little sour mischief to the usual sweet sappiness viewers get with these Christmas films on UPtv, the cable channel where A Ring for Christmas premiered on November 8, 2020. Actress/screenwriter Liliana Tandon is a treat to watch, her cutesie awkwardness a fresh of breath air compared to the more generic leading ladies of similar genre films. Her interactions with side characters like old friend Krissy (Kiara Pichardo), a clothing boutique owner, bring out the sweet side of Angie. Her old elementary school teacher, Mrs. B. (Livia Treviño), becomes a sounding board for her, solidifying the Angie-is-a-good-person theme, illustrating Angie’s willingness to help out kids at the school (Angie’s great at math, it turns out). And if that doesn’t convince you that Angie is a good person, just watch how she works her magic on Suzanne (Rachel Kent), an acquaintance who Angie thinks can help Gabe’s failing restaurant.

Hittinger’s Tyler is fun as the bumbling—but good-hearted—old crush being scammed upon and Geyer is the only one playing it completely straight…but the real gem of the film is Angie’s best friend, Paulette, played to mischievous perfection by emotive redhead Kate McGarrigle, who’s enjoying Angie’s sham more than Angie is and is more than happy to see it through (what are friends for, after all?).

Running through all this silliness is Angie’s continuous coping with her father’s (Michael Gross, TV’s Family Ties) death. Her interactions with the dearly departed are seen in flashback and dream sequences, adding a hint of sorrow and relatability to the proceedings along with, perhaps, sharing insight into how such a bright, young, kindhearted soul like Angie could’ve devolved into a spoiled, jobless party girl looking to con her way back to riches.

Mill Creek’s bare bones DVD has no special features, but it looks good and includes subtitles. A Ring for Christmas has its expected cheesy moments (it’s almost like they’re intentionally written into these movies), but a nice turn from awkwardly-cute lead Tandon, a hilarious performance by a game McGarrigle, and snappy direction from Don E. FauntLeRoy, make this a fast-paced 88 minutes that’s sure to please most of your visiting family (wanted or unwanted) over the Christmas holiday.

Jason Hink is a writer, editor and content producer. Sign up for his Email Newsletter here. For more of Jason’s reviews, visit here.