‘A Welcome Home Christmas’ Review: Lifetime movie’s tribute to veterans is commendable but lacks entertainment
Spoilers for 'A Welcome Home Christmas'
Christmas may not be a joyous time for all, especially for those who do not have their loved ones around to celebrate the holiday. Premising on this subject, Lifetime’s holiday-drama ‘A Welcome Home Christmas’ follows Army veteran Chloe (Jana Kramer), whose only purpose in life is to help others.
Her volunteering work keeps her so occupied that she doesn’t have the time to even think about a relationship, let alone share her life with anyone. Chloe may not have even a second more to spare, but she would still somehow manage to get herself involved in another cause as long as she can help someone build their life or find little joys.
After finishing her service in Army, Chloe has worked as a counselor at the Army Soldiers Transition Center, where she comes across a fellow veteran Michael’s (Brandon Quinn) profile. Unlike Chloe, Michael is brought up in a different background, which saw him grow up among foster families. He chooses to remain by himself and skip’s his first session with Chloe, which brings her straight to his house. This might seem extra to us, but for Chloe, she knew at the drop of the hat what a man Michael was and she wouldn’t waste time pursuing him.
A common cause brings these two together as they jointly volunteer at the Army Toy drive, distributing presents to children from Army families whose parents are deployed. While they dedicate their holidays to the underprivileged children, a Christmas miracle works magic between Chloe and Michael.
The movie needs to be appreciated for its attempt to honor the veterans and members of Army families, who have spent many Christmases apart. There is no dearth of patriotism and respect for the soldiers whose stories are often overpowered by the entertainment aspect of films and shows. But, that’s the only saving grace for ‘A Welcome Home Christmas’, which runs high on emotions otherwise. More than the emotions themselves, it’s its placement that bothers.
The movie could have focused more on the story as it was built around an impactful theme. But, what we saw mostly was the unavoidable contradiction in the lead characters’ nature, forced emotions and drama that doesn’t work quite well with the plotline. ‘A Welcome Home Christmas’ has a key message to offer but lacks in execution.
‘A Welcome Home Christmas’ will premiere on November 7 at 8 pm ET on Lifetime.
