The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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A Maple Valley Christmas
TV Movie · Comedy · Drama · 2022
Erica is a rancher who has spent her whole life working the family farm with her mother and sister. When Aaron arrives and disrupts her plans, she starts to question what it is she actually wants.
Movie details
A Maple Valley Christmas
“Let love be your legacy.”
2022 TV Movie · Comedy · Drama 1h 24m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Erica is a rancher who has spent her whole life working the family farm with her mother and sister. When Aaron arrives and disrupts her plans, she starts to question what it is she actually wants.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over A Maple Valley Christmas?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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A Royal Queens Christmas
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The Royal Nanny
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Jingle Bell Princess
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Emma
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Emma Woodhouse is a congenial young lady who delights in meddling in other people’s affairs. She is perpetually trying to unite men and women who are utterly wrong for each other. Despite her interest in romance, Emma is clueless about her own feelings, and her relationship with gentle Mr. Knightley.
Haul Out the Holly
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Emily arrives home, hoping to visit her parents, only to discover that they are leaving on a trip of their own. As she stays at their house for the holidays, their HOA is determined to get Emily to participate in the neighborhood’s many Christmas festivities.
Love, Classified
TV Movie · 2022
Romance novelist Emilia is a whirlwind who blows back into the lives of her adult children, Taylor and Zach, under the pretense of a book signing arranged by her hometown's local book shop. As Emilia tries to reconnect, Taylor and Zach explore new and past relationships through an app that boasts old-fashioned human connection by way of the classified ad. Zach is given a chance to heal old wounds while Taylor matches with a woman that changes the way she's always thought about love.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Paul Ziller
Written by
Claire Boyles · Joie Botkin
Peyton List
Erica Holden
Andrew W. Walker
Aaron Davenport
Frances Flanagan
Ina Holden
Ella Cannon
Heidi Holden
Jeff Gonek
Trevor Kemp
Paul Jarrett
Steve Davenport
Francisco Trujillo Avalos-Davidson
Leo Russo
Court is in session
Put A Maple Valley Christmas on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.