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.
Back to trending 
Home by Spring
Drama · Romance · TV Movie · 2018
When an ambitious event planner gets an opportunity she can’t refuse, she goes undercover as her boss and returns to her rural hometown. With the help of her family and the man she left behind, she pulls off the perfect spring retreat, but will she discover home is where her heart is?
Movie details
Home by Spring
2018 Drama · Romance · TV Movie 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
When an ambitious event planner gets an opportunity she can’t refuse, she goes undercover as her boss and returns to her rural hometown. With the help of her family and the man she left behind, she pulls off the perfect spring retreat, but will she discover home is where her heart is?
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 Home by Spring?
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.
Love Finds You in Valentine
Drama · 2016
Kennedy Blaine, a Californian girl, inherits a ranch in the small town of Valentine in Nebraska. Before she sells the property, she decides to spend the summer in her house and learn more about her family.
Christmas Around the Corner
Drama · 2018
Claire (Alexandra Breckenridge), a savvy venture capitalist from New York City, escapes to a quaint town in Vermont for the holidays and becomes a guest of the Fortenbury Bookstore. Upon arrival, Claire finds Christmas celebrations have been canceled by the town after a flood and the bookstore is in a dire state of disrepair. She immediately takes on the challenge to revitalize the store, but clashes with the owner, Andrew (Jamie Spilchuk), who initially rejects all her proposed improvements. Eventually, sparks fly as the two begin a budding romance, and Claire’s infectious optimism inspires Andrew to join her in reviving the yuletide spirit. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Claire discovers that Andrew is planning to sell the bookstore in the New Year. Will the spirit of Christmas be enough to change Andrew’s mind and encourage him to follow his heart?
Not Easily Broken
Drama · 2009
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
A Very Country Christmas
Drama · 2017
Jeanette Williams is a busy single parent, trying to make the best life for her and her daughter. With no time to follow current celebrity gossip, Jeanette is unaware of when a Country superstar returns to their small town to escape the intrusive paparazzi and the chaos of fame. A chance meeting between the two have them both letting their guards down and opening their hearts to the possibility of romance.
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
Romance · 2022
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Disappearing Acts
TV Movie · 2000
A struggling construction worker and an aspiring musician find themselves falling in love.
A Merry Christmas Match
Drama · 2019
Corey Calvin lives in a ski village where she works at her late father's local antique shop, having sidelined her her big city dreams of becoming a theater director. When Los Angeles hunk Ryder Donnelly comes into her shop, sparks fly and she starts to wonder what could be.
Northanger Abbey
Romance · 2007
A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
Magical Christmas Ornaments
Romance · 2017
When Marie begins receiving ornaments from her mother, a new coincidental blessing comes with each one, causing Marie to feel more excited for the holidays than she has in years. Marie’s once-lost Christmas spirit gets another boost when she meets her handsome neighbor Nate and feels a spark with him while celebrating the season.
Steel Magnolias
Romance · 2012
In an updated contemporary version of the beloved stage play and 1989 film, "Steel Magnolias" chronicles the lives and friendship of six women in Louisiana. Supporting each other through their triumphs and tragedies, they congregate at Truvy’s beauty shop to ponder the mysteries of life and death, husbands and children - and hair and nails - all the important topics that truly unite and celebrate women.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Dwight H. Little
Written by
Eric Brooks · Dustin Rikert · William Shockley
Poppy Drayton
Loretta Johnson
Steven R. McQueen
Wayne Hendricks
Mary-Margaret Humes
Susan Johnson
Kix Brooks
Arthur Wellerson
William Shockley
Burt Cravage
Michael Welch
Howard Hodgekiss
Scott Bailey
Paul Perentti
Court is in session
Put Home by Spring 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.