Movie Review: A Puppy for Christmas (2016)

Synopsis: Noelle has wanted a puppy since she was a little girl and now that she has a place with her boyfriend, Todd, she decides to adopt Buster. However, Todd's reaction to the puppy is the opposite of what she expected, and she soon finds herself single and homeless a few days before Christmas. To make matters worse, she's also in danger of losing her job as a feature writer when her article about keys to a happy marriage seems to be falling through. With nowhere else to go for the holidays, she accepts an invitation from her co-worker Liam to join him on his family's Christmas tree farm, a happy experience that is dampened by the revelation Liam's grandfather is likely going to be forced to sell to a developer.

Who's in it? The movie stars Cindy Busby, Greyston Holt, Christopher Russell, Allison Price and Derek McGrath.

Review: I was scrolling through my library, looking for a movie to watch this morning and realized my wife and I are REALLY far behind on our Hallmark Christmas movie list, to the point there is probably no way to get caught up anytime soon. As a result, since nothing else was catching my eye, I figured it wouldn't hurt if I picked out one of the older ones to watch and that ended up being A Puppy for Christmas.

It was an OK movie but, other than the dog, it wasn't overly special.

I'm going to start with the movie's protagonist, Noelle (Busby). I honestly had a hard time liking her. For one, for someone who had obsessed over having a dog her entire life, Noelle was a woman who knew surprisingly nothing about dogs or puppies. This started with her driving without Buster in a pet carrier and continued with the way she kept calling that poor puppy a "bad dog" when she made zero effort to train him.

Plus, as much as I hate to say this, I kind of sided with Todd (Russell) when Buster pushed him to break up with her. Yeah, he was an ass (driven home later in the film by him parking in a handicap spot and the reveal of a second girlfriend) and took that a step forward by clearly not liking dogs. However, a puppy is a big commitment. It's not something you just spring on someone, especially when he's shown no interest in having one and have a lot of rare and expensive stuff in HIS apartment. Not to mention, the dog adoption seemed as much about trying to save her failing relationship than anything else, which should never be a reason to adopt a pet.

The romantic relationship between Noelle and Liam (Holt) was OK but also a bit too contrived and predictable, especially with his never-seen girlfriend and the obligatory forced drama that puts the budding relationship in jeopardy. On top of it, Buster doesn't even have a role in that romance. He's just there, starring in a few scenes but not enough. Based on the title, I honestly would have expected more, such as telling the story from the dog's point of view.

Ironically, as I watched this film, I realized I would have liked it better had it been a horror movie/thriller rather than a romantic movie. 

Hear me out - a single/homeless Noelle accepts an invitation from her handsome coworker to join him and his family on their Christmas tree farm only to learn they hunt their guests for sport and her only hope for survival is her intuitive puppy, Buster. Yes, I know it's something that has been done before (minus maybe the dog part of it) but isn't that the complaint about most Hallmark movies anyway?

Final Opinion: It's not a bad movie, I just wish it had a little more substance or, at minimum, a lot more Christmas puppy, to make it more memorable and unique.

My Grade: C+ (the plus is for Buster because, unlike Todd, I do love dogs).

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Here are some reviews of other animal-related Hallmark movies:

Movie Review: A Royal Corgi Christmas (2022)

Movie Review: A Tail of Love (2022)

Movie Review: The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014)

Movie Review: The Nine Kittens of Christmas (2021)