Jana Kramer delivers a heartfelt performance in The Christmas Ring, even if the film itself doesn’t quite reach the heights it aims for. Kramer, best known for her role as Alex Dupre on One Tree Hill, brings genuine emotion and warmth as Vanessa, a military widow searching for her lost family heirloom—a ring dating back to D-Day.
Benjamin Hollingsworth (Virgin River) matches Kramer’s strength as Ben, the charming antiques dealer who becomes her love interest. Their chemistry carries the film through its rougher patches, creating authentic moments that feel earned rather than forced.
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The story beautifully explores faith and integrity when Ben’s father Howard (Kelsey Grammer) discovers the ring is worth $25,000. Vanessa has no idea he’s found it, and Ben knows it belongs to her. Howard’s internal struggle—keep the money or do the right thing—provides the film’s emotional backbone. When God’s guidance leads him to give the ring to Ben for Vanessa, it reinforces the film’s message: faith and love conquer all problems.
Unfortunately, Vanessa’s friends deliver awkward, stiff performances that pull you out of key moments. Their scenes feel forced and unconvincing, detracting from the stronger work by Kramer and Hollingsworth.
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The depth of family love shines through beautifully, and Karen Kingsbury’s faith-based storytelling delivers genuine life lessons. It’s a sweet film best suited for viewers who appreciate Christmas movies with strong Christian themes and can overlook uneven supporting performances.
Grade: C
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There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring.
| Rated: | (NR) NA |
| Genres: | Drama, Romance |
| USA release date: | 2025-11-06 |
| Movie length: | |
| Starring: | Jana Kramer, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Jessie James Decker, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Ashley Brown |
| Director: | Tyler Russell |
| Writer(s): | Tyler Russell |
| Language: | en |
| Country: | US |
Plot
At a “Christmas in July” sale, military widow Vanessa Mayfield (Kramer) crosses paths with antiques dealer Ben Miller (Hollingsworth). As Ben works in Vanessa’s hometown, their friendship begins to grow into something more. But trouble brews when Ben’s father unknowingly acquires a box of antiques containing Vanessa’s missing heirloom Christmas ring – a priceless piece of her family’s past. Planning to sell it, he has no idea of its true meaning. It will take a Christmas miracle for love, family, and the ring to come together.
RunPee.com owes RunPee Sis a huge debt of gratitude. She sees any movie needed with no complaints and has done so for ten years (even basing Thanksgiving and Christmas family festivities around the seeing films). In 2015 Sis ran the entire RunPee enterprise herself, while RunPee Dan, Jilly and Mom went traipsing off to Europe. Sis is the spider in the web holding the RunPee family together — besides being a funny, well rounded person, and a joyous pleasure to be around. Her favorite films start and end with horror (which thank goodness she’s happy to see, since most of us don’t have the stomach for it) — but also likes silly comedies, sad dramas, and musicals of all types. If you’ve used a Peetime for a scary film, you probably have RunPee Sis to thank for it.
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