A Los Angeles defense attorney discovers that in order to marry the love of his life, he'll first have to convince her rugged father that all lawyers aren't sharks. James White (Jeremy London) is a successful young lawyer who will soon be happily married if all goes as planned. Deeply in love with country-bred doctor Sadie Ryder (Dorie Barton), James plans on asking for his true love's hand in marriage when the pair head back to rural Pine Gap to celebrate Christmas with her family. Trouble is, Sadie's gruff father Karl (James Gammon) doesn't care much for city boys, and the less said about his opinion of lawyers the better. Over the course of the next week, James is prepared to do everything in his power to win Karl over, whether it be baling hay with the good old boys or heading out for the hunt despite the fact that he's never fired a gun. All the while, Sadie's well-meaning Aunt Trudy (Sally Struthers) does her best to convince her niece to date a real man, like the girl's rough-and-tumble high school sweetheart Clint (John Littlefield). Later, when a group of environmentalists hatch a plan to turn the county into a national park, it appears that the days of Ryder Ranch may be numbered. While James realizes that a good lawyer to help get the family out of their current jam, he realizes that Sadie's father isn't willing to listen to reason. Still determined to impress Karl and win Sadie's hand in marriage, James hastily sets out into the wilderness in order to prove that he can live off the land with the best of them. By the time the rescue team is called, few will doubt that James' love for Sadie is genuine. Jason Buchanan, Rovi
The heartwarming direct-to-video family drama A Horse for Danny stars a very young Leelee Sobieski (Joan of Arc, My First Mister) as the precocious 11-year-old title character, and Robert Urich (Spenser: For Hire) as Eddie, her horse-trainer uncle. Danny may be young, but she is also a race-track veteran -- who knows how scam-artists fix the races, and how to determine when a scam is being pulled. When Uncle Eddie espouses his dreams of riding into glory on the back of a stallion, Danny finds the perfect mare for him -- Tom Thumb. Raising her cash by careful betting, and pooling her money with a friend, Gerald, Danny purchases the horse for Eddie and it turns him into a champion racer. But a number of quick-draw racetrack con artists, including Noel Ferguson, see dollar signs and threaten to steal Eddie's thunder -- first with a botched attempt to purchase the horse, then through more shady means. Directed by Dick Lowry (Smokey and the Bandit 3), the film also stars country singer Ed Bruce. Nathan Southern, Rovi
Weary and dispirited following the death of his wife Lorraine (Meredith Baxter) and after suffering a mild stroke, Buddy Bishop (Ronny Cox) anxiously reaches out to his estranged daughters Sarah (Tracy Needham) and Beth (Natasha Gregson Wagner), asking that they join him for a Christmas reunion. Despite a multitude of their own problems, Sarah and Beth agree--but they're not too happy about spending the holidays in the old, boarded-up house that Buddy had shared with his late wife. Circumstances change dramatically when the Bishops awaken one morning to find a beaming Lorraine waiting for them in the kitchen as if nothing had ever happened to her The "resurrection" of Lorraine leads to a moving and inspirational conclusion in the made-for-cable Angel in the Family, which first aired December 18, 2004 on the Hallmark channel. Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Genre: Kids and Family
- Category Holiday Film, Inspirational Drama, Family Drama, Animal Picture, Childhood Drama, Romantic Comedy, Psychological Thriller
- Theme: Ghosts, Death in the Family, Wedding Bells, Miraculous Events, Americans Abroad, Nightmare Vacations
- Studio: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
- Run Time: 06 hr
- Edition: Special Edition
- Language: English
- Release Date: May 13, 2008
- Lead Actor: Dorie Barton, Leelee Sobieski, Jeremy London, Meredith Baxter, Ronny Cox
- Supporting Actor: Warren Davis, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Kristina Krofft, James Tumminia, Alexander Scarlis, Tommy Hinkley, David Chisum, Tess Harper, Dominic Scott Kay, Joshua Grenrock, Patrick Day, Jonny Acker, Steve Monroe, Chase Hoyt, John Littlefield, James Lashly, Tracey Needham, John Pyper-Ferguson, James Gammon, Sally Struthers
- Director: Catherine Millar, Dick Lowry, Mark Griffiths, Georg Stanford Brown
