THE BEST THING ABOUT CHRISTMAS
A country-music Christmas about grief, family, and the hope of Heaven.
Should You Watch It?
Here is the good news first: this is one of those rare Christmas movies that earns its tears and its joy. It blends country music, Christmas warmth, and a fully Christian view of grief and family into something genuinely moving — with, by this reviewer's judgment, one of the best new Christmas songs written in years.
Yes, the budget shows in places, and the middle acts run a little long. But when it counts, the acting is superb and the emotion is real. This is a story about a father who loses a daughter and nearly loses his family and his faith along the way — then finds his way home to both.
If you want a film that puts God and family first, sings well, and lands on hope in Jesus and Heaven, gather everyone and watch this one. That's your answer: worth watching, with a tissue box nearby.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESDylan is a good Christian family man with a country bar band — himself, his brothers, and his eighteen-year-old daughter Molly, who has a heart for others and is writing a tender song about Heaven.
One night a Nashville producer offers Dylan the record deal he's waited for. It means uprooting his wife, Kara, and their four children and starting over in Tennessee. The family goes. The dream is finally within reach — and then grief walks in the door. What Dylan does next, and whether he finds his way back, is the film's journey to make.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars, and here's what earns them. This is a pop-country Christmas musical that isn't afraid to sit with real heartbreak, and it pulls off the balance: fun moments, heart-rending ones, and a few that reach the profound. The acting is superb when the story asks the most of it, and the songs carry real weight — the title song especially, alongside a hopeful tune the young daughter sings to a new friend, two musical prayers to God, a song about family, and a song about Heaven.
It isn't flawless. The low budget sometimes shows, so some scenes play better than others, and the second and third acts stretch a bit long. But everything builds toward an uplifting, emotional finish anchored by the title song — a payoff that makes the whole trip worth it.
The Worldview
This film wears its faith openly and warmly. It celebrates and extols hope and faith in Jesus and Heaven — most fully in its final scene, where a passage from Hebrews about angels is read aloud. Along the way it honors God's grace, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, charity, and the call to help the homeless and the stranger. People go to church and pray in Jesus' name — before meals, before concerts, even at a cemetery.
At its center is a hard, true lesson. Dylan is a man with a real dream and a real gift, and the movie never says dreams are wrong. But it insists that the health, safety, and love of his family matter more than any success — and that supporting your family doesn't excuse neglecting your duties as a husband and father. He learns both, painfully.
The film also faces the question grief always asks: why would God take a child home? It doesn't dodge it — there's a raw scene where Dylan argues with his pastor — but it lands on trust, as Dylan comes to see that God's plan and love sometimes involve calling His children home to Heaven.
That longing the movie sings about — for a home beyond loss — is the one Scripture answers. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more" (Revelation 21:4).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
CCC, BBB, CapCap, V, A, M):
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong Christian, biblical, pro-family worldview, with a Christian view of free market capitalism, celebrates and extols hope and faith in Jesus and Heaven in the final scene and elsewhere, Scripture is cited or read, movie also extols God’s grace, the importance of family over career, reliance on God during times of grief, prayer, forgiveness, charity, and helping the homeless and the stranger, plus movie says it’s good to have personal dreams but that the health, safety and love of your family is more important than any dream of being successful, movie also says the support of your family doesn’t mean you should neglect your duties as a husband, father, wife, or mother, people go to church and pray in the name of Jesus before meals, before concerts and at a cemetery, man realizes that God’s plan and love sometimes involves calling His children home to Heaven, there’s a spiritually uplifting scene with a pastor, there’s an image of a small Nativity display with Jesus at the center, one song is a prayer to God, and climactic lyrics in another song about the joys of Christmas refers to the Nativity Story and the baby Jesus
Foul Language
No foul language
Violence
One scene of violence where grief-stricken father smashes his guitar because of 18-year-old daughter’s tragic death
Sex
No sex
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Three scenes where alcohol is used such as alcohol is consumed at bar where main character works, at a meeting between man and his record producer, and at a restaurant attended by both man and his record producer
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
There’s a scene where troubled married man considers having an affair with his record producer but opts out of it, a homeless character seems to be a single dad, and there’s a scene where grief-stricken father argues with his pastor about his daughter’s untimely and tragic death.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Dylan learns that his dream of success matters less than the safety and love of his family. Where in your own life might a good goal be crowding out something more important?
Matthew 6:33 · Luke 12:15Grief nearly pulls Dylan away from God, and he even argues with his pastor. Is it faithful to bring our anger and questions to God? What does Scripture show us about that?
Psalm 13 · Lamentations 3:19–24The film ends on the hope of Heaven and reads a passage from Hebrews about angels. What does the Bible promise us about the death of those who belong to Christ?
Revelation 21:4 · 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14Dylan's family calls him back to his duties as a husband and father even in his sorrow. How can we love and serve the people close to us when we're the ones hurting most?
Galatians 6:2 · Philippians 2:3–4The Final Word
This is the kind of Christmas movie that leaves you a little tearful and a lot grateful — country songs, an honest look at grief, and a family finding its way back to God and to each other. Its rough edges never overshadow its heart or its hope. Gather everyone, hit play, and keep the tissues close. It's worth watching.
