James (handsome Jeremy London) is a rising attorney in the Los Angeles area. Lucky for him, too, is that he has been dating the woman of his dreams, Sadie (beautiful Dorie Barton) and she is his professional equal, being a physician. As they are decorating a Christmas tree, James pulls out a little velvet box and gets down on his knee. Sadie is happy. However, since James has never met her family, she suggests they go to her home in the Rockies for the holidays. Fine, thinks James. But, trouble starts immediately after they arrive. To begin, the relatives all think James is a doofus and a city slicker, since he doesn't know how to ride, shoot or stay away from cooking. Most ornery of all is Sadie's dad, Karl (the wonderfully gravel-voiced James Gammon). He seems to merit a bit of slack, however, since he is a fairly recent widower. Then, James always seems to say the wrong thing, setting teeth to grinding. Most troubling of all, there is some dispute between the ranchers and the Bureau of Land Management and James, being a legal expert, wants to play go-between, which outrages Karl. Will they all be able to accept James as a permanent member of the family? This is a lovely film with glowing scenery from Wyoming or such. Makes one want to get the next ticket to the nearest ranch. Also, the cast is wonderful, with Sally Struthers making an appearance as an aunt and the rest of the supporting cast complimenting the two leads in fine fashion. If you are a romantic at heart and love a mix of comedy and drama, you will enjoy this little charmer.

Every Christmas my wife and I make a point to watch as many Hallmark, Lifetime and ABC Family holiday movies as possible. We have sat through a lot of dreck and truly painful, endless, tiresome TV movies. This came as a genuine surprise. As much as I've come to expect the hokey, predictable story lines and cliché characters, this movie doesn't exactly break from all that completely, but I was impressed by how entertained I was. Here are some of the reasons: (1) This takes place in real central California locations, not a Canadian city or town pretending to be "Christmastown, Anywhere." (It's usually part of the fun guessing if the locale is Ontario or BC, and here it's actually where it's pointed out to be, which is unique.) (2) There are three or four comic lines of dialogue that made me laugh, even howl, out loud (with the movie, not at it, which is also unique). (3) Gammon's performance as the dad; he has made a career out of this type of character and he is spot on. Actually, all the actors do a great job with their roles; even the contemptible ex-boyfriend is done so well he's actually enjoyable. Jason London is perfect. (4) I was able to sympathize with both the "city boy's" situations and "country folk's" reactions to him. (5) There are a couple of animals (vicious dog and wild horse) whose depictions are very well handled and convincing. (6) What starts out as a probable "Meet the Parents" rip-off goes instead in its own direction to tell a different story. (7) Though it is predictable, the reconciliation between father and daughter (in the shadow of her late mother's memory) is handled so well that it actually brought a tear to my eye (something NONE of these TV movies has EVER accomplished). Yes, there are a couple of lame elements: blatant product placement for Kay jewelers, a tree-lighting ceremony that takes place in daylight, three brother characters that aren't developed, and a career/life decision the protagonist makes at the end that isn't too believable. But the joys far outweigh the problems. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it nearly that much.

Weak and predictable. I love the Sierra Nevada's so I continued to watch so I could see the Mountains and Mt. Whitney in some background scenes. The movie was kinda bad though. "Dad's" acting was horrible and so was Sadies. It got old fast because it was not believable at all. The night in the cave was useless and added no benefit to the film at all. Come on - Ranchers come home and unsaddle their horses and they don't notice the only horse left behind is gone - with a house guest also missing but his car is still there..And she calls and leaves him a message at this apt...Just hooky and corny. A sequel - I sure hope not. Again, the mountains were the best part of the picture! Absolutely beautiful.

What I Did For Love has everything. I laughed and cried. My favorite parts are: 1. When Karl Ryder (James Gammon) tries to cheer up Sadie (Dorrie Barton) by giving her her mother's wedding dress. 2. When Travis (Jonny Acker) shows James (Jeremy London) how to start a fire without matches. 3. The rabid wolf part was very well done. 4. All the strikingly beautiful outdoor scenes with the rock formations and the snow capped peaks. 5. The hunting trip was hilarious. I liked all the Ryder family it was well casted, acted, and directed. I sure would like to see a sequel. Even the little dog was cute. The ending is lovingly warm, full of holiday spirit and family values. I think it's another Hallmark classic.