Amy Adler 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.

morlvera OK, it's just a Hallmark movie, I shouldn't take it too seriously and a lot of the production crew will be on autopilot, but I wanted more nuance than this. I'm a little surprised at some of the "pro family" reviews as well. The main theme seemed to be "be as obnoxious to your unfamiliar guests as possible and maybe your daughter will marry someone like you".This hardly seems the stuff of Christmas sentiment (unless you count The Grinch). I just couldn't buy into the bigoted hick stereotype as being gruff but lovable, just unpleasant. The daughter's role seemed to consist of smiling weakly while her boyfriend was metaphorically spat on from all sides. If the roles were reversed and the boyfriend's parents made her take ice cold baths every morning and strip naked to serve drinks to their society friends, somehow the family friendly motif would be put into sharp relief. Everybody's family could be this loathsome to strangers if they really tried, but why would you celebrate it? Why would you reward their climb from boorish vindictiveness to grudging acceptance as attaining a state of grace and forgiveness? I know that TV movies tend to have broad-brush plot lines with little room for subtlety, but the creative contempt and continuous humiliation that the daughter's family put him through just irritates after a while and is too obviously there simply to hang the sub-plots from. No one would keep putting up with this level of abuse with little or no help from their partner and the unreality reminds you that this is just a product. You can't lose yourself in something this caricatured.

cgpedley Obviously some people care more about the acting than the whole point of the movie.This is a VERY positive movie showing that one does NOT have to be set in their ways and can change. The father DID NOT like Sadie's boyfriend until he saved him from a wolf and survived outside overnight in the cold mountains.The theme of people being able to change is a theme which is positive and is more important than how great the acting was. I didn't care to observe the acting critically because I was drawn into the movie.After all I thought that's what good acting was .. being able to draw your audience into your story. At least that is what our director told us...a director who does this for a living.I recommend this highly for those who are fed up with the normal Hollywood fare and want a movie that your whole family could watch and admire.

wildbillfisher 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.