The Road to Christmas

August 29, 2022
Delayed while traveling in three separate cars to meet up for Christmas, members of the Turnbull family learn lessons in forgiveness, acceptance, and faith in this patchy contemporary from Roberts (A Christmas Wish). Max and Michelle, who’ve been trying to keep their impending divorce after 30 years of marriage a secret until after the holidays, rekindle their love after a near-death experience in the snow forces them to stay overnight in a hotel. In a separate car, their two oldest daughters, Shyla and Audrey, get a flat tire and, with no available hotel rooms, are invited to stay with a local family, the oldest son becoming a love interest for Audrey, who usually intimidates men with her intelligence. An unfortunate run-in with a deer, paired with heart medication being left at home, send Max’s parents, Warren and Hazel, to the hospital, where a distraught Hazel finally convinces a fearful Warren to get the procedure he’s been avoiding. A slow start and a rushed ending make the flow of this a bit rocky, but there are plenty of heartwarming moments in between. This uneven outing is best suited to Roberts’s most devoted fans.

September 1, 2022
Michelle and Max Turnbull have both come to the conclusion that their marriage is five years past its sell-by date. The couple's imminent plans for divorce, however, are put on hold when their youngest daughter, Julia, invites everyone in the family to spend the holidays with her in Idaho. Now, for the sake of Julia and their other two daughters, Shyla and Audrey, as well as Max's parents, Warren and Hazel, Michelle and Max agree to play the happily married couple until after the holidays. Roberts neatly packages and then gift wraps the road trip to Idaho adventures of three different groups of Turnbulls, whose all-too-relatable foibles and flaws make them all that much more endearing, into a comfortably cozy, dryly humorous tale brimming with holiday charm and cheer.

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