Christmas On Mistletoe Farm Plot Synopsis
Christmas On Mistletoe Farm is the latest movie from Nativity director Debbie Isitt. It is centred around Matt Cunnigham (Scott Garnham), a widowed father of five, who discovers he has inherited the titular farm from his estranged father.
As Matt needs to complete an important business pitch that will keep his boss happy – the Scrooge-like Miss Fletcher (Ashley Jensen) – he decides to visit the farm with his family so he can get the peace and quiet he needs to get his job done.
Unfortunately, Mistletoe Farm isn’t the ideal place for which to work. There is no wifi, the roof is leaking, and there is a farmyard full of animals that need looking after. Matt’s chances of getting his pitch done on time are further spoiled by the presence of Beano, the farm’s handyman, who proves to be somewhat of a hindrance.
Eventually, Matt decides to sell the farm to two redevelopers who are interested in buying the property. The local villagers aren’t very happy about this and neither are Matt’s children who want to live on the farm forever! Beano isn’t best pleased either and together with Matt’s kids and the village folk, he tries to change Matt’s mind.
So, does Matt sell the farm? Or does he decide to keep it and be part of the village? Let’s take a look at Netflix’s latest Christmas movie.
How do the villagers respond to Matt?
The villagers are very glad to see Matt, not only because they were close to his father but because they think he has come to save the farm from being taken over by somebody outside of the family. They are very welcoming to him and his kids and do their best to help them all settle in.
These villagers include the local vet, Miss Ashley (Kathryn Drysdale), who Matt has a hard time getting to know at first but who later becomes his love interest.
But while the villagers are welcoming of Matt, he isn’t sure he should stay. His father seemingly abandoned him and his mother many years before when he prioritized the villagers who needed his help. As such, Matt has a few painful memories to deal with alongside everything else he needs to manage while living on the farm.
Matt eventually decides farm life is not very him, much to the disappointment of his children and the people in the village. Beano and the other village folk try to find ways to change Matt’s mind but he is still adamant about leaving. When he finds a brochure with the contact details of a real estate company, he decides to get in touch with them to orchestrate the farm’s sale.
Does Matt sell the farm?
The property developers visit the farm to get an estimate but they don’t get a good first impression. The farmyard smells are off-putting to them as are the animals. They are also distracted by Beano and the other villagers who do their bit to make them leave the farm. The developers then make a quick exit, much to the annoyance of Matt, but he has more to worry about when his boss arrives from the city. After falling into some mud, she angrily sacks Matt for not completing his pitch.
Beano, feeling guilty for his involvement in getting Matt sacked, decides to visit the city to convince Matt’s boss to give him his job back. He also meets with the property developers and convinces them to come back to the farm.
But when the developers do visit the farm to complete the sale, Matt has changed his mind. After realising the warmth and joy that the villagers have offered him and his family (and because he has now fallen in love with Miss Ashley), he decides to stay.
However, there is a problem.
Matt had previously signed his name on the developer’s contract so there is a chance that the sale could still go through. But then Grumpy arrives (a villager, not one of Snow White’s dwarves), and reveals that he is a lawyer with a way to save the farm. He has a copy of an inheritance document from Matt’s dad which forbids Matt from selling the property. Consequently, Matt isn’t able to sell the farm, which he hadn’t planned to do anyway after changing his mind.
How does the movie end?
As all good Christmas movies too, Christmas on Mistletoe Farm ends with a happily ever after. Not only do Matt and his family decide to live in the village with a potential new wife and mom in the form of Miss Ashley, but Matt is also able to reunite with his dad! It turns out that the local town crier is Matt’s long-lost father, who isn’t dead after all! He pretended to be dead to lure Matt into the village so the two of them could be reunited. This is of no surprise to the villagers who were in on the plan from the beginning.
Admittedly, this final twist is rather implausible and a little traumatic too, as it was rather cruel of the father to pretend to be dead when Matt had already lost his wife. Still, it paved the way for a family reunion that hopefully had happy consequences for Matt, his children, and the people of the village.
Read More: Christmas on Mistletoe Farm Movie Review