Drew Granger accepts a substitute teaching job in his hometown, Chestnut Hollow. When he meets the new kid and his mom, and starts to reconsider his stance on the town.Drew Granger accepts a substitute teaching job in his hometown, Chestnut Hollow. When he meets the new kid and his mom, and starts to reconsider his stance on the town.Drew Granger accepts a substitute teaching job in his hometown, Chestnut Hollow. When he meets the new kid and his mom, and starts to reconsider his stance on the town.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTrevor Donovan sings in this move, but Jessica Lowndes does not.
- GoofsThe background is terribly fake when the three of them are at the lake.
Featured review
A heartwarming family-friendly romantic movie with a straightforward plot
If you enjoy uplifting family-friendly movies with a simple romantic plotline, then you will love this movie. I certainly loved the movie, although I think I would have loved it even more if there were more twists and turns/conflicts in the plotline and more depth to the characters. My rating is 8/10.
"A Harvest Homecoming" is about a man (Drew) who temporarily returns to his small hometown to take on the job of a substitute teacher. Drew's parents own an orchard and his sister is also living at home with their parents without a specific plan in her life. In Drew's class, there is a 12 year old boy (Aiden), and the movie is centred on the romantic relationship that develops between Drew and Aiden's (single) mom (Lainie) as well the bond between Drew and Aiden. (Aiden and Lainie moved to the town at the same time that Drew moved back.) However, there are also minor plot lines involving side characters like Drew's grandfather, Drew's best friend, Drew's sister and Drew's parents. The movie is set over two weeks, but a lot does happen and progress in this time, so it feels more like two months.
The movie is absolutely uncontroversial and it is suitable for all ages. The romance is very tame and the plot is extremely family-friendly centering around the experiences of a diverse range of characters from Drew's grandfather, to school-aged children, and everything in between. You definitely feel happy and positive watching the movie. Although God is mentioned a few times, it is certainly not preachy, and the messages are positive referring to "God's plan" (how small random events lead to amazing moments and relationships) and "the future is God's delegation and not for us to worry about". I enjoy these sorts of positive messages although I am not religious myself. The romance in the movie is very sweet and the characters are kind and happy.
The main criticism I have of the movie is that the plot is simple and pedestrian. I wouldn't say there are a lot of twists and turns - all of the characters are happy and have excellent relationships with each other. The odd conflict between characters or worry of one character is usually minor and quickly taken care of in a simple way. The character development is also somewhat surface level, and given the movie is 85 minutes long, I think there could have been much more depth to the characters (or even at least more depth to one or two main characters like the romantic leads). I personally still loved the movie, but I can understand criticisms of the movie along these lines by other reviewers.
A lot of reviewers commented negatively on the use of Fall decor in the set design of every scene. I personally don't have an issue with this and I don't think it detracts from the plot because you get used to it and it does give the movie a unique feel/theme. It is unusual to see Fall leaves adorned in the corners of bedrooms and classrooms and a lot of orange colors/themes in general, but I don't see this as a bad thing.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the movie because I love heartwarming family-friendly romantic stories with a simple plotline and a happy ending. If this describes you, then I highly recommend this movie. The best part is it is free to watch on YouTube! (The producers have legally made it freely available and it currently has 450k views after about 2 months.)
"A Harvest Homecoming" is about a man (Drew) who temporarily returns to his small hometown to take on the job of a substitute teacher. Drew's parents own an orchard and his sister is also living at home with their parents without a specific plan in her life. In Drew's class, there is a 12 year old boy (Aiden), and the movie is centred on the romantic relationship that develops between Drew and Aiden's (single) mom (Lainie) as well the bond between Drew and Aiden. (Aiden and Lainie moved to the town at the same time that Drew moved back.) However, there are also minor plot lines involving side characters like Drew's grandfather, Drew's best friend, Drew's sister and Drew's parents. The movie is set over two weeks, but a lot does happen and progress in this time, so it feels more like two months.
The movie is absolutely uncontroversial and it is suitable for all ages. The romance is very tame and the plot is extremely family-friendly centering around the experiences of a diverse range of characters from Drew's grandfather, to school-aged children, and everything in between. You definitely feel happy and positive watching the movie. Although God is mentioned a few times, it is certainly not preachy, and the messages are positive referring to "God's plan" (how small random events lead to amazing moments and relationships) and "the future is God's delegation and not for us to worry about". I enjoy these sorts of positive messages although I am not religious myself. The romance in the movie is very sweet and the characters are kind and happy.
The main criticism I have of the movie is that the plot is simple and pedestrian. I wouldn't say there are a lot of twists and turns - all of the characters are happy and have excellent relationships with each other. The odd conflict between characters or worry of one character is usually minor and quickly taken care of in a simple way. The character development is also somewhat surface level, and given the movie is 85 minutes long, I think there could have been much more depth to the characters (or even at least more depth to one or two main characters like the romantic leads). I personally still loved the movie, but I can understand criticisms of the movie along these lines by other reviewers.
A lot of reviewers commented negatively on the use of Fall decor in the set design of every scene. I personally don't have an issue with this and I don't think it detracts from the plot because you get used to it and it does give the movie a unique feel/theme. It is unusual to see Fall leaves adorned in the corners of bedrooms and classrooms and a lot of orange colors/themes in general, but I don't see this as a bad thing.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the movie because I love heartwarming family-friendly romantic stories with a simple plotline and a happy ending. If this describes you, then I highly recommend this movie. The best part is it is free to watch on YouTube! (The producers have legally made it freely available and it currently has 450k views after about 2 months.)
helpful•11
- rescuer-fledgedn
- Mar 26, 2024
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Apples, Orchards & Romance
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Trevor Donovan and Jessica Lowndes in A Harvest Homecoming (2023)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODhjYWQzNjgtNjRkZS00ODhkLTlhODQtNDE5NmI4MGY2NmUyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTg5OTc1NQ@@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)