I’m all for camp Christmas classics, and a mince pie and open fire will still probably make this a worthwhile Advent watch for some, but it’s painfully earnest, without either the knowing absurdity of, say, Last Christmas, or the wit of Elf.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 10, 2024

With new original music from Dolly herself and more than enough snappy dance numbers, Christmas On the Square won’t be winning any awards but it will surely become a holiday favorite in its own right.

| Sep 26, 2022

It's a perfect fusion of Dolly's aesthetics with the vibe of Tyler Perry's stage productions - even if, as a friend on the internet said, "You're going to want to wallow in sin afterward, it's so sweet."

| Sep 9, 2021

A complex film this is not, but rather a film about faith, more specifically, Christianity, the driving force for so much of Dolly Parton's own charitable work.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 17, 2021

It's hard to figure out quite where Christmas on the Square is headed in any given moment, despite the film borrowing liberally from festive classics.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 5, 2020

Holiday musical includes mature themes, promotes faith.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 3, 2020

Old-fashioned to a fault... but hey, it's almost Christmas.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 2, 2020

While the limits of the budget may be visible, it's a quaint little project with a big heart.

| Dec 2, 2020

A beautiful movie with messages of love and forgiveness. The music and Dolly Parton will warm your heart.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Dec 1, 2020

Flooded with clichés yet never knowingly predictable, it's certainly unlike anything else you'll see this festive season, a rollercoaster ride ricocheting towards sentiments of goodwill.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 30, 2020

Deck the halls with joys of Dolly in this musically entertaining family treat.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 27, 2020

To be sure, there will be Scrooges who poo-poo the simplistic nature of Square, yet it's the sort of movie we need right now. With so much enmity in the air, a refresher on the power of faith, hope and charity is needed.

| Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Nov 26, 2020

While Christmas on the Square is average, the singer's influence over the story is the grabber.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 26, 2020

In many ways, the film is fairly insufferable -- the story drags in so many elements designed to tug at the heartstrings... [But] Christmas in the Square still has a couple of assets that even the biggest of churls would be hard-pressed to deny.

| Nov 25, 2020

Overall, the story is lackluster, production low quality, and performance fell flat.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Nov 25, 2020

I was expecting at least some weird dumb fun, but there's barely any of that in here, apart from Baranski singing, "Gotta get out of this town" like an emo teen in a coming-of-age indie movie.

| Nov 24, 2020

Part cheesy Hallmark movie, part community-theater production, part A Christmas Carol meets It's a Wonderful Life, the special is a mosaic of holiday tropes - and that's a good thing.

| Nov 23, 2020

Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square most likely won't be added into your yearly rotation of Christmas movies, but it may just put a smile on your face as your decorate the tree.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 23, 2020

"Campy" is camp with a diploma and a martini. And "Christmas on the Square" is a drunk.

| Nov 23, 2020

Not even our love for the queen of country herself is deep enough to redeem Christmas on the Square, an abomination of a holiday film that is devoid of all charm and originality.

| Nov 23, 2020