Films To Binge On This Holiday Season!

Films and music go hand in hand, so it’s no surprise when music artists lend their talents to theatrical projects – and that’s no different when it comes to the country genre. While not all of the films listed below are exclusively holiday related, we’ve compiled our top recently released movies to binge this Christmas with friends, family and loved ones that involve Countrytown favourites like Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley and more!

Back To The Outback (2021)

Keith Urban plays a singing toad named Doug in Netflix’s Back To The Outback. The new animated film, which stars Tim Minchin, Isla Fisher, Eric Bana, Wayne Knight, Guy Pearce and Kylie Minogue, sees a group of Australia’s deadliest creatures plot a daring escape from their zoo to the Outback.

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Urban shared a clip of the scene where other characters film him belting out When A Man Loves A Woman. He wrote, “When I was a kid, I wrote my bucket list and at the very top was “ONE DAY, I WANNA BE A SINGING TOAD.” I mean, what are the odds?!!! Meet Doug.”

Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday **(2021) and Sister Swap: Christmas In The City (2021)**

In the two Sister Swap Hallmark films, real life sisters Kimberly Williams-Paisley, the wife of Brad Paisley (who penned a new song for the film) and Ashley Williams play Jennifer and Meg Swift, respectively. Though separate, the films will be connected – with one focusing on the story of Jennifer returning to her hometown, and the other on Meg's journey to Salt Lake to help Jennifer's restaurant prepare for a local Christmas competition.

Williams-Paisley told People, "My husband wrote a song for one of the movies. It's in my movie, and it's such a good song. So, people should look out for that. That's going to be amazing."

The Holiday Fix-Up (2021)

The Holiday Fix-Up stars Jana Kramer as Sam, an interior designer, who returns home during the holidays to help renovate the Bell Harbor Inn, she gets paired with Coop (Ryan McPartlin) as her contractor. The only problem - he's the guy who broke her heart and she's the one who got away. Sugarland’s Kristian Bush co-wrote and joined Kramer for a song Second Chances on the soundtrack.

Christmas In Tune (2021)

In the festive holiday film, Christmas In Tune, Georgia (Reba McEntire) and Joe Winter (John Schneider) are an estranged couple and singing duo who agree to reunite after their daughter, Belle (Candice King), asks them to participate in a Christmas Charity concert, only to find themselves getting back in tune on stage and off.

Roadhouse Romance (2021)

Hallmark’s romantic drama, Roadhouse Romance stars Lauren Alaina as Callie, an Army lieutenant who returns home to find her hometown has changed - her first love has a new girl and her family's BBQ restaurant has hit hard times. She then clashes with a marooned big-shot director who might hold the key to saving the restaurant.

Alaina said, “I’m so proud of [Roadhouse Romance] … I really liked acting. I got sing three songs in the movie, two on the new album and one cover, which was When You Say Nothing At All by Keith Whitley, which is a really important song to me.”

Five More Minutes (2021)

While Five More Minutes may not star Scotty McCreery, his song of the same name inspired and is played in the film, of which he also co-produced. The Hallmark flick follows Clara (Nikki Deloach), who wishes she had more time with her late grandfather at Christmas. Her holiday wish seems to come true as she comes across his journal and looks back on her time with him.

McCreery said of Hallmark, “They own the Christmas season. We’ve been in talks with them for a while. They heard the song and loved the song, and wanted to find a way to incorporate it into a movie. It’s a cool way; they’re taking the grandfather theme, which is how Five More Minutes got started.”

Christmas on the Square (2020)

The musical comedy follows an embittered scrooge of a woman who plans to sell her small town, regardless of the consequences to the people who live there. However, a kind-hearted angel (Dolly Parton) arrives and shows her what would happen before she mends her ways and redeems herself.

And, if you want to put on a bit of a Dolly marathon, Parton has a slew of other Christmas movies including A Country Christmas Story (2013), Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love (2016) and Christmas At Dollywood (2019).

I’m Wanita (2021)

For those who prefer documentaries, I’m Wanita is the story of a renegade country music singer from Tamworth, hell-bent on realising her childhood reams of stardom. Self-crowned as ‘Australia's Queen Of Honky Tonk’, Wanita is still waiting for the recognition she knows she deserves. Wanita embarks on a quest to record an album in the country music Mecca of Nashville, but her inability to toe the line threatens to derail her plans – can she keep her date with destiny?

The film has already screened in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide and a smattering of regionals, but is set for release in January in Sydney and Melbourne as well as a number of NSW regional towns throughout January and February. More details here.