Reviews

As with most of Hallmark's Christmas movies, I can imagine the writers questioning: 'Which one of our 2 USUAL careers should we make the lead actress have in this film: a high-powered attorney?...OR a top-notch marketer?...(coin toss)...OK, a top-notch marketer!'

And so the USUAL predictable plot begins...

"Eve," who makes a 6-figure salary by her early thirties working in NYC, gets drunk one night and whines about her love life. She is given a chance to go back in time...to her home town...to re-establish the relationship she had with her fiancé...before she had decided to embark on her career. She whines throughout the movie.

Cheryl Ladd, my favorite female star: Alas! Cheryl has never played a bad part. Why now?

Hmmm...now the only thing left to say is:

Let's hope Elisa obtained realistic dentures with her salary from this movie.

As long as folks do NOT get involved in witchcraft as a result of this movie...

...and can see ONLY the goodness of "Cassie's" gestures...that are inspirational for all of us to be good and do good WITHOUT witchcraft...then I think this movie is more than entertaining...It is remarkably unique with a great purpose!

Catherine Bell was casted PERFECTLY! She has the look of beautiful mystery and exuded a delightful charm as the very likable "Cassie,"...who only has intentions of doing good for others. And so she does.

No matter what predicament, "Cassie" remains amazingly calm and optimistic. Totally disregards negative issues as being a dreadful challenge and to be upset about them...but instead, puts her energy into making them work out for the best. She sees the good in everyone with whom she comes in contact...and brings out their best. She is forgiving when applicable. She is very giving and caring.

So glad a series was made...with each movie being just as enjoyable!

When the 2013 previews aired, I could hardly wait to see another new great Hallmark movie with a seasonal theme!

HA!

Much to my surprise and great dismay,"The Thanksgiving House" was lousy!

In retrospect, it was actually the fore-runner...the predictor...the warning...of Hallmark's 2013 line of lousy new Christmas movies to come!...(which continued in to 2014).

Considering readers have already read the plot above, I was disappointed that this movie ONLY had a minute relationship to T/g...that the house was questioningly built over the site of the first T/g feast......wow.

It was if they had to throw something in about T/g for the reason of the title...the title that alluded to the movie primarily having a T/g plot.....BUT it was nothing more than a romance...and NOT a charming one at all.

ALL of the players' parts and acting were of course consistent with the plot: pointless and boring.

I always watch the new disappointing seasonal movies at least twice for a fair judgment...but this disappointing movie did not improve. It never became enjoyable as is.

The previews for this movie were exquisite! I could hardly wait to see...what I though was going to be...a wonderfully enchanted, romantic Christmas movie with talented players! But not so...not at all...

I greatly enjoyed Andrew McCarthy with his talent and humor in both "Bernie" movies...but after seeing his portrayal in this movie, his talent must have died since then...OR obviously this was not the right part for him. And the scenes with his pretended English accent and expressions were so awkward.

All I can say "good" about this movie is that it's good for those who have short memories since:

the majority of scenes were the dance studio scenes,

with the same song,

with very similar lengths and outcomes...

...played over and over ad nauseum.

If you don't have a short memory, watching it more than once only increases the dull effect...boredom.

Oh, puleeeezzzz! Give me a break!!

With this movie being ultra-awful, I'm convinced Hallmark's Christmas movie producers' intentions were to laughingly prove viewers could enjoy ULTRA-LAME!

But they were actually insulting viewers' intelligence! The only feature I enjoyed was that it ENDED!

The tremendously annoying "Harold" showed up numerous times out of nowhere, without a hint of how he showed up.....Turn around this way or that way...or look up... or open the house door...and suddenly there he was every time yak, yak, yakking away...and uninvited!..............His voice was BEYOND annoying! (was that intentional? if so, why?)...............Did the goof ever decide who he was?? Oh, who really cares?!

Hmmm...which was worse: the female star's atrocious "singing" or her lame "acting"??

The plot dragged and dragged and dragged pointlessly.

The film desperately needs to be destroyed immediately! I'd hate to think the next generation would think this stupidity is what we thought was entertaining or enjoyable in our time!

Good points:

It stayed nicely focused on Christmas...with Christmas décor and scenes, and with Santa, Christmas cookies and all. The plot flowed nicely. The lines were good. The acting...*except for mentioned below... was OK at best. (I've seen worst.)

Bad points:

1. Even though it had "snow"...and was supposed to be cold...somehow it gave the impression that it really was filmed in the Spring or Summer. The deciduous trees where they picked up Santa, were green and lush. The deciduous trees in the forest still had their leaves...there was even an outdoor tropical plant in front of the porch at the home.

The male star had his coat open, wearing it over a t-shirt. He looked as if the coat made him too warm to bundle up. All the players looked too warm when they were outside.

There was just too much conflict between the time of year and the profound abundance of over-looked details that suggested it really was NOT that COLD time of year. And I think that really, really distracted from the movie.

2. *Florence Henderson and her *friend were constantly over-the-top obnoxious!........ Florence with her over-bearing, nasal cheerfulness, was too silly....and the friend was just plain, over-bearing in every way. I've seen this movie a few times, and I hate to sit through it when they are featured.

The only "wonder" about it, is: why was this lousy movie even made?

If Hallmark's Christmas movie producers are vying to see who could come up with the worst movie, then I vote for this movie to being one of MANY that is strongly in the lead!

When I saw the cheerful previews...and with the great title...I imagined that I would be seeing all kinds of wonderful window scenes...even with magical effects. Boy, was I wrong...very wrong!

The lousy window presentations throughout were consistent with the entire movie being lousy throughout.

The plot just dragged and dragged and dragged. The players and their lines were as dull as can be. Nothing cheerful or enticing about any of it.

Naomi Judd's part was ridiculous!...actually, somewhat moronic. With her cheap appearance....and the scene with her in front of the store on the sidewalk...and the scene with the juvenile food fight, are the factors that contributed to that perception.

I like a unique plot, not a ridiculous plot......and this plot...along with the "acting" totally, and the lines...could not have been made any more uniquely ridiculous!

Hmmm....where to start??

Sarah's continuous, dopey smile throughout the movie........the dopey cowboy she meets......the meddling cowboy's brother, (another cowboy), who can't sing the awful song anyway...and thinks he is "Dear Abby" with advice about love to his "little brother".........the father who behaves like a silly 10 year old over cowboy stuff...and insists on taking in a stranger just because he is a cowboy..........the mother added nothing of value...

...the mention of rodeos in NYC (barbaric, juvenile events!)...the purposely imposed immature embarrassment of the line dance at an up-scale Christmas party.......and it continues to be awful, along with Sarah's continuous, dopey smile...

Although this movie was made in 2005, my review is here to say that these Christmas movies (part 1 & 2) are timeless...since they continue to be enjoyable year after year!

The talented Steve Guttenberg and talented Crystal Bernard carried the great plot so well!

I like it because it really stays focused on Christmas...and in a delightful way...and with magic...and with no annoying characters! That is the way GOOD Christmas magic movies are supposed to be.

The plot had a nice flow...not boring at all...all of the players were great...the lines and directing were great.

Thankfully their dialogue was not drowned out by blaring, annoying "music" or atrocious singing...as some other Hallmark Christmas movies are noted for having.

The only one oddity that stood out was Crystal's heavy TN accent...compared to her "mother," who had no accent and spoke ultra-refined. That didn't make any sense.

But in such an enjoyable movie as this...always a pleasure to watch... who cares??

At last! Hallmark presented a GOOD, new Christmas movie!...so rare anymore! I watched this movie several times and enjoyed it each time...and look forward to watching it again.

I like that it really stays focused on Christmas in all aspects: all the scenes...apparel...and make-up ...has magic...Christmas décor...and has a delightful, optimistic plot...with talented players. And the plot flowed very nicely!

"Christine" is absolutely delightful and believable...and she is what made the movie so extra nice to watch!

Santa looked, acted, and dressed as we expect a "real" Santa to be. (unlike some other movies.)

The little boy played his part very well!...not annoying at all.

Only slight downer: "Dave" ("Sara's" brother) was a bit too forward, too pushy trying to woo "Christine"...since he only knew her briefly. His approach should not have been over-bearing, but left to the viewer's imagination instead.

But anyway, I think the way this movie is...a Christmas movie with magic... is the way they should be...

...while some other Hallmark "Christmas" movies make attempts to combine Christmas and magic, they fall very, very short (one ex: the overly-hyped "Northpole")...as they stray from the point...to the point of annoying and boring since they include unrelated inner plots...while others have very annoying characters and/or unfit untalented players....and basically, have a lousy plot.

Considering readers have read the plot above...

I watched this movie recently, and all I primarily remember is Tricia Helfer's ("Ryan," the vet) big TEETH!

In the great majority of scenes when she was with "Owen,"...(which was the majority of the movie)...with EVERY line she had...and did not have...she kept smiling......NO matter what their conversation was about. The very few times she did not smile, she kept her mouth open to show her TEETH.

I love cheerful movies, however, I found her character...her acting...to be UNREALISTIC...and therefore distracting and annoying throughout...because in reality, no one smiles with almost EVERYthing he/she says.....not even the characters in comedies....

...and although not a drama, but since there was nothing intentionally funny...or so continuously / outstandingly cheerful...her expressions, unfortunately, were over the top and therefore, not consistent with the movie's intention.

Perhaps if Hallmark didn't brag so much about their up-coming new Christmas movies in the previews, then I wouldn't have such high expectations...and I wouldn't be so disappointed.

After seeing this movie several times, I still couldn't find anything enticing about it...or warming...or fun...or delightful. But I did find that it had PLENTY of deception and nothing.

The plot was all based on deception: "Greta" lied to everyone about who she was....."Ben" and "Greta" created a deception about their relationship...The mother and her live-in "friend" held back their info and continued to deceive after knowing who "Greta" really was.....the brother's girlfriend had deceptive motives with her engagement.

The plot...the lines...the players...all were ho-hum.

On the favorable side:

It did not have any annoying players...which some Hallmark Christmas have.

It did not have blaring "background" music and / or atrocious "singing" to drown out the dialogue...which is typical of Hallmark's Christmas movies to have.

The acting totally and relationship was as phony as can be...so that killed the plot. And airing this movie ad nauseum doesn't revive it.

But considering the scenes with the animal shelter and the adoption from the animal shelter, so be it.

Phony relationship:

1. "Aiden's" natural looks are like that of a hot-shot...shallow. The most talented acting can change that.

2. "Jessie" was neither greatly attractive,* nor did she have an outstanding or even good personality* to have so many guys proposing marriage. Aiden's "attraction" to her was only because she was "super cute" and available and convenient for his bet...unknown to her.

3. The parents were desperate and over-bearing in trying to get "Jessie" married...to ANYONE that she would say "yes" to...which I suppose the reason was consistent with #2.*

The only good point was featuring the animal shelter to encourage adoptions...which raised my rating level from 1 (awful) to 10 (excellent).

Sincerely, Adopt Shelter Pets Today

Wow! The preview scenes were spectacular! And the daily countdown to the movie's airing increased anticipation! OK, finally the movie is airing, and we all ready to enjoy this super fantastic, magical story! Right?

Uh-oh! Instead, it immediately begins its continuous and permanent downward plunge!

1st Awful: casting the long ago "has been" Robert Wagner...and then his talentless real-life wife, Jill St. John...to play Santa and Mrs. Santa. Additionally, the "has been" Santa was wearing totally black(??)...to cover his skinny body...in the Santa suit as well......and obviously he couldn't even fake a decent, believable "Santa voice" if he tried...so he didn't try.

2nd Awful: Bailee was too old / mature and too tall to play a believable elf with a sweet child-like nature. And she towered over the boy, which gave a clumsy, detracting appearance.

3rd Awful: the Plot. I will only say it's was too far-fetched for a young boy to be SO concerned and SO depressed over the town's Christmas tree issue.

4th Awful: the enticing preview scenes were unfortunately the majority of "Northpole" scenes..as well as magical effects.

There are so many more "Awfuls," so I will say the ONLY good part was: it ended!

Apparently, the movie's makers did not consider the possibility that this pathetic movie would be a flop. They never considered being embarrassed either. So they unfortunately went ahead to make a sequel...which I don't believe for a moment will be any better.

As an animal lover, who is owned by 7 precious cats, I was really, really looking forward to this movie being really good. But once again, I was awfully disappointed by one of Hallmark's new Christmas movies. However, the beautiful, TALENTED cats are what saved this movie from being rated "awful." Alone, I would give the cats an "excellent" rating for their excellent performance!

Brandon / "Zach"...and Kimberly / "Marilee"...were a perfectly annoying match with acting like skittish teenagers. They continuously behaved awkward towards each other...as if they were attempting to speak to the opposite sex for the first time at the age of puberty, and didn't know what to say or how to act. The ANNOYING result: two fumbling adults stammering and stuttering like naive teenagers throughout the movie!

In several scenes, Kimberly's ANNOYING, immature expression looked like a deer caught in the headlights!...which became tiresome...along with her stammering.

Just because of her STUPID expressions alone, I will not watch this movie again! And what was with wearing a black evening dress during the day??

Throughout the movie, Brandon was annoyingly portrayed as a highly sought-after, glorified stud...which became tiresome. (Give me a break! He wasn't THAT handsome!)

The firemen acted like a bunch of juveniles or old biddies, depending on the scene.

The ONLY thing enjoyable about this movie was watching the beautiful, TALENTED cats: 10 Paws Up!

This Christmas movie is timeless, and I find it enjoyable every time I watch it!.....The plot definitely stays focused on Christmas...and flows nicely...a really nice magical type of Christmas movie...a light-hearted, "fun" movie, without being corny to prompt changing the channel...and without annoying "background" (so called) "singing" and / or unrelated songs and /or blaring music!...which Hallmark Christmas movies are notorious for having....This movie totally is unlike the other Hm. "Christmas" movies that attempted to have the same effect...but came up extremely short.

The "humbug" theme was expressed in a way that made the movie optimistically interesting and cheerful....The very talented Crystal Bernard and Steve Guttenberg were excellent choices. Neither one was annoying. I think Steve particularly was an excellent choice to carry out his role. He had the right expressions, appearance, humor, sincerity, and voice tone...best Santa Jr. by far. Everyone's acting was nothing less than ideal. And on the whole, this movie is second to none in its category.

***Congratulations to Steve, Crystal, and the staff for making a very, very enjoyable Christmas movie!***

OK, I saw this movie twice...that is, as much as I could tolerate it both times...but I really did suffer through a lot of it both times. >>>And I'm wondering what the point of making it was.<<<.....It has a great title and festive previews, but that is where the fascination to watch it ends............The plot was as dull and pointless as can be...the players and lines were as ho-hum as can be...and I suppose the highlight was the teachers' cookie contest. wow.....No wonder Alan Thicke was chosen for that part...he kept it dull.....(but it's only proper to hold everyone in "suspense" as to who the winner was...not telling.)...................Aha! I think the reason for making it was so that folks can fall asleep!...Sweet dreams....zzzzzzz.

I saw this movie several times, and each time I enjoyed it just as much. I liked the plot, scenery, lines, directing...all stayed focused on Christmas in a nice Christmas way (meaning: nothing boring, ridiculous, or depressing).......All the main players were well-casted, enjoyable, and nicely talented......except the only player that was annoying was the waitress. She was over-bearing with her over-zealous words and actions...always trying to stand out too much...and also touchy-feely......"Anna Wall," with her humbug attitude, was not miserable or over-powering or detracting...Her reason for it was totally understandable.......the Kris Kringle part was played out well......and "Mark Stafford" was ideal.....It has continuous good points...and a good flow...which I think makes it a better than average Hallmark Christmas movie...and therefore, enjoyable to watch again and again.

I have never been disappointed with a Hallmark Christmas movie starring the very talented Candace Cameron-Bure...and I was not disappointed with this one either.........The plot was great! It definitely stayed focused on Christmas...with constant Christmas décor. The lines were great to nicely and clearly express the story with the intensity of several the situations...The entire movie flowed nicely...None of the players were annoying....However, I thought Barbara Niven seemed inappropriate for the part...including her little girl, "Shirley Temple" hairstyle. Her lines were weak in the way of support...and she presented her lines in an untalented, insincere, "jumpy" way. Fortunately she did not appear in the movie much........I liked "Peter" because he was sincere, and just so right for his part.......I have watched this movie several times, and every time it is just as enjoyable!

I liked this movie the first time I saw it...and increasingly when I saw the repeats. It just has a nice, enchanting story that flowed. It stayed focused on a Christmas theme and atmosphere...with Christmas settings...while melding nicely with the primary plot......."Edward" and "Ashton" were elegant and charming, respectively...a delightful change of persona from "over-bearing, macho" actors......I liked "Jules" part with her humbleness, sincerity and sense of responsibility...while having a fun side. But I think a slightly more beautiful actress should have played the part. Her teeth were really detracting as they dominated her face when she spoke or smiled...and why did her hair look oily?? But she was still likable, and played the part very well.....Of course the wardrobe person had very, very poor taste with that gown....The supporting caste was good...The only one that was annoying occasionally was "Miles" with his over-played rotten teenage attitude.....The script and the directing was good also. The entire movie was put together and presented very well...very, very enjoyable...time and time again.

With the exciting title and the interesting previews, once again my imagination was expecting a really good Hallmark Christmas movie...but once again, I was very, very disappointed. I did not find anything likable about this movie...............Plot as I saw it: "Mia" believed that she was privy to suddenly becoming the manager of the failing business where she worked...but she quickly became disgruntled learning that the owner's competent son was going to manage it instead......."Mia" eventually became familiar with the son and changed her unfavorable attitude towards him. Why?.......... Because she saw personal, selfish gain in having a "relationship" with him.....From then on, she gave nothing more than a profound impression that she only wanted a "relationship" with the guy primarily for him to be a "big brother" and then probably be a father for her son......After all, her employment family health benefits might be discontinued!....With her repeated pouting, she practically demanded him to invest all of his free time in her son.........Every time she thought he was interested in another woman (an old friend) because he spent some time with her,..."Mia" instantly showed her disgruntled jealousy and possessiveness....as if he was not allowed to his life's choice.

Last year, Hallmark presented a new Christmas movie with a father selling Christmas trees on a NYC sidewalk...and he had a disgruntled son that ran away. I don't think that movie could have been made any worse! Watching it once was more than enough!...........With that awful movie and the increasing numbers of awful Christmas movies Hallmark has been presenting between last year and this year, (2014) "Fir Crazy" surfaced to be at least "likeable.".......It did not have anything enticing or special or magical. But with its 2 "Bah, humbug" characters, it remained focused on Christmas with a nice plot that flowed.....None of the players were annoying.......No blaring, annoying "background" music and/or singing to overwhelm the players' dialogue (as Hallmark Christmas movies are notorious for having). And I have watched this movie several times.

I would much, much prefer to write a favorable review rather than a negative one. And this is one of those movies that I find very favorable.....Consistent with Gail O'Grady's wonderful talent starring in all of her movies, this movie was also very enjoyable....time and time again....(what a tremendous difference a seasoned, talented star makes in Hallmark's Christmas movies!).....I liked the plot, the lines, the directing...the supporting caste was not annoying. I liked and enjoyed almost everything..............Very inspirational: After "Sara" lost her police officer husband in the line of duty, she opened a food pantry for the needy in his memory...She was very dedicated to it for years...as well as she was very dedicated to their son...Then she faced a financial crisis concerning the building, of which she prioritized not to be defeated...and while she continued to prioritize her son.......However, I didn't care for Robert Mailhouse in this or any movie. There is just something about his looks that does not make him appealing to play in (possible) romance parts, and I thought he was detracting.......Gail O'Grady was teamed with attractive male stars in her previous movies, and their (potential) romances seemed more sincere and believable........Anyway, "Congratulations, to Gail and to the staff for making another quality movie!"

A great title wasted on a lousy movie! This was like: "Don't judge a book by its cover." (even the DVD cover gives an impression too that one can anticipate it being a wonderful movie pertaining to Christmas.).....It seemed like the story writers had "writers' block," and this was the best they could come up with for the entire plot.......Seems like the casters had some issues too about not being able to caste talented players.....which might have saved it (hardly)........I know what this movie was about, yet I really, really fail to see the point of why it was made. It had nothing captivating...nothing special...nothing worth remembering...the singing was depressing......It was just plain boring.......I also fail to see the relationship to merit being classified as a "Christmas movie."..........Just because a certain situation occurs and is staged around Christmas time, doesn't necessarily make it a Christmas movie. I suppose it was because of having a Christmas tree on the set and the "Christmas" songs, but that didn't save it.

This is another Hallmark Christmas movie that I did not find appealing the first time I saw it. It started off interesting...and was good up until a certain point. But eventually, "Alice" increasingly behaved too immature for a grown woman, especially one that was about to be married...and to a high-power, wealthy exec at that....Wearing her little light blue hoodie and her "little girl" hairstyle...and the way she consumed her milk and cookies...made her look like a 14 year old, with the eating habits of a 4 year old. Then "Matt" attempted to wipe off her little mouth........."Matt" was continuously over-bearing...always explaining the "Mitchum's" traditions as soon as they entered the house about mom's decor...to grandpa this and that ("Right, grandpa?"..."Right, grandpa?")...to grandma "was a real fox." (<--very odd!) The entire family was over-bearing........Be that as it may, repeats made it seem better than a lot of other Hallmark's Christmas movies. It's more tolerable.