Welcome to the database of drama Christmas movie reviews that I have compiled for both Peace Love Christmas and Jeff Marshall, Movie Blogger.
If you’re in the mood for something a bit more deep and profound during the holidays, you’ve come to the right place. In this database, which will be updated often, you will find all of the romantic Christmas films I have reviewed along with the director, cast, plot and my detailed thoughts along with my rating from 0 to 5 stars.
My suggestion in using the database is to take a look at the titles on the Table of Contents, click on a title that sounds intriguing, and it will take you directly to my review.
As I mentioned above, this will be a consistent work in progress, so if you don’t find a title that grabs your attention, come back again and maybe your luck will change.
If you’d like to suggest a movie to add to the database, please do so in the comments at the bottom of the page.
My hope is that this will be a time-saving resource for you during the holidays when you are in the mood for a couple hours of relaxation in front of the television.
Over the course of the next few weeks and months, keep an eye out for other databases that will be added to the site – including comedies, religious movies, children’s movies, animated movies, holiday specials and documentaries.
AN AMERICAN CHRISTMAS CAROL (1979)
Director: Eric Till
Starring: Henry Winkler, Susan Hogan and Chris Wiggins
PLOT: Stingy elderly businessman Benedict Slade ruthlessly collects debts and makes life miserable for everyone around him. His unscrupulous behavior warrants a Christmas Eve visit from his ghostly former partner and other spirits that show him the error of his ways. Can Slade turn his life around and become a better person before it’s too late?
RATING: **1/2 out of *****
REVIEW: Winkler is known as the nicest guy in show business, so I hate to be Scrooge-like in my review, but this turns out to be just an OK movie. The premise is great – it’s not an exact adaptation, but A CHRISTMAS CAROL is actually referenced within the context of the film. My problem is that there’s not enough contrast in Winkler’s transformation – particularly after his epiphany. He just begins a bit cranky and ends up a little less cranky.
There’s too much time spent explaining the background of his Benedict Slade, and as a result, the appearances of the ghosts feel like an afterthought. The ghost of Christmas future is especially awkward, with Dorian Harewood appearing almost like a 70s pimp. It was an emotion-less experience even though you can tell Winkler is giving it his all. And, I must say, the old-age make-up is distractingly awful.
ANGEL IN THE HOUSE (aka FOSTER) (2011)
See my post ANGEL IN THE HOUSE MOVIE REVIEW
CHRISTMAS ANGEL (2012)
Director: Brian Herzlinger
Starring: Della Reese, Izabela Vidovic and Kevin Sorbo
PLOT: Wishes are coming true in Olivia’s class and she wishes for a dad of her own. She thinks a mysterious woman is an angel granting the wishes, but she learns she is a normal person who knows how the wishes come true.
RATING: **1/2 out of *****
REVIEW: Imagine TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL and a sprinkle of HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN while Julie Andrews kisses your forehead and sings you a lullaby. That’s this movie in a nutshell. It has a wonderful message and a heart as big as Della Reese’s hair; unfortunately, it’s not really all that great.
There’s a lot going on here – single parenthood, bullying, cancer, kidney transplants, parent/child estrangement, foster kids and tabloid journalism. A couple storylines could have definitely been dropped to tighten everything up – it definitely feels longer than its 98 minute running time. That being said, the movie’s message is delivered beautifully, and it’s not afraid to preach the reason for the season, which itself is cause for celebration.
This is definitely one for the STEEL MAGNOLIAS crowd. I can forgive a lot if I get the requisite lump in the throat or tear in the eye at the end. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen this time. But a definite A for effort!
THE CHRISTMAS BUNNY (2010)
Director: Tom Seidman
Starring: Sophie Bolen, Florence Henderson and Colby French
PLOT: A lonely foster child finds an injured rabbit on Christmas Eve and brings it to the Bunny Lady to nurse it back to health.
RATING: **1/2 out of *****
REVIEW: While it’s hardly the next holiday classic, this is a pleasant enough little family film that brings in moments of Christianity and may even warm a few hearts and possibly bring a tear or two to those easily moved by somewhat manipulative movies about little girls and their pets. It also gives us a chance to see the late Florence Henderson in a role 180 degrees away from Mrs. Brady. Avoid at all costs if you are allergic to overly sentimental movies – this one is geared toward the Hallmark crowd.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938)
Director: Edwin L Marin
Starring: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart and Terry Kilburn
PLOT: Crotchety miser Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas and mistreats his long-suffering employee, devoted family man Bob Cratchit. But a visit from the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and three Christmas spirits might convince him to change his ways and become more kindhearted.
RATING: ****1/2 out of *****
REVIEW: A timeless classic! I would have thought A CHRISTMAS CAROL had more cinematic incarnations than any other book ever written, but I was wrong. According to Google, the correct answer is CINDERELLA. Go figure! But back to business…
This version is the best I’ve seen, hands down. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.” This film is proof positive that statement is correct. Incredibly moving, shot in gorgeous black and white, this is straightforward storytelling, no bells and whistles. The story speaks for itself, and what a story it is! Scrooge has always seemed a character of the ages, even though the novel itself was written relatively recently in 1843.
This is an ideal film to watch on Christmas evening once dinner is done and everyone is relaxing around the fire like a Norman Rockwell painting.
A CHRISTMAS WITHOUT SNOW (1980)
Director: John Korty
Starring: Michael Learned, John Houseman and James Cromwell
PLOT: Leaving her son behind at her parents’ home in Omaha, recent divorcée Zoe attempts to start her life anew by moving to San Francisco. Seeking something to fill her lonely hours, she begins singing with a church choir. When new choirmaster Ephraim Adams is hired, Zoe finds his attitudes and ideas difficult to tolerate. Faced with the challenging task of satisfying Adams’ unrelenting perfectionism, Zoe is tempted once more to run away from her problems.
RATING: ** out of *****
REVIEW: It’s a shame that this Christmas TV movie is so poorly made because I get the vibe that everyone who made it was really nice and got along really well, and those still living probably have lovely memories of its production. And I will say that there is a nice familial bond between many of the members of the choir. But golly gee, this is shabbily made on multiple levels, and as much as I’d like to forgive the sins, they are just too plentiful.
My biggest issue is that Houseman’s choir director, basically described as a tyrannical dictator in the plot summary, is not that bad of a guy. He has to make a couple uncomfortable decisions and goes to great lengths to make the choir as successful as possible, but having been in that position myself years ago, he’s a pussycat. And that immediately delineates any drama and conflict, which only adds to the blandness.
A subplot involving racism is introduced and then basically forgotten, and another involving Learned’s young son is so preposterous, I laughed out loud. There is a total lack of focus here – the movie begins as Learned’s story, then she disappears for a long time period of time, and then the filmmakers apparently realized they forgot about her and bring her back. I’d like nothing more to recommend this, but there’s just way too many issues.
FOSTER (aka ANGEL IN THE HOUSE) (2011)
See my post ANGEL IN THE HOUSE MOVIE REVIEW
THE LEAST OF THESE: A CHRISTMAS STORY (2018)
Director: Mark Nicolosi
Starring: Tayla Lynn, G. Michael Nicolosi and Emma Faith
PLOT: Homeless single mother Rose and her young daughter Katy discover hope in a small-town diner. They are befriended by a feisty waitress, a big-hearted short-order cook and a storefront Santa who gets served a valuable lesson in forgiveness.
RATING: **1/2 out of *****
REVIEW: As a movie critic, I can’t quite give this a recommendation. As a human being, I think the values portrayed here are perfect for Christmastime viewing. If only the movie itself weren’t yet another HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN/TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL wannabe that shoves its message down your throat like grandma’s Christmas cobbler. I’m all for a motion picture with good family values, but there’s a fine line between screenplay and sermon.
Production values and acting are 80s TV level mediocre. That being said, I don’t know who this Tayla Lynn is – she comes across like a country singer trying to transition into acting – but she has a pleasant presence onscreen. The biggest problem I had with this film was the editing. This is a badly edited movie. The film already feels 20 minutes too long without having multiple scenes of a young girl making faces in the mirror and a romantic subplot with Lynn’s co-worker that doesn’t add a single solitary thing to the production as a whole.
Another minor quibble – throughout the movie children run up to Nicolosi yelling “Santa! Santa!”. I’m sorry – he doesn’t look like Santa. He looks like an actor on hiatus growing a salt and pepper beard. Had the screenplay been less meandering and production values a bit more inspired, this could have been something more special. As it is, it’s a safe, mediocre movie that won’t offend anyone – and I suppose that isn’t all that bad nowadays. You’ll appreciate the message but you won’t remember the movie.
NOEL (2004)
Director: Chazz Palminteri
Starring: Paul Walker, Penelope Cruz and Susan Sarandon
PLOT: It’s nearly Christmas in New York City. Rose is in the hospital with her elderly mother who’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Nina is ready to call off her upcoming marriage because of fiancé Mike’s jealous rages, and Mike is being followed by a waiter who believes Mike is the reincarnation of his late wife. Meanwhile, a young man named Jules wants to re-create his happiest Christmas memory.
RATING: ** out of *****
REVIEW: How did this cornucopia of holiday corniness attract not one, not two, but FOUR Oscar winning actors to participate? It blows my mind! Is a good script really that hard to find? This is one of those motion pictures that actually has several ongoing stories occurring simultaneously, and we witness overlapping story lines and characters from one story popping up in one of the other stories to form an overall cohesion.
It makes me sad because the basic theme of overwhelming loneliness during the holidays is topical and an important subject for many. This movie contains the strangest, most ludicrous plot line in recent memory – a lonely guy whose greatest Christmas memory was spending the holiday in the emergency room after an accident when he was little hires a thug to rough him up so he has an excuse to go back to the hospital for a Christmas celebration.
A movie featuring this cast certainly can’t be a full-out disaster but whatever credibility can be found is almost entirely due to the talent of the actors involved. A big disappointment!
A PERFECT DAY
Director: Peter Levin
Starring: Rob Lowe, Paget Brewster and Frances Conroy
PLOT: Based on the novel by Richard Paul Evans, a family man and suddenly-successful author encounters a mystic stranger who warns him he has only forty more days to live
RATING: ***1/2 out of *****
REVIEW: This above-average TV movie originally made for TNT somehow manages to take the true and tired cliches we’ve come to expect from myriad other holiday movies and create something that feels a little bit new and different. There are certainly echoes of A CHRISTMAS CAROL here, among other seasonal staples, but credit to Lowe for creating a protagonist for whom we both cheer and lambast because of his choices. I imagine it’s quite difficult to make a character who retains his likability even when he makes life choices that are obviously not the best, but Lowe’s journey is one we follow quite willingly. And he is ably supported by a wonderful supporting cast, particularly the always reliable Conroy. Without giving away too much, the only big drawback I have involved a character played by Christopher Lloyd. The performance is fine, but the whole plot device involving his character, particularly the Shyamalan-esque explanation at the end, doesn’t feel as realistic as the rest of the movie and definitely strains credibility. But overall, I was surprisingly impressed with this movie, and while I’m not going to put Lowe in the pantheon of DeNiro and Pacino, I’m beginning to think he’s an underrated actor who just hasn’t made the wisest of choices in the past. This is definitely one of his better ones.
More Christmas Movie Reviews For You:
Top 10 Popular Christian Christmas Movies and Specials
Angel in the House Movie Review
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