For the umpteenth time, Hallmark revisits the old trope where someone in town either looks or acts like Santa and seems to have magical Christmas powers. Sometimes, the Magical Santa appears briefly, sometimes the Magical Santa grants a wish and checks back in a few times, and sometimes, as in this movie, the Magical Santa not only looks the part, goes by the name Kris Kringle, drives something red, and constantly bellows "Ho Ho Ho", he dominates the entire movie with his magical powers and carefully planned coincidences.
40 year old Cindy Busby plays 32 year old Lori Jo and, to be polite, she comes across as a wee bit maniacal from time to time. She's also kind of a crappy friend. She quits her job because of a task that she's been planning for years but has decided, rather arbitrarily, to complete this year. Then she encourages her friend and co-worker Tori, played engagingly by Katherine Barrell, to also blow off work and join her. Their jobs don't appear to be the kinds of jobs that have allowed them to squirrel away wads of cash. But hey, who needs money?
Lori Jo and Tori start driving cross country so Lori Jo can hang an ornament on a tree somewhere in Ohio (is that really worth quitting a job to do?). It was apparently something she and her grandmother had talked about doing for years but never did before her grandmother passed away 4 years ago. Along the way, their car breaks down and they meet a tow truck driver named Carl, played by Corey Sevier, who just happened to be passing by. Magic Santa also drops by and employs his first bit of magic (and not the real world illusion kind). The three new friends then team up with Jason, another stranger played by Matt Wells, who has a great line ("career, family, it doesn't have to be one or the other").
The plot essentially amounts to them being repeatedly manipulated/tricked by the All Powerful Kris Kringle in ways that make them wonder if he has some Higher Power. It's moderately entertaining, especially if you like old white guys with white beards messing with peoples' lives. No one has any past lovers or spouses to complicate the story and I actually liked that this movie gave equal time to the 2 new budding romances. I was actually more drawn to Katherine Barrell's character which, in most other movies, would have been the cardboard best friend whose sole purpose was to cheer on the main female lead. She's a real person with thoughts and feelings here (and attractive in a girl next door sort of way).
Aside from the, um, very animated performance by Busby, the acting was solid especially by George Masswhol, the actor who fully commits to the role of Kris Kringle. The movie also included a couple of great quotes but only one was properly attributed. "Life is a journey, not a destination" is often misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, as it is here. But the first known recorded use of the aphorism was by Lynn H. Hough. The other great line, "not all those who wander are lost" was indeed written by J. R. R. Tolkien, in The Fellowship of the Ring."
This wasn't a classic but it wasn't a complete misfire. It all depends on your tolerance for Magic Santas and Cindy Busby (I'm not a hater but she's not one of my favorites).
