gloomyrival

After I saw this film, it left me scratching my head for a few reasons. At first, I thought it was a movie about college, since all the actors were so old and just walked in and out of classrooms at their leisure, but then I was stunned that they were suppose to be high school age. They are all obviously in their twenties and looked ridiculous as teenagers...it's like casting white people to play blacks in a movie, just as out of place and ridiculous. Next, the movie plays on it's vagueness, we don't understand the motivations behind any of these characters and the dialogue comes off as contrived and phony. Finally, for a film that was supposed to be set in the seventies, it truly fails to capture any feel for that era, it seems more modern than anything in dialogue and appearance. Not a movie that you will hate, but bland and vague enough to leave an empty feeling in your gut after viewing.

This is one of those bad Lifetime Christmas movies that sums up all the others. A mother laments the loss of her husband in an auto accident and has a son to look after...what's more Christmassy to begin with than death? Well, the ghost of her dead husband appears and guides them through hard times and to another man, who of course has money and can take care of them both. Obviously made in Canada, for what film would have the climax of the movie end in a hockey game? Forget peace on earth and goodwill to men, the message of this movie is having money and scoring goals. It's the kind of Christmas movie that tries to pull sentiment and heart out of the viewer like an enema rather than through good writing and acting. Avoid this loser.

There are many, many better Christmas movies out there to watch than this one. Mickey Rooney plays Mike Halligan, a retired New York City detective who dies before Christmas and is sent back to Earth to find an alcoholic angel and sober him up in time for Christmas to spread the Christmas cheer to the citizens of New York. Along the way, the retired detective kidnaps his grandson and is supposed to show him a real New York Christmas. The trouble is, there is nothing very Christmassy about death or New York City with no Christmas lights or decorations. Obviously filmed during the summer, this movie has no feeling for Christmas whatsoever. Scott Grimes, who plays the grandson, is a lousy actor for a kid, he can only portray a chipper, bright-eyed sparrow on the screen even when the scene calls for a deeper, emotional moment. Lots of sub-par acting and virtually no storyline make for a really bland Christmas movie that should be moving at times, but instead comes off as forced and weak. I don't understand all the high ratings for this film, it misses the mark so often and lacks any true depth of feeling in it's characters. Don't waste your time with this one, you will only be bored and disappointed I'm afraid.