Holiday TV Movies & (Non-Rankin Bass) Holiday Specials - General Discussion

[Shanna Marie]

One that I love year after year is All She Wants For Christmas with Monica Keena.

Is that the one where the town's major employer is a Christmas ornament factory, and they're worried when the son(?) of the founder/owner comes to town because they think he's there to shut it down, and she's scrambling to prove they can make it work? Or maybe she doesn't know that the guy is a relative of the owner until later? There was something about a woman who turned out to be his sister or cousin, and she was the business-oriented one while he had other ambitions in life. Anyway, there's some kind of big celebration/festival that they're pinning their hopes on to convince them to keep the factory open.

 

I liked the story in that one. I was just mildly irked that this was one of those where it was obviously filmed in summer, with really green grass, and full, leafy trees and lots of sunshine, and the characters were all walking around in light Christmas sweaters, with scarves casually flung around their necks through this summer landscape with bits of fake snow in the hedges, and the obligatory snowfall at the happy ending fell on a summer landscape. It was a little distracting during any outdoor scenes. Also, all the townspeople were really, really blond, and some of them looked really, really fake. I think I referred to that one as Christmas with the Lannisters.

[Aliconehead]

Yes that's the one. I don't ever get annoyed by Christmas movies filmed during other seasons because I live in San Diego and our Christmases are more likely to be warm and sunny as not.

[JAYJAY1979]

To view an ION film, one has to overlook the obvious summer time look of the movies since most of them are filmed in California.  I figure that's what California looks like during the Holiday season.

 

With that said, there hasn't been any good ones this year.. and you'd think with the vast amounts of movies made this year that at least one would be decent. LOL

[absnow54]

Finally watched Nine Lives of Christmas. I agree with everyone else, it's such a refreshing romance for a Christmas movie! Especially since they get rid of the big bad OTT romantic rival in the first 30 minutes.

[Irlandesa]

I don't know if I appreciated it more because I watched it live instead of on a DVR when it's much easier to fast forward, but I enjoyed The Best Christmas Party Ever despite it having, perhaps, the worst title this season.  It wasn't about the evils of a big city over a small town.  The woman, in the end, wasn't giving up a career opportunity for love.  It was the man.  Neither actor was a block of wood and I actually had a few genuine laughs. 

 

The Santa Con, on the other hand, I gave up on after thirty minutes.  Life's too short.  Let me know if I'm missing something.

Edited December 14, 2014 by Irlandesa

[twoods]

Good to know about Best Christmas Party Ever. I like the actress so wanted to give it a chance, but the title is so off putting. Will definitely give it a chance when I have the time- have to get through Diva's Christmas Carol first, which is so good so far. How have I missed this movie all these years?

[StaceyNotStacie]

I watched "Santa Con" last night and liked it. Was glad that Wendy Williams only had a small part.

I also watched "Angel in the House" on Up. I really enjoyed that one.

[absnow54]

Another one I like watching every year is A Christmas Wedding because I love Sarah Paulson and the fiance is reasonably charming, and I just love how everyone hates Dean Cain.

[NYGirl]

So I happened to be home today and ended up watching 3 movies that I DVR'd over the weekend.

 

1.  The Christmas Parade.  I only wanted to see it because Drew Scott was in it but he had a small part.  I couldn't take to the female lead...she was almost bitchy.  I am still scratching her head as to why she would pack only dressy/work clothes when she was running away to clear her head.  No jeans or warm up suits for this gal.  The premise was ok..community center in trouble and town needs money, etc.

 

2.  Midnight and Misteltoe.  Candace Cameron and her dad Tom Arnold who run a Christmas Village together with Tom being Santa.  Tom didn't run the business very well and Candace..her name was Holly... a businesswoman had to come and try and save her family home.  Two suitors involved but she went with the obvious one in the end as the other was trying to scam them out of the house and land.  I think I've seen this one before but I really enjoyed it.

 

3.  Naughty or Nice.  I liked this one best as the premise was very different from the others.  A girl name Krissie Kringle who lives on Candy Cane Lane happens to get all the mail destined for Santa.  She receives his Naughty or Nice book by accident and it wreaks havoc on her life.  I liked that her boyfriend was not a cad, her best friend was another guy and best of all her parents were Meredith Baxter Birney and Andrew Gross!!  I love them together.

 

As an aside I cry at the end of every one of these freaking Christmas movies..no matter what it's about.

[heebiejeebie]

Yes that's the one. I don't ever get annoyed by Christmas movies filmed during other seasons because I live in San Diego and our Christmases are more likely to be warm and sunny as not.

 

I live in the snow belt.  But have traveled enough and am well enough read to realize Christmas happens in places snow doesn't happen.  What annoys me is why they try to pretend the movie is taking place where it is cold and snowy.  When the grass and foliage is greener and thicker than most snow belt regions get at the height of a wet summer.  Why not just say it is taking place in the region it is being filmed?  The movie that Candace Cameron is in is supposed to be in frigid Alaska and half the extras seem to be dying of the heat.  In their log sleeved shirts even as the main cast is supposed to bundled up.

 

Speaking of Candace Cameron.  Wow is she a bad actress.  And I have to wonder having heard that she is a bitch on wheels on set.  Why is she cast?  And does her fifties heavy handed makeup she sports in every movie reflect the stylists disgruntlement with her rumored on set attitude?

 

There was a movie on last night about the woman who gets the brooch who can then hear people's thoughts.  Really really weird.  Odd moments that make no sense in the overall scheme of things.  But the secondary roles sport some really hot guys.  Much better looking than the romantic lead. 

 

The Anne Heche movie was such a trainwreck plotwise.  Was it based on a book?  I always thought the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies usually were.  And were supposed to be moving and meanginful.  This just had so many random moments just piled on.  And it had such an odd tone.  The puppy causes a fire which burns down the jail (yeah like that building Iwouldn't have smoke detectors or that a fire could start so easily with a building full of employees not noticing) and the scene starts out as weirdly 'uh-oh" whimsy before shifting to dramatic fire escape. 

 

Doctor/love interest was hot as hell though.  It seems almost half of these movies have a paradoxical inversion of male hotness in lead to plot idiocy/bad acting. 

[Shanna Marie]

What annoys me is why they try to pretend the movie is taking place where it is cold and snowy.  When the grass and foliage is greener and thicker than most snow belt regions get at the height of a wet summer.

That's when it bothers me. I live in the south. I've had two white Christmases in my entire life. Snow is not essential. But when they have people walking through lush, green landscapes with puffs of cotton in the bushes and a little fake snow on the ground while wearing winter wear or when they have that mandatory snowfall at the happy ending landing on leafy green trees and lush green grass, it's some serious dissonance.

 

The Hallmark movies must be a little less "quickie" than the ION and Lifetime ones because they seem to have been filmed in the appropriate seasons. I watched Northpole last night, and there was actual snow. It even looked yucky and slushy on the streets, like real snow, rather than like pristine fake snow. The movie itself was cute, but wow, they went overboard with the merchandising, with them zooming in on the various items and then having a banner on the screen saying you could buy them at WalMart. I'm kind of torn on the role of Santa, etc., though. On the one hand, I liked the explanation for their magical system and loved the depiction of Northpole as a town. On the other, I think the story might have worked just as well without the magic elements, with it just being about the kid wanting to bring the holiday spirit without any of the outside motivation. The magic stuff almost undermined the human part of the story. I did love that the supposedly mean old man was actually a good guy. I'd been dreading that we'd find out he was destroying the park and the tree because of one bad thing that happened to that girl he was writing to Santa about, so he now hated Christmas and wanted to destroy it for everyone else.

[twoods]

Finally watched Best Christmas Party Ever and it is the second best movie that came out this year behind Nine Lives, IMO. The lead was fantastic, and I got teary eyed a few times. Also, the girl didn't have to give up anything to be with the guy!

[WendyCR72]

Reminder: The unedited Charlie Brown Christmas is now airing on ABC!

[WendyCR72]

Seeing as there has been talk of the non-R/B stuff in here besides movies and to keep the number of threads down a bit, I have decided to combine the two and edited the title just a bit. So feel free to keep discussing the movies, but now it is a bit more broad to include specials that don't go in the existing Rankin-Bass thread.

 

If there are questions, feel free to ask! :-)

[Spartan Girl]

Did anyone else watch the Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas special?  The original movie is better for sure, but I thought this was pretty cute.

[proserpina65]

I also love George C Scott's version

 

This one is my favorite.  I also love Scrooged with Bill Murray.  How can you beat Mary Lou Retton as Tiny Tim?

[chitowngirl]

With all the Christmas movies available to Disney/ABC, you would think they would show more that the 5 or 6 they have been showing endlessly on the 25 Days of Christmas.

 

Have I missed How the Grinch Stole Christmas? The animated one, not the JIm Carrey one.  And Olive, the Other Reindeer?

[Mountainair]

I actually thought ABC family did a better job this year with their Christmas movie rotation. Today they finally started airing movies during the morning/day as well as at night. They do show some of the same ones over again though but at least they figured out that Harry Potter is not a Christmas movie.

I think they aired original Grinch pretty early in the season though I have not seen Olive appear yet.

I caught a Lifetime Movie Network one last night with Kristen Chenoweth and Anna Clumskey, 12 Men of Christmas. Nice eye candy to be sure :)

[rubaco]

Have I missed How the Grinch Stole Christmas? The animated one, not the JIm Carrey one.

 

 

The animated Grinch will be on ABC on Christmas night, I think at 8:00. (They will follow it with the Jim Carrey movie.)

 

Everybody now… "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch… You really are a heel…"

[StaceyNotStacie]

According to my DVR, the Grinch cartoon is airings are as follows:

Sunday 12/21, 9 am & 8 pm, Cartoon Network

Thursday 12/25, 8 pm, ABC

 

For Peanuts lovers, the following specials will be on in the next few weeks:

I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown! - Saturday 12/20, 8 pm, ABC

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown - Monday, 12/29, 8 pm, ABC

[WendyCR72]

According to my DVR, the Grinch cartoon is airings are as follows:

Sunday 12/21, 9 am & 8 pm, Cartoon Network

Thursday 12/25, 8 pm, ABC

 

For Peanuts lovers, the following specials will be on in the next few weeks:

I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown! - Saturday 12/20, 8 pm, ABC

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown - Monday, 12/29, 8 pm, ABC

 

Thanks, @Stacey1014 !  :-)

[callmebetty]

Does anyone know if and why they don't air An Elf's Story based on Elf on the Shelf?  I have it on DVR because my kids really like it, but I checked listings and haven't seen it, unless it already aired.  I wanted to put it on my second dvr.  Thanks.

[Rick Kitchen]

If that's the one with Jim Parsons, that aired a couple of nights ago.

[twoods]

12 Men of Christmas was definitely one of the good ones that I enjoy watching every year. Caught one of the ION new movies A Christmas Kiss 2, and I ffed through most of it until the ridiculous ending. I also didn't enjoy it as much because the lead had more chemistry with her neighbor and wanted her to be with him instead of the billionaire.

[Shanna Marie]

I caught a Lifetime Movie Network one last night with Kristen Chenoweth and Anna Clumskey, 12 Men of Christmas.

I think that's the one where halfway through it I realized it was Pride and Prejudice.

 

I finally saw Christmas on Chestnut Street all the way through (I've seen the end, and I think I've seen a few other scenes, but never the whole movie). That's the one where the department store has an ordering error and gets in way too many lights, so to sell them they sponsor a Christmas decoration contest, but to keep from actually having to give away the prize of a shopping spree in the store, they make one of the employees enter and plan a display at his house guaranteed to win. Except he lives with his parents, his father has Alzheimer's, and his father gets agitated about having strange decorations instead of his old familiar ones. There's a romance between the store employee and the store owner's daughter. There's a lot about the movie that bugs me -- it's one of those with lush green lawns and bits of fake snow in the bushes as CGI snow falls but doesn't seem to touch any of the people, it can be a bit cartoony and over the top, I can't imagine it being legal for an employee to enter the contest, and the romance doesn't make a lot of sense because I can't see what these two people would see in each other. He seems like a great guy, but not like someone she would find at all interesting, and I never understood what he found appealing about her other than that they were in a movie together. But the ending gets me when the father really freaks out about the decorations and the guy undoes it all, just putting out a manger scene lit with candles, and then he wins the contest when all the neighbors' lights blow the power grid. The relationship between the father and son really is lovely.

 

I wonder what movie A Christmas Kiss 2 ripped off. The first one was Working Girl. Sometimes, half the fun of these cheesy holiday movies is figuring out which famous other movie's plot they're borrowing and putting in a Christmas setting.

[Kat From Jersey]

 

As I was growing up watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, it was still on CBS (with, at the time, numerous Dolly Madison product commercials, those and McDonald's!), yet I always saw that ending with all the gang singing! Maybe the cutoff was a regional thing?

 

I do know the scene where snowballs are thrown at the can on the fence was cut for many years; it was only added back in in the mid '90s, so when I first saw it then, it was a new one to me.

 

Dolly Madison ice cream!  I still think of that every time we watch A Charlie Brown Christmas!  The soundtrack to that special is my most-played music during the season.  Just one note of the Vince Guaraldi Trio can whisk me back to my childhood like no other Christmas song.

 

Another huge favorite is The Snowman.  I had never heard about this until a few years ago.  I think it was a production out of Great Britian, maybe from the mid-80's.  It's about a boy who builds a snowman, and that night dreams about it coming to life.  It eventually flies him to the North Pole for a snowman party where Santa shows up.  The intro narration by David Bowie, and the animation and music is just incredibly gorgeous.

[DkNNy79]

I caught a Lifetime Movie Network one last night with Kristen Chenoweth and Anna Clumskey, 12 Men of Christmas. Nice eye candy to be sure :)

 

Its a cute movie.  I adore Kristen Chenoweth.  She always ends up playing these quirky, fun and witty characters.

 

Yes, eye candy galore.  My favorite is the police officer.  Great body, great face and he was such a sweetheart.

Edited December 18, 2014 by DkNNy79

[Mountainair]

Its a cute movie.  I adore Kristen Chenoweth.  She always ends up playing these quirky, fun and witty characters.

 

Yes, eye candy galore.  My favorite is the police officer.  Great body, great face and he was such a sweetheart.

Ok. I liked the police officer too but then I thought he ended up being the cheating fly fisherman dude and I decided I didn't like him anymore. That's what I get for multi tasking.

I can't remember the movie title that came on before that one but it was cute too. A lady finds a little girls Christmas note to Santa about wanting a new mommy for Christmas. Lady decides it was an omen and changes her life around to make it happen. Predictable but cute!

[Anela]

Considering how many versions of A Christmas Carol/Scrooge are shown on TV this time of year i thought this might go here.

 

For me, the holidays aren't complete without seeing some version of A Christmas Carol. I've read the story, seen a half dozen live versions and make it a point to see every movie/tv version of it on TV this time of year. So I'm wondering what is everyone's favorite version of Scrooge/A Christmas Carol?

 

For me, it's the 1951 version with Alistair Sim. It comes closest to the tone of the original Dickens story with the loneliness people can feel during the holidays. Most of all, I can really feel the redemption with Sim's Scrooge. He didn't start out as a heartless miser. He had dreams and goals and love. But life was cruel and he adapted the best way he knew how. After his night with the spirits, he again feels that childlike wonder of Christmas spirit and good will. I love scene where he goes to his nephew Fred's house for dinner while they sing, Barbara Allen. It just totally captures the feel of a Victorian Christmas.

 

I also love George C Scott's version with Patrick Stewart's as my third favorite.

 

I love the black and white version (I think that's Alastair Sim's version), and Patrick Stewart's. I also didn't mind the Disney version that I watched two years ago, on ABC Family. My present-wrapping tradition is me, A Christmas Carol, with hot tea, Christmas lights, in the middle of the night. On Christmas Eve, I have to watch It's a Wonderful Life, for Clarence, and I like the reminder that things could have been much worse for the people in his life, if George had never existed.

 

I've had no Christmas spirit this year - almost none. I haven't watched much of anything, but I have movies recorded. I did watch a silly one called, "A Bride For Christmas" trying to get into the mood. I should put on Christmas Vacation, and Scrooged.

 

I also loved A Diva's Christmas Carol, but haven't seen it on TV for years. Also, I'm forgetting the two actresses names - Susan Lucci was one. I can't believe i've forgotten the name of another actress, unless I'm thinking of the wrong movie.

 

I also love The Snowman, and Father Christmas (although I remember it as, Another Bloomin' Christmas):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q4fOjWRoSw

Edited December 19, 2014 by Anela

[JasminePhyllisia]

 

Lifetime has A Christmas Wish available on demand. Debbie Reynolds, Neil Patrick Harris and Naomi Watts, classin' up the Lifetime joint! This would never win any awards but it's got a lovely story to it with a message, albeit shmaltzy and melodramatic. But what's Christmas without shmaltz? (Katherine Chancellor's widower makes an appearance, for any Y&R fans.)

 

I totally agree.  I'm not a big fan of Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas movies but I watched this a few years ago and enjoyed it.  Glad to see it's available on demand.  Two solid and heartfelt performances by Debbie Reynolds and Neil Patrick Harris.  Not a big fan of that little kid, though, wow what a bad actor. 

 

I liked seeing the "mystery" through to the end and was truly surprised at the outcome.

[beadgirl]

 

Another huge favorite is The Snowman.  I had never heard about this until a few years ago.  I think it was a production out of Great Britian, maybe from the mid-80's.  It's about a boy who builds a snowman, and that night dreams about it coming to life.  It eventually flies him to the North Pole for a snowman party where Santa shows up.  The intro narration by David Bowie, and the animation and music is just incredibly gorgeous.

I love it, too.  In our house a few years ago, Beadboy2 dubbed him "Frosty what doesn't talk."  It's based on a gorgeous, wordless book.

[Scarlett45]

My favorite christmas TV movie is "Holiday in Handcuffs" with Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez. It's hilariously silly and happy.

I did also enjoy Holidaze, Hitched for the Holidays, and The Mistletones.

[Aliconehead]

I agree about the Candace Cameron weather being annoying but what I thought was worse was the daylight. That far north during winter, you would be in the dark most of the time. It was light WAY too much.

I was kind of sad that there were no new ABCFamily movies. I like those the best. They have been playing them this week and I am re watching them.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Aliconehead

[Mountainair]

Does anyone know if and why they don't air An Elf's Story based on Elf on the Shelf?  I have it on DVR because my kids really like it, but I checked listings and haven't seen it, unless it already aired.  I wanted to put it on my second dvr.  Thanks.

I just saw via Facebook that this will be airing on Sprout this weekend. Of course that is the one channel I don't get. We have an Elf but have not seen the movie before due to always being out of town when it airs. I finally have a DVR and they decide to air it on a channel I don't get. Last year I thought it came on CBS. Oh well, my kids can't miss what they don't know exists. 

 

Caught The Best Christmas Party Ever last night and I thought it was really cute. I was trying to place the lead male the entire time. I looked him up on IMDB and still have no clue why he looks familiar. There was that short lived sitcom on ABC this fall (Manhattan Love Story) and I think he resembles that guy. That's the one thing about watching all these Lifetime/Hallmark movies, I play, "Who is that guy/girl" the entire time!

[Darian]

I practically have more hours of cheesy holiday movies recorded than there are waking hours left before Christmas, and I don't watch them after Christmas. Everyone posting in this thread is helping me prioritize. Started The Best Christmas Party Ever and so far, it's cute.    

[Shanna Marie]

There's nothing on TV tonight, and even tonight's Christmas movies don't look that great, so I think it may be time for an OnDemand binge. Of the movies I haven't seen yet, here are the options:

 

For Hallmark:

Christmas Carol -- sounds like a modern version with an uptight publisher named Carol in the Scrooge role

Christmas Song -- something about two choir teachers when schools are combined

Christmas Star -- a singer reunited with her high-school sweetheart

 

for Lifetime:

Family Holiday -- a man hires a family for Christmas so he can get an inheritance (gee, wonder what'll end up happening)

A Christmas Romance -- uptight executive gets snowed in

 

So, which should I pick? I tend to prefer comedies to sob stories. I've already eliminated all the ones where Santa is the hero or a character's father.

[twoods]

I liked Christmas Song when I saw it last year. Christmas Star was pretty boring and a lot of FF material IMO, I forgot what Christmas Romance was about.

Caught the last hour of the Santa Con (live TV has way too many commercials), and it wasn't that bad. I like Barry Watson and the rest of the cast so it was watchable.

Edited December 20, 2014 by twoods

[Shanna Marie]

It turned out that what the OnDemand listings showed as "Christmas Carol" was actually "It's Christmas, Carol." Still, your basic modern, gender-switch version of the classic story, with an uptight publishing executive who fires someone on Christmas Eve for standing up to her and makes everyone work on Christmas day getting the Scrooge treatment via the ghost of her former boss (Carrie Fisher, in full snark mode!). It was kind of fun, mostly because of Carrie Fisher getting to do all three ghosts, plus Marley, and having way too much fun with it. It also seemed to look somewhat seasonal instead of being obviously filmed in July. I had to turn off the part of my brain that knows the publishing industry, and there was yet another big business event held on Christmas Eve night. It seemed to be the company party because some of the staffers brought significant others, but there was also an agent there with her client. Obviously, I'm not in the right social and business circles because I've never been invited to a non-family party on Christmas Eve. The romance was the weak link, though, because I had a hard time believing that people who hadn't seen each other for ten years and who had a fight when they did see each other again would then get right back to being madly in love and kissing passionately the next morning just because she'd said she changed. If he still hasn't moved on with his life and is still hung up on his ex from ten years ago, he probably needs professional help. It's just really, really hard to make a romance work with the Scrooge character in a story like this.

[ennui]

I don't usually watch holiday movies, but I did like A Very Merry Mix-Up with Alicia Witt. It was cute.

[mustbekarma]

I channel surfed and thought what the heck, I'll watch Christmas in Conway. Andy Garcia's never been my favorite, and I've never seen Mandy Moore act. I always like Mary Louise Parker. So I wasn't expecting to be be nothing but amused. Then when I realized Mandy Moore was a hospice nurse, I thought this was would be completely depressing, but I decided to had to complete it. I'm glad I did. The ending was literally uplifting.

 

Good Lord, the ending had me in tears though. Thank God for a little bit of civil disobedience, and police officers who weren't jerks. That was such a sweet ending.

 

I wanted that bitchy neighbor to get a real slap-down, though. She could have shown some freaking compassion.

[jjj]

Yes, I saw "Christmas in Conway" a day or two ago, and they really conveyed the two hours of the imminent death of Mary Louise Parker's character very realistically.  I have no idea where that snow came from in South Carolina, but it was a very moving ending.   The resistance to having hospice/home nurse was also very realistic.  Give the neighbor an ounce of credit -- at least she showed up with a pie when the main character came home to die -- and Andy Garcia ripped it out of her hands and slammed the door in her face.  The social problems were not all on the neighbor's side of the fence. 

[BrainyBlonde]

Mountainair, don't know if you watch Syfy at all, but that's where I know Steve Lund (Best Christmas Party Ever hottie) from. He plays sexy werewolf/nightclub owner, Nick, on Bitten, and he was the Colorado Kid on Haven a few years back.

 

I still have a lot of Christmas movies on my DVR left to watch, but my favorites so far this year have been The Nine Lives of Christmas, Christmas at Cartwright's, and A Royal Christmas. It's really all about the leads and their chemistry in these movies for me. If that's not there, the movies fall flat. In the case of Best Christmas Party Ever, I thought Torrey Devito and Steve Lund really elevated a very poorly written and plotless script with their combined cuteness.

 

My big disappointment of this holiday season is that Hallmark didn't cast Antonio Cupo in one of their holiday movies. I have rewatched Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade so many times it's not even funny because I adore Antonio and Autumn Reeser so much. And Antonio even made Haylie Duff watchable in Hats Off last year.

 

The Twelve Men of Christmas is an automatic rewatch for me every holiday season. J'adore Kristin Chenoweth, and I thought the movie was a fun spin on Pride & Prejudice.

[jjj]

Did anyone see "The Christmas Blessing" (2005) with Neil Patrick Harris?  I cannot understand the significance of the red shoes that belonged to two dead mothers in the film; how they got to the two different mothers or how they are involved in the sudden resolution to the plot (where Rob Lowe suddenly appears, not sure why).  It's another sad Christmas movie, most of all because 

of the father of the little boy who dies, who is left without his wife and
without his son, apparently heading to Alaska to fish, which his son asked him
to do.  Given that he was leaving at Christmastime, I hate to think how
long he will have to wait for the ice to thaw.  It is not like ice fishing
in the Midwest.

  Added a spoiler because maybe I am saying too much about the ending, even though it is ten years old. 

Edited December 21, 2014 by jjj

[Irlandesa]

My big disappointment of this holiday season is that Hallmark didn't cast Antonio Cupo in one of their holiday movies. I have rewatched Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade so many times it's not even funny because I adore Antonio and Autumn Reeser so much. And Antonio even made Haylie Duff watchable in Hats Off last year.

Ha!  When I re-watched Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, I was thinking the same thing.  It also reminded me that I don't always know which movies will be the ones I'll watch again and again.  When I first saw LatTDP, the woman stupidly accepting the proposal towards the end of the movie, just because she thought Antonio Cupo's character had a girlfriend, was a major knock against it.  But overall, I thought the leads had more chemistry than most of the leads of these movies do and it's worth watching again and again even thoughI still think the proposal is stupid.

 

I suppose his "For Better or Worse" with Lisa Whelchel fulfilled his annual Hallmark Movie quota which was most notable to me because he was 15 years younger than his love interest.  Quite rare in TV.  It looks like his Christmas movie this year was a Canadian version of The Christmas Shepherd called A Christmas Tail.  (Since they came out, it's not technically a version of TCS but the plots are very similar.) 

 

Here's an article on the Hallmark movie factory. 

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/12/20/hallmark-tv-movies/

[opus]

I haven't read this whole topic, but has anyone watched A Wish for Wings That Work.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I'll be honest, in addition to all the Rankin-Bass specials, and animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Mickey's Christmas Carol, the only live action Christmas movies I watch, without fail, every year, is Home Alone. (Don't judge me!), and Tim Allen's The Santa Claus. I don't have the patience to watch the sequels and tend to dvr them and fastforward the parts I bore me.

 

Now, I may not laugh as hard as I did the first five or six times I watched it, BUT, the ending, when Kevin's mom shows up and sees him, and he stands there, with a little pout, right before he runs into her arms? Never fails to make me teary. I don't know why. Maybe it's the music in the background? And McCauley Culkin was just too adorable for words.

 

That said, color me surprised that ABCFamily didn't bleep/silence out the word "ass" when Buzz is talking about Kevin to one of their sisters.

 

I really wish Joe Pesci had been interviewed in the dvd. I'd've liked to have heard his take on how much his character got abused and tortured.  I think John Hughes or maybe it was the director, who said they had to convince him to take the role.

[beadgirl]

 

It's just really, really hard to make a romance work with the Scrooge character in a story like this.

Yup.  A Christmas Carol is not, in fact, a love story, contrary to Hallmark's and Lifetime's opinion.  In A Diva Christmas, didn't Vanessa Williams's character have a romance with the Bob Cratchit character?  He did move on and marry and have kids, and once Ebony has her change of heart, she helps his sick child and makes sure he can spend Christmas with his family (breaking up his marriage wouldn't have been very Christmasy, I guess).

[St. Claire]

Did anyone see "The Christmas Blessing" (2005) with Neil Patrick Harris?  I cannot understand the significance of the red shoes that belonged to two dead mothers in the film; how they got to the two different mothers...

 

The shoes only really belonged to NPH's mother (NPH playing the grown up version of the boy in the first Christmas Shoes movie, which I didn't see.) The dad of the kid who NPH coaches for basketball found the shoes in the donation bin a the church (where NPH's dad put them when he was getting rid of his deceased wife's stuff) and used them to make up a story about the kid's mom- she died in a car accident after having left the kid and his dad, but the dad kept telling stories about the glamorous life she was leading (she was a dancer, etc.) so he didn't have to tell the kid that his mom was gone forever. I wasn't watching closely enough to determine if NPH's character realized that Rob Lowe's character was the guy who helped him buy the shoes for his dying mom eighteen years ago, though.That was a peculiar plot tie-in between the movies.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I'm currently watching Christmas on the Bayou on Lifetime starring Hilarie Burton and Tyler Hilton.  It's a very nice movie, but it looks strange seeing the two actors as love interests when I see them mostly as their One Tree Hill characters.

[Josette]

 

Did anyone see "The Christmas Blessing" (2005) with Neil Patrick Harris?  I cannot understand the significance of the red shoes that belonged to two dead mothers in the film; how they got to the two different mothers...

    

The shoes only really belonged to NPH's mother (NPH playing the grown up version of the boy in the first Christmas Shoes movie,

 

 

 

If you're interested, there are three related movies. The Christmas Shoes was the first movie, then The Christmas Blessing, and the last one is The Christmas Hope.  The character Neil Patrick Harris played in The Christmas Blessing appears in all three films.  Ian Ziering plays him in the final movie.