The Christmas Spirit

Review Date 12/3/2017

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 (C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

SO PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Charlotte (Nicollette Sheridan) and a greedy developer are left in coma after a car accident. Her spirit tries to change the man's mind and stop development in the town before the decision becomes final.

This film had an okay film story but it throws a little too much into the plot. I am glad that Nicollette Sheridan was able to find a role where she plays "Nice". She is a wonderful actress and never seems to catch break.

This film however has major flaws. Its "sets up the rules" on what "Spirits Can Do" however as soon as rules are established "It Breaks The Rules".

By the film breaking its own rules it doesn't allow the audience build a connection to the leads. Because the rules are not "there" the film becomes boring and "predictable".

Could of been great. I don't see myself watching this again in the near future!

Beyond Awful! I did not care for this Christmas movie the first time I saw it. After seeing it again, I thought it was even worse! I profoundly noticed an underlying theme that surfaced, which is a mockery of Christianity!

"Charlotte," is ONLY a recently unemployed newspaper writer, but is glorified ad nauseum by the town's people, and whom they keep turning to and relying on for help regarding the potential buy-out situation....including the business owners.

Even in the Church scene, the Reverend stated to his congregation --to the effect-- that the greatest message of Christmas is Charlotte's life. (What about the message from the "Reason" for the Christmas Season?)

Olympia tells there was always something special about her ever since she was a child. Her contacts to the people were alluding to be miracles.

She was the deciding person whose "righteous" (or more accurately, self-righteous) influence would determine if her and Daniel would be returned to their bodies...the power over life or death.

Is she the town's "savior"??...........Also, she gains a power from the spirit world.

Olympia Dukakis constantly looked like she was in deep mourning at a wake (so depressed).

Blatant Puzzling Mistake: When Charlotte and Daniel were walking on the sidewalk, he pulled out a wad of money. She tells him to put it away before it scares someone seeing money floating by. Well, um, since they are invisible and the money is not, then the money is going to look like it's floating no matter where he has it....including being thrown in Santa's collection pot....and in the restaurant,"hiding" it to his side before placing it as a tip on the table. DUH!!!!!!!

Nicolette Sheridan is a stoic actress, extremely little to mostly no expression...in all of her movies. No expression from her eyes, mouth, entire face, or sincerity with words. So for a movie that was supposed to be focused on conveying a heart-tugging message, she did not convey the message. She just played the part. One would solely have to listen to the words and rely on the plot. Therefore, she was not right for the part.

A Hallmark Christmas story. seductive. and different by the ordinary recipe. because the accent is different. and the performances - obvious better than the script-. but one of beautiful surprises is the performance of Nicolle Sheridan and the work of Olympia Dukakis. a film about hope, joy and family, community spirit. and Christmas.

There was something somewhat intriguing about the premise, perhaps not an innovative premise but as far as modest-or-less-budget festive films go it is a concept that falls in the not so predictable category. And although Nicollette Sheridan is not an actress considered great by me, she is watchable in my view and a long way from being one of those impossible to watch actresses. 'The Christmas Spirit' was also seen as part of my recent Christmas films quest, which was interesting if variable.

Of which 'The Christmas Spirit' is one of those inoffensive but low middle of the pack efforts, that was a bit difficult to rate and review initially. The more thought about it though, the more problematic it became in my estimations. Not one of the best, with it not doing enough with the concept and in need of a lot more imagination and charm (not to mention credulity). Also not one of the worst, as there are far worse made, written and acted festive films out there and my intelligence at least wasn't insulted as such.

Not without its good things and moments. It didn't strike me as a cheap-looking film, the scenery is beautiful and the photography is not drab or garish. The music is neither too intrusive or too low-key, so there was presence and it was authentic to the holiday while not over-powering.

Sheridan carries 'The Christmas Spirit' more than amiably and Olympia Dukakis (the only other cast standout) is suitably enigmatic. A few charming and cute moments.

Unfortunately the rest of the cast are at best mediocre, some of which not really making much impact at all. Saddled with very vapid and corny dialogue and flimsily developed (and that's being generous often) standard Christmas-film stereotypes passing for characters. Really do wish that the film did more with the concept, which is executed far too ordinarily.

Much of the storytelling is bland, extremely predictable (do agree that one guesses the entire story without problem in the first 10 minutes) and the supernatural element is initially intriguing but very quickly becomes muddled and less cohesive. Everything with the traffic light requires some serious suspension of disbelief. Some of it gets too schmaltzy and anything more moralistic comes over as simplistic and heavy-handed.

In summary, pretty lacklustre and middle of the road. 4/10

Is there a LOT of suspension of disbelief in this movie?

Since two people have a traffic accident at a malfunctioning "both ways green" traffic light that would NEVER have been left unrepaired, and since those two people both wind up in a coma, and since they both wind up wandering around as disembodied spirits, and since they can both touch things and move objects around ... the answer is a GREAT BIG YES.

The movie harkens back to the day when Hallmark would still hire some name actors to star in these movies, and not just from the mostly clique of actors who cycle through them year after year ... even though we like quite a few of that group. Nicolette Sheridan and Olympia Dukakis appear.

The male lead is an unscrupulous businessman, and he and Nicolette wander the town together, often performing good deeds as spirits.

Will the businessman turn a new leaf before they recover from their comas?

You might guess correctly. This isn't one of our very favorites, but it's entertaining enough to watch every few years.