I came for a cheesy holiday movie and ended up saluting my TV. A Soldier for Christmas had me laughing, crying, and inexplicably craving eggnog. But let's get one thing straight-Mitchell carried this movie like it was a wounded comrade under heavy snowball fire.
From the moment he appeared on screen, I knew this man wasn't just acting-he was Christmas. The charisma? Off the charts. The comedic timing? Sharper than Grandma's Christmas ham knife. The emotional depth? Like a Hallmark movie got possessed by Daniel Day-Lewis.
Mitchell's portrayal of Sergeant Mistletoe (or whatever his character's actual name was-I was too mesmerized) was equal parts heartwarming and hilarious. One minute he's comforting a lonely widow with a tender monologue, the next he's wrestling a mechanical reindeer while yelling "This wasn't in the training manual!"
Truly, this is the performance that deserves to go down in holiday movie history-right next to Elf and that one scene in Love Actually where Rick Grimes shows up with cue cards.
If you don't cry at the scene where Mitchell singlehandedly saves Christmas using nothing but duct tape, a snow shovel, and pure holiday spirit, you might be a Grinch.
Bravo, Mitchell. Bravo. Give this man more roles, more mistletoe, and maybe even a franchise.