Christmas Magic

This year, 2016, I'm getting in the spirit, as I do every year, by watching Christmas films. This year, however, the terrestrial channels seem to have gone overboard and my viewing schedule has doubled, and then some.

So far this is my favourite Angel / Ghost Story of the festive season.

The acting is average, at best, though Lindy Booth and Derek McGrath give the best performances and add the heartwarming element to the tale. I even like the sometime brusqueness of Paul McGillion's character, after all, the tragedy he's been through I can understand it.

The storyline is average and the ending is way too saccharine, far- fetched, and over romanticised for my liking. It harks back to Prince Charming awakening Snow White... but it isn't done so well as the animated film, either in script or direction. If you're going to do something this cheesy, then at least do it right.

It's not a film I'd rush to see again anytime soon, though I did enjoy it. If you've not seen this movie, give it a try... remember you can change the channel or stop and delete the recording at any time...

A nice twist on a Christmas story line. Main character does not realize her life is unfulfilled. Lindy Booth does a nice job of carrying the emotions of the season. This has become an annual watch for myself and my family! The Christmas angel played by bus driving Dererk McGrath is well done and subtle...never over the top. I found the background music soothing and understated. I hate movies where the music does not fit the movie and causes the scenes to be cluttered and rough to watch. Kiara Glasco as the daughter is terrific as well. The actors all do fine starting out slow and building relationships. Again I have to give credit to Lindy Booth...she does not try to hard to show emotion but allows her genuine spirit to shine.

Cheesy TV Christmas flick. Starts out OK but runs out of steam fast. The story is about a career-driven woman (Lindy Booth, adorable as usual) who seemingly dies and is brought back as an angel. Her first task is to help a single father (Paul McGillion) turn his restaurant business around by Christmas.

If the movie had stayed in the Highway to Heaven mold it started out as, it might have been slightly better. However, they decided to go the romance route. I saw no chemistry between the young attractive Lindy Booth and the older paunchy Paul McGillion, who apparently is also a mouth-breather. It was kind of gross actually. I'm sure I'm sounding shallow here. I could buy her with an overweight older actor if maybe it was someone like Kevin James, who is likable and has a fun personality. But McGillion is about as personable as frozen fishsticks.

Another unimpressive part of the cast was Paul's annoying friend, played by Teresa Pavlinek. I was surprised to discover this was not her first acting job as she was quite terrible. One bright note on the casting was Derek McGrath, an actor I had not seen in many years but have pleasant memories of from many television series in the 1980s, most notably that of "Andy Andy" on Cheers. McGrath plays the angel who guides Lindy throughout the movie and, besides Lindy, he's the only actor with any real presence or charm about him.

Look, it's a made-for-TV Christmas movie. There's a ceiling on how good this could possibly be. I'm sure my ceiling is lower than most others who might check this sort of material out. Judging by some other reviews here, I know that some will enjoy the movie far more than I did. But the romance between two people with zero chemistry and a rather predictable cornball story with a cheat ending just made this movie a chore to sit through for me.

This movie is different from the other holiday movies I've seen this year. A few minutes into the film I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue watching. I didn't see how I could like the ending, however I chose to see it through to the end. The movie leads you to believe one possible ending but surprises you with another one.

Lindy Booth brings real depth to her character, which is very likable. The other actors also did a good job of making the story believable. There are some problems with the film such as make-up, the hospital set, lip syncing and how Carrie jumped into her task so easily. Also the end of the film is a little rushed. You have to realize that this is an Hallmark Channel TV movie. It's a less expensive movie than major network TV movies and has maybe one or two recognizable stars. It's meant to be for all members of the family and give a warm fuzzy holiday feeling.

It's a TV movie, so don't expect too much, and unfortunately it looks like it was edited around advert breaks, so it cuts away at strange times. Okay, it's contrived, but then so is a story where a man gets visited by 4 ghosts all in the same night and then wakes to find that the prize Christmas turkey is still for sale, which gets delivered, cooked and eaten all in one day. The ending does go a bit quickly, which is a shame, as they could have extended that whilst speeding up some of the middle bits of the film, which did drag a bit. I enjoyed the movie, but will i watch it again? We will have to see this time next year.