Miracle in Bethlehem, PA

A /Miracle In Bethlehem/PA. (2023) -

I'm not one for God bothering, the closest I get is asking my Grandad in Heaven to find me a parking space. As such and based on the title I hadn't expected to necessarily make it to the end of this film which was clearly framed around the Nativity story and yes there were a lot of references to that including the leading characters named Mary Ann (Laura Vandervoort) and Joe (Benjamin Ayres).

However, despite the fact that there were a few times where it got a bit heavy for my tastes, talking about their wonderful Lord, for the most part it was fairly subtle, which I thought was a great idea to keep the standard, less church going viewer watching. I always find it hard to get excited about a relationship when they give all the credit to almighty upstairs. I don't mind it being a bit magic and fate taking a hand, but having Faith in anything has been hard for me for a long time and worshipping a God that sends so much pain has never really made sense to me either. So anyway I liked that about it.

Otherwise the story of a snow storm trapping Mary Ann, with her new baby, in a small town where the inn was full and her only choice was to stay with the innkeeper's Brother Joe was quite sweet and I did like the leading actors.

Mr Ayres in his role of Joe was scruffy but handsome and roguishly charming. Although his breathy rasping was not what I would call proper singing. It was hard to believe that had been a previous career for him. It can't be that hard to find handsome actors that can sing please???

The singer in the church at the end was not the best choice either.

As for Laura, she was great at showing the feelings of her character Mary Ann, her torment from her last relationship and her warmth towards baby Natalie as well as her growing bond with Joe. I might have liked to have seen her with Natalie a bit more though. I supposed that was due to time constraints, which is where the rigid formulaic nature of these films lets them down. Another five or ten minutes to show her strength as a Mother would have been really beneficial to the story, because as it was it did make it look a bit like she needed a man to help her raise the baby which was sort of opposite to what her character was trying to say.

And personally I could never be away from my Mum at Christmas, so I will never understand that these people can do that? Again that is an element of these films that has always felt wrong to me, although it probably does make any reunions that they DO have sweeter?

In the end I felt that the religious bits had worked appropriately and that I'd watched something quite lovely.

7.63/10.

This was a delightful story of healing and courage and faith. We truly enjoyed it.

A nice surprise from Hallmark. Reminiscent of early years HM movies when faith was part of the story.

Loved the family support, grace in healing of relationships, and the loving way the adoption process was handled.

If your Christmas includes Christ and His birth, you will enjoy this movie.

It also addresses single parenting challenges, and forgiving past hurts.

We highly recommend this movie. It was a nice change from the cookie cutter storylines; a sweet, tender love story.

Thank you, Hallmark, for airing this one!

I grew up in Bethlehem, PA and it's hilarious to me that they made the specific choice to put the state in the title and yet seemingly did no research whatsoever about the actual city. While that's not a huge deal at all, I think it would be funny if anyone who likes the movie went to visit Bethlehem expecting it to be anything like this movie.

Some big goofs I noticed just in the first half hour or so: During the snow storm, they mention Route 10 being closed, which is not a road in Bethlehem. He offers to drive her to Allentown, which is a larger city that would make sense, or Hanover, which is about 2+ hours away from Bethlehem. They were probably confusing it with Hanover Township, which is two residential neighborhoods north of the city. Easton, Nazareth or Northampton are actual towns near Bethlehem. The star that he gives her the first night is a biblical star of Bethlehem, but Bethlehem PA was founded by Moravians, so most people there hang Moravian stars around Christmas regardless of their Christian denomination. There is no Bethlehem Star Inn (that's in Israel), but there is the Sun Inn on Main Street that is a historical site. Seems like that could have been easily used as the setting - or the Hotel Bethlehem for that matter - instead of a fictitious Inn. I don't expect a Hallmark movie to aim for 100% cultural accuracy, but is 10 minutes of research too much to ask when they made the decision to set the movie in a specific town in Pennsylvania? How lazy can you be?

The movie itself was about what I expected - a cheesy, generic Hallmark storyline with not-so-subtle religious undertones. The script and dialogue are aggressively blah and there is no chemistry between the two leads at all. I didn't finish the movie. Honestly, the only reason I clicked on it was to see what parts of my hometown were included and as it turns out... Zero.

7.9 stars.

The most refreshing part of this film is the arguments between the lead male and his recent ex-girlfriend. What a breath of fresh air. I can't recall the last time Hallmark had actual scenes of conflict at this level of escalation, mainly the ex girlfriend is for real yelling at him, like you see in movies with genuine drama - movies other than the usual Hallmark, Family, UP. I am still surprised and it's what makes this film stand out amongst the rest, literally 600+ Hallmark films I've seen, this is a first.

The emphasis is also a bit above and beyond the norm. 'Miracle in Bethlehem, PA.' has a very inspirational and religious feeling to it. There is a focus on how most of the characters believe in the God of Christianity, and they pray for miracles and for good things, and of course, before meals.

A hot-shot single white female lawyer is finally able to adopt a baby. She's been waiting for over a year on a long list of recipients who are generally unable to have children of their own. She has had difficulty being selected due to her single status. Once she finally picks up the baby from a hospital four hours away from her home in the city, she is on her way back when a snow storm hits the east coast. She is now stuck in some podunk town called Bethlehem, PA (of all names) and can't stay at the inn (because there is literally no room anywhere), but she doesn't stay with the animals and her baby is not in a manger, but you get the point. This "loser" of a guy (really he's just mourning the loss of his dad who died fairly recently) takes her into his home until the storm passes and the roads are cleared. The two of them bond, but what's really nice is the narrative is unique and uplifting. We get a really good feeling from all the characters and the events and storyline flow. The lead male's sister has a son, about seven years old, and she's pregnant and very bossy. The rest of the characters are undeveloped. All ends well, as is the typical Hallmark "happily ever after" theme, but the road is bumpy due to the lead female's apparent lack of trust in anyone or anything (especially her family-her mother in particular). We don't really know why she's so cynical, but it's probably due to her ex-husband who left her because she was unable to have children.

P. S. The supporting female sister is a well known Hallmark regular who can't seem to land a leading role, and I suspect she never will. Also, there is a lot of discordant singing. The lead male's character is supposedly the lead singer of a band, but you can tell that he can't carry a tune. And the church choir was way off key. But maybe that's part of the charm, making this whole experience seem more legitimate.

A touching and moving drama, with a bit of humor, this one may be the best of the Christmas 2023 movies. An inclusion of family, unafraid to represent religious beliefs along with a marvelous music score. Many of the beliefs that fans of Hallmark have watched dissipate over the years will be glad at the there's presented.

Bringing joy to parts of life that produced failure, the movie allows the audience to look up and forward, while the writers did not negate the struggles that people experience in life. The movie works and is likely to be a favorite for many years to come.

Great acting, writing and production.