Jenny McCarthy, Kelly stables, Kris Holden-Ried, Paul Sorvino, Dean McDermott, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Lynne Griffin, Richard Side, Holly Anne Emmerson
Santa (Paul Sorvino) is ready for a vacation. Actually, they describe it as a bit of a mid-life crisis. He expects Mary to step back in and take over for him while he plays golf, and travels. Mary is reluctant to take over, but Santa won’t budge. Since she was here before in the original Santa Baby, changes have been made and the North Pole is more efficient giving them more free time. Santa hired Teri (Kelly Stables) to fill in at the mail department, but she’s set on taking over the whole operation. Teri realizes that Mary is in her way, so she sets out to make it as unfriendly as possible, first by pushing the elves to strike. Mary, meanwhile is trying to handle her old job by telecommuting from the North Pole. Teri’s interference at the pole, and the stresses of keep up her old job make it difficult. Things look bad until it’s finally revealed that Teri is not who she says she it.
A followup to the original Santa Baby, this has the same old cliche’s. Santa’s tired and wants to turn it over to the reluctant heir. The whole deal with Teri is a bit of a diversion, but it’s good fun and a typical Christmas movie with a few laughs. Paul Sorvino plays a pretty jolly Santa, and Terri’s pretty good as the bad guy. Not anything really special, but it’s just a simple Santa story that isn’t too bad.
Barry Bostwick, Cheryl Ladd, Julia Sobaski, Stephen Polk, Leah wagner, Joshua Swanson, Rachael Dayne, Dan Flannery
Sarah Murphy (Cheryl Ladd) is a doctor. She’s also trying to keep her family together while her husband Pete (Barry Bostwick) disappears again. Until Pete ends up in the hospital with heart problems. We find out that Sarah and Pete are separated and now Pete wants a divorce so that he can remarry and move to the Bahamas. But the condition for signing the divorce papers depends on staying with the family until the tests are complete and rebonding with the daughters. Pete finds out that there’s a lot he’s missed. One daughter is pregnant and not married or engaged. In fact, she’s the surrogate mama for her sister who is married and unable to have children. This is a tale of disappointment and heartbreak, love and family. The new family is not into Christmas, and Dad’s attempts to bring it back into the house is greeted with resistance.
This is a well named film. Everyone carries a lot of baggage. Pete is seems is one who when the going gets tough, takes off. Sarah, on the other hand is a bit to rigid and unbending. The girls are quite different. The younger is very bitter and angry at her Dad and doesn’t want him around or in her life. The older is more understanding and willing to forgive. There are a lot of funny moments, and some very tender moments as well, and it’s a good mix. Barry Bostwick can go from a fumbling fool one minute, to a sweet caring gentleman the next, to a tear evoking tragic force the next. He’s very good in this role. It’s also nice to see Cheryl Ladd again doing what she does best, playing the tough single woman making the best of a bad situation. This is a nice movie and one that’s well worth watching.
Michael Madsen, Alexandra Paul, Elyse Levesque, Melanie Papalia, Winston Reckert, Ron Lea, Brendan Penny, Forbes Angus, Chris Shields, Wesley Salter, kurt Max Runte
A couple and their 2 daughters head of on a Christmas vacation up in the mountains. The husband owns his own business and spends every moment working in the office. The relationship between the husband and wife is nearly broken beyond repair. Their daughters are not very happy either. Mom and Dad decide to take a trip in a private plane, one of their old favorite pastimes that they haven’t been able to enjoy in many years. After taking off, something happens to the plane and they come down in the water. Surviving the crash, they have to make it to shore and figure a way to survive in the wilds in the bad weather. Meanwhile, they can only talk about what was going on in the business and how strange things have become. Someone is going behind his back and tampering with the board. Is it possible that the accident may not have been totally an accident?
This is a different kind of story. It’s an adventure with wild packs of wolves and all kinds of dangers and trickery and double crosses. But when it comes down to it, the couple find that what really matters is family, and though it’s a dreadful experience, at least they are very much better off from what they learn. This is one of those films where we get to see where the family has come a year later. It ends the following Christmas. Needless to say, besides all the suspense, it’s still a fine Christmas story.
Blueprint Entertainment, Breakthrough Entertainmnet, Let It Snow Productions
Jennifer Gray, Megan Park, Clark Gregg, Barbara Gordon, Jean Michel Pare, Thom Allison, Marvin Ishmael, Pat Thronton, Kelly Fiddick, Lorne Cardinal, Ingrid Hart, Naomi Snieckus
Claire Jameson (Jennifer Gray) is a fashion photographer and has planned a Christmas wedding in Aspen. Her flight was canceled and there were no rental cars anywhere, so she hitches a ride. One problem after another and she eventually ends up with Tom Pullman Clark Gregg) and his 13 year old daughter Hilly (Megan Park). But the journey is just beginning and side tracks occur at every angle. Over time she and Tom get very close, and Hilly does all she can to advance that. When she finally get to Aspen it’s clear that she’s going to have to make a major life choice.
The movie is just like a bunch of other ones. It’s not very original, that’s for sure, but it’s a cute little film. The situations they get into a similar to other stories, but different enough to be interesting. It’s very nice to see Jennifer Gray and her husband acting in a movie together, so the chemistry between them comes naturally. All in all it’s a harmless little Christmas diversion and not a bad film at all. When she arrives at her fiance’s place in Aspen (He’s the guy who wanted their wedding reception to be a masked ball) the scene between them all is hysterical.
Patricia Heaton, Rick Roberts, Ernie Hudson, Isabella Fink, Jeffrey R Smith, Daniel Kash, Marnie McPhail, Peter Falk, Cassie MacDonald, Jeremy Akerman
In the small town of Seacliff, Washington, a young child’s letter to Santa becomes a national story. The letter says the family is breaking apart due to the father’s inability to find work and the burden of trying to feed and clothe the family is too much. So the child plans suicide on Christmas unless Santa is able to help. This prompts news media from all over the county to converge on the town to find “Chris” and break the story. A reluctant reporter is on her way to cover the story and meets (and shares a room) with a about to be fired greeting card writer who used to live in Seacliff who is returning home. They put their skills together to try to find Chris. Max the angel shows up from time to time to lend a hand, always in mysterious circumstances in different jobs. He provided a series of paintings with clues for the pair to follow to solve the mystery.
This is the first of the three Max the Angel movies. This is a very touching story. All of the Max movies are good, and this one is no exception. Stressing the importance of forgiveness and family as well as openness and sharing. This is definitely a don’t miss! Just be sure to bring a few Kleenex. Peter Falk is so good in this series, and the other characters are definitely up to the task. By the time the credits roll, you are going to believe in angels too, I’m sure. I love this film!
