Ed's Review Dot Com

Lifetime,

Grumpy Cat, Megan Charpentier, Daniel Roebuck, Russell Peters, David Lewis, Evan Todd, Isaac Haig, Shauna Johannesen, Casey Manderson, Tyler Johnston, Aubrey Plaza, Ryan Beil, Jean Hamilton, Dylan Poyser, Sidika Larbes

Grumpy Cat (Voiced by Aubrey Plaza), a famous internet meme, stars in her own Christmas movie from Lifetime. Grumpy Cat lives in the mall in a little pet store. The other pets there are very anxious to be adopted, but of course Grumpy Cat doesn’t care about much. A little girl Chrystal (Megan Charpentier) loves the shop and the animals who live there, but the owner is in financial trouble. He plans to obtain and sell a very valuable dog to pay his back rent, but some bad guys determine to steal the dog. Chrystal is locked in the mall, and it’s up to her skills and Grumpy Cat’s wisdom to survive the night.

There has been a tremendous amount of hype about this film. I have been doing the Christmas movie reviews for 5 years in a row now, since 2010. and I must admit that many years Lifetime has nailed it. To tell the truth, this year Lifetime has been really weak, and I’m not sure why. While Hallmark and UP TV have done an excellent job, Lifetime was really not very festive this year. It seems they put all the effort into bringing Grumpy Cat to the screen. This is unfortunate because it’s a pretty poor movie. The best thing is that Grumpy Cat doesn’t have a lot to do. The talking cat thing though is very “Guess Who’s Talking”-like which is really annoying. The rest of the movie is really better than the stupid cat. However, this is so “Paul Blart Mall Cop” that it’s nearly the same movie. All in all, it seems like an effort to take advantage of the popularity of the internet sensation, and very little effort in the story or the plot. Now I have to admit, I’m not really a Grumpy Cat fan, and I think most of the posts featuring this stupid cat are stretching it a bit. I also think that talking cat movies are not that hot either, so it starts with two strikes. There are probably some people who will like this film and who love the cat. That’s ok, but for me it really did not work, and I’m sorry to report that I didn’t really care for it very much.

[Click here for Lifetime’s home page for this film]

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Kelly Overton, Michael Muhney, Jonathan Patrick Moore, Jennifer Elise Cox, Moses Jacob Storm, Gloria Loring, Mark Hutter

Ali (Kelly Overton) is spending Christmas at work this year after breaking up with her boyfriend last Christmas. She bumps into him and his new girlfriend and things look pretty bleak. While sitting in a diner, she meets Ginny, a spunky but unusual character who tells her that sometimes you get a second chance. Ali wakes up at home, one year earlier with the chance to do last Christmas all over again and perhaps change the ending she chose the last time.

This Ion Television holiday movie is a lot like some others. It’s not really very unique in that sense, but it’s a decent story. I wasn’t familiar with the leading actors, so they helped to make it a bit more interesting because we got to know some more people. Films of this kind typically look back at choices we made, and how life would be different if we didn’t make that decision. This one isn’t any different, but it was touching to see her learn from her past mistakes. What we think we want is not necessarily what we need. Just your average romantic Christmas story like the rest. Not bad at all, but not really that outstanding. All in all, it was enjoyable.

[Click here for the ION Television home page for this movie.]

Be Your Own Hollywood,

Dean Cain, Christine Lakin, Derek Brandon

Sheriff Rick Langston (Dean Cain) has no Christmas spirit. He’s divorced and seldom sees his daughter. He was expecting a new job, and that didn’t happen, then an old man claiming to be Santa breaks into his home. Between sabotage at the Church Christmas pageant, his daughter’s disappearance, and Santa’s constant urging to get his act back together, Rick is having a terrible holiday, and it’s effecting the entire town.

This little film is very amateurish, but fun enough to be very enjoyable. The story is not nearly as heavy as it seems, because underneath it all, we know that everyone is nice on the inside. A lot of bad decisions and bad choices have caused grief for a lot of people in this little town, but with comradeship and a little helping each other, we feel sure they’ll make the best of it. Seriously, the production on this is like an After School Special, but I still found it enjoyable. The music is light and cheery, and the guy who thinks he’s Santa is excellent. Dean Cain plays his usual crabby sheriff character, but it suits, and he’s actually a good guy underneath it all. This movie has religious overtones, but isn’t really in your face about religion. It’s more about good values and being nice to one another. This is light fare, for sure, but good enough for me to recommend.

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Throne Productions,

Denise Boutte, Christian Keyes, Jackie Long, Lily Solange Hewitt, Brianna Dufrene, Douglas O’Neil

A little girl lives with her Mama and misses her Father, but she buys into the whole Christmas thing. So she threatens Santa that unless he brings her what she wants for Christmas, no one is going to get any presents. Dad misunderstands, and dresses up as Santa and comes into the house in the middle of the night, so she’ll see him and believe, and to find out what she really wants. He’s kidnapped by his daughter and tied up not to be released unless he promises to bring what she really wants.

Well, I found this movie on Watch Instantly by Netflix and it sounded like a pretty decent story. But for anyone over about 12, it really isn’t. The comedy is really slapstick, the jokes are flat, and there’s really no storyline to speak of. I don’t think grown-ups are going to be able to sit through this one and I wouldn’t suggest you try. So why am I reviewing it here, as this is not something an adult would likely to choose to watch anyway? I do think there is an audience for this film, and I think it’s the younger folk, especially girls. The angst of spending Christmas with no Dad around is likely to resonate with a lot of kids. I don’t know though, whether it might give them false hope that if you ask Santa for Dad to come home, he’ll make that happen, which could be rather bad I suppose. Dad’s don’t always come back and fall in love all over again via Santa very often. But much like the old Wayne Newton song “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast”, occasionally a major even occurs that causes us to re-evaluate our decisions. This is, I think, a pretty cute film for kids, and they can watch it on NetFlix (and I expect other places) for nothing, and I think this might be a good time filler for kids. I think they’d like the “Denis the Menace” style treachery this little girl pulls on her Dad, even knowing it’s probably not a great idea. Mom handles it pretty well, and Dad is only a little bit of a bumbling. From my experience with 5 kids and 10 Grandkids, I think most kids would sit through this and enjoy the experience. So I wanted parents of early teens and pre-teens to be able to consider it.

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Hallmark

AnnaLynne McCord, Jefferson Brown, Jennifer Gibson, Drew Scott

Hayley Anderson (AnnaLynne McCord) is a Daytime TV talk show host who is gearing up for her big Christmas special, when she is caught completely off guard and humiliated by something that aired causing her to walk out in the middle of her show. While taking some time off to think about it, she has an accident where she runs into the fence of a mean local judge who makes her stay for court. When she’s sentenced to either jail time, or community service she chooses the latter. But her assignment is to help a group of underprivileged kids build a float for the town Christmas Parade to win enough money to save their clubhouse from land developers.

This is a light-hearted Christmas romp though romance and comedy. AnnaLynne does a good job of playing the snooty talk show host who thinks the world revolves around her. She feels entitled as lots of people in that position feel. But she’s definitely as good as anyone I’ve seen in playing the opposite side when things come crashing down all around her. She plays wide eyed innocence as she learns how unfair things can be and then pulls together with her new friends to try to set things right. I think she did a really good job here, and must give her kudos for her excellent performance. The rest of the case is also pretty good, especially the kids. There’s lots of comparative views of big city Christmas vs. small town Christmas which makes it fun to watch. All in all it was an enjoyable 2 hours watching this. Drew Scott, one of the twins from HGTV’s Property Brothers has a small part as Annalynne’s cheating (?) boyfriend, and though it’s not a very big part, he does a good job when he’s on-screen. Lots of heart, mayhem and destruction, romance, and lots of good family values. I enjoyed this new 2014 Christmas movie premier from Hallmark and recommend it.

[Click Here for the Hallmark Home Page for this film]

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