The Angel Tree

The premise of this Christmas themed film is when a writer named Rebecca McBride (Jill Wagner) returns to her childhood hometown some twenty (20) years later after she writes about a childhood memory of a magical Christmas tree that grants wishes and they come true. Rebecca's boss agrees to let her return to her childhood home town to investigate and capture the follow up story as to who is the person responsible for the Angel tree and granting all these mysterious wishes.

Rebecca and her daughter Cassie (Cassidy Nugent) are welcomed to stay with Rebecca's favorite Aunt Mimi (Annabel Kershaw) while they are in town and it also gives Rebecca an opportunity to catch up with her childhood friend Matthew Anderson (Lucas Bryant). Matthew still owns the family diner in town which the family almost lost twenty (20) years ago until Rebecca convinced her young friend Matthew to write down his own Christmas wish and place it on the Angel tree to see if it comes true. Miraculously Matthew's wish placed on the Angel tree does come true as evidenced by Matthew now as an adult inheriting the diner from his deceased parents.

As Rebecca continues to try and discover who is responsible for taking the many wishes placed on the Angel tree and making them come true, she is constantly reminded by many of the townspeople who have benefitted from the Angel tree, but no one can tell her, or at least they choose not to tell Rebecca WHO is the person responsible for granting all the wishes placed on the towns Angel tree.

Mrs. Shullivan enjoyed the film so much she watched it twice. As for myself, it's a nice story with a good message which is for people to always consider helping out others who are in greater need than ourselves, in a "Pay It Forward" Christmas way. There is a feeling of hope, mystery, faith and of course romance all wrapped up in a big red bow on the Angel Tree. I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDB rating.

This is the typical Hallmark Christmas movie script about a small town community where everybody is doing something good for someone or for others -- which doesn't really happen -- but it's why we watch. Jill Wagner is great in this movie and it's one of the best titles to watch of 2020.

Loved it until the military mom showed up in some type of costume. Is it so difficult for wardrobe or costume or whoever to get an Army uniform right? Google is your friend. I literally laughed out loud. Almost discredited the whole movie for me.

I hate this premise. Reporter is sent to town to do an expose on something or someone and either a promotion or even a job depends on it. In this case, as is often true, the hit piece is aimed at a selfless and generous enterprise. Often there is a betrayal involved. This is not intended to necessarily describe this movie, but it is the pattern most movies with this premise follow. In this movie, the reporter is Jill Wagner whom I can't imagine having a ruthless bone in her body.

This movie has some nice banter. There's some funny moments even beyond the dialogue.

Wagner and Lucas Bryant have instant chemistry. Cassidy Nugent also does a great job as Cassie, Rebecca's daughter.

There's a sub-plot based on what has usually been a surefire heart warmer. This device is becoming very common and predictable to the point where I fear the impact is becoming diluted. I won't say what it is, but you should probably recognize it when you see it. I did like the way it was handled and it still got a tear or two.

Rebecca's backstory develops into an interesting theme. I love the lesson about Christmas magic. Again, I don't want to spoil it and it's well explained by Rebecca.

In the end, it wasn't as predictable as I expected. As I already said, there are a lot of sentimental moments even if some of them are predictable. You might even call it sappy, but I like sappy.

Another classic Hallmark movie: a sweet and warm Christmas story with a solid script; strong performances by the leads; and plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer. One of my favorites thus far this season. The chemistry between Jill Wagner (as Rebecca) and Lucas Bryant (as Matthew) was excellent. There was some very good, convincing interaction between the two of them thru-out. For example, about 30 minutes into the film, there was the scene where they were walking down the street together; the banter and dialogue (and chemistry) here was great. Wagner, a Hallmark regular, performs great in these types of roles. The supporting cast was very good too. Cassidy Nugent (as Cassie), for example, had a cute performance. The story itself is a heartfelt one and provided a sense of Christmas spirit (it did for me, at least). It is a predictable story of course but engaging, nevertheless. Though to be fair, I did not know who Angel was until the end. Regarding the wish tree, I do think that writers could have done a bit more with the wishes (some more, e.g., nobler wishes). Overall, it is an entertaining Christmas movie, providing some holiday warmth, spirit, and festive cheer. Fans of Hallmark will not be disappointed.