A Christmas for the Ages

I have to agree with a lot said by katykw-2. Too syrupy sweet and too much gushing.

I felt like instead of a real story, the movie was scenes of a family at Christmas without a lot of progress toward an end goal. There was an underlying message of Yay Family but that was there beginning to end. Also, a story needs some tension. This movie had less real tension than almost any Christmas movie I've seen, at least in a while and that's saying something with this network. GAF prides itself on family friendly and sometimes they dial down any real negativity, i.e. Tension.

The main romance was Savannah and Rudy. They were already together from the start. Savannah had about 2 seconds of doubt which wasn't based on any real complaints. There was never a chance of their relationship going south. If there was a real story here, there would have been some hiccup, some obstacle, either in their relationship or something else. Where were the bursting pipes?

There is lip service about God and it is repeated, maybe a little too much. If there was a message here, it was vague. This network also prides itself on being faith oriented. That's great and I am all for it, but they need to fill it out. What exactly is your definition of the true meaning of Christmas and why Jesus came?

I loved the musical number at the end.

6.0 stars.

I don't recall seeing Natasha Bure in anything, and I'm understandably curious to see if she's anything like her mom. But this movie has a very low rating, 5.7, way below the 6.2 line of demarcation I've set for all my Christmas viewings. I just don't have the time for anything below it.

So I did what I usually do with anything this low and I watched roughly the first 30 minutes and then skipped to the last 30 minutes. My initial takeaway is that Natasha tends to be shrill, not sure why she yells so much. The interactions between her and boyfriend are amateurish, which gives me the impression this film is a dry run for them, see if they got the chops.

The cast is a pretty crack crew, but the script is low quality and probably not worth the time spent on it. Four generations of women is very touching and there is so much potential there. I was hoping for a bit of a pleasant surprise, alas it didn't happen. And the finale: cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. IMDB ratings still ring true on the accuracy meter, and 'A Christmas for the Ages' this is not.

Lots of potential, and we were happy to see Cheryl Ladd, but we could only take a half hour of this syrupy mess.

The scenes were full of unimaginative, banal dialogue about preachy family issues. Cheryl Ladd and her daughter talking about kids leaving the nest was the first crack in our willingness to continue, and then her scene with her neighbor talking about the upcoming 60s Christmas party with little giggles ... which I think were added in post production since we never saw any indication they giggled in the scene, finished off any desire to continue.

Great American Family is typically a step down from Hallmark offerings. They've improved in the past couple of years, but they're still not as consistent.

I won't reiterate the negative comments in other reviews, many of which I agree with, but am commenting on the unbelievable casting. Natasha Bure is 25 years old, and the actors portraying her parents are 41. Do the math. Kate Craven especially looks too young to be her mom. Though Cheryl Ladd is old enough to be the grandmother, the amount of plastic surgery she's had makes her look to young for the role. I'm not criticizing her choice to have the surgery, only that it makes her look too young for the role, unless the 3 younger generations in this Christian family all had teenage pregnancies.

Wow the other reviews are so negative! I really liked this movie. The 4 generations of women was heartwarming. The decorated beautiful homes is enough to draw me in! The great grandma had THE best house ever!! (My dream home!) I think it's adorable that Candace's daughter is following in her mom's footsteps and making Christmas movies. I mean she might not be as good as her mom yet-but give her time! The different themes for the 'Christmas Crawl' was an awesome idea and I'd like to do something similar. The decor was amazing and I liked looking at the food at the different themes-and the outfits!! Amazing!! All in all it was a fun new Christmas movie! Don't listen to the naysayers, grab a cup of hot cocoa and cuddle up on the couch with your woofie and enjoy a great movie!