A Christmas... Present

Hallmark and GAF Christmas movies are almost exclusively romances, and mostly they try for Romcoms with varying degrees of success.

This is NOT a Romcom, and there is no romance. Make no mistake, this is a Christmas family drama.

Candace's character's brother lost his wife to an illness since the last Christmas. Candace wants her busy family to participate in lots of Christmasy events, despite their own busy schedules and conflicts.

After a phone talk with her brother, she decides the family needs to visit the brother and his tween daughter to help them over the Christmas blues, and takes her demanding Christmas schedule along with them.

This is going to remind you of every family--or extended family--gathering where some people are fixating on doing one thing and the rest on another. It can get uncomfortable, and it was depicted that way in this movie.

The movie winds up with a very religious theme and message, and my wife speculated that's one reason Candace Cameron Bure went with GAF. Even though we've seen more of the religious side of Christmas on Hallmark in 2022, I don't expect Hallmark to go quite this deep into the meaning of deeply personal religious convictions.

The movie is excellent for what it is. It won't be for everyone, and it will be very meaningful for others.

I've always loved Candace Cameron. Bure in any movies she appeared in. This movie was a real disservice to the persona she has built into all of her characters-optimism, consideration of others and attentiveness. Her character in this movie was oblivious to the needs of anyone but herself. Her family seemed like it was just an extension of her own need for control. She claimed she wanted to help her brother and niece through their grief yet she consistently ignored everything they wanted. It was painful watching how dysfunctional she made her entire family. I'm not sure what the writers were trying to achieve. She didn't seem to have a genuine epiphany and her family just grudgingly went along for the hellish ride she put them on. I finally turned it off three quarters of the way through. It felt like it took three hours just to get that far. I'm sure they finished the movie with some sort of personal revelation but it just wasn't worth it to me.

The faith component in this film was lovely, but not enough to carry a repetitive, mediocre script with little else. For me, Candace's character was overacted and very one-note to the point of irritating. The entire film was the same thing, over and over: plan activities, go to activities, and no one really listening to each other's needs. Marc's talents were wasted in this film, and chemistry between the leads was non-existent. I did, however, enjoy the banter and interaction between the actors in the social media dance contest pieces before the film's release. Those showed more originality and chemistry than the entire movie. It was those promos that encouraged me to watch. Also, with Candace as the spokesperson for Great American Family, I thought for sure this would be a "10." It was not.

It was so nice to watch a quality family move that had a great message too! So much more depth than most Christmas movies! I loved that if felt real, Candace Cameron Bure's relationship with her husband and their issues were something that happens to real couples. The teenagers just pretending to like the activities. But mostly how her and her brother, were both trying to fix each other but realized how much they need each other. Love that the Christmas activities were a little different than the typical snowman building, cookie making, gingerbread house contest, etc. I really loved this movie. Heartfelt, real, emotional and just a great movie!

I do not get the GAC Family Network as I refuse to pay any more $$ for additional TV channels, and I'm glad I kept my $$. I was able to watch this on youtube and was so excited to see it as I had only heard it was an absolutely wonderful and faith-filled movie. In my opinion, it was not. Let's start with CCB's character--a total control freak who got mad at her busy attorney husband and teenage children because they did not want to participate in her crazy calendar of Christmas activities. If the kids were under the age of 13, sure, but not at this stage of their lives. Then, she's not even in touch with her brother who just lost his wife? Then, she somehow corrals her family into spending 10 days, unannounced, at her brother's house? It was all too much, and I felt the faith part was very forced. God bless Marc Blucas (the reason for the three stars) for staring in his because he's wasted. There was no chemistry between him and CCB, and no chemistry with CCB and the actors who portrayed her kids. The brother character, in my opinion, was taking the loss of his wife a little to well (baking cookies, and the house is decorated to the hilt). I think it got such positive reviews because of it's "faith" but that doesn't come to the end, and it's very awkward. Hopefully, the content of GAC will improve, but I watched a couple of others and they were duds. Sorry CCB and GAC!