Rescuing Christmas

"Rescuing Christmas" is the kind of movie that you watch with a mug of hot chocolate and zero expectations. It's a classic Hallmark-style holiday film that doesn't reinvent the sleigh but offers a cozy, predictable ride. The plot is as fluffy as freshly fallen snow - Santa wanting to boost holiday spirit is heartwarming, and the choice of Erin, a Christmas grinch, as the recipient of three wishes is a neat twist. The elves, Chuck and Debbie, are delightfully quirky, adding a sprinkle of elfish charm to the story.

The film's strength lies in its simplicity. It's a feel-good, easy-watch movie that doesn't demand much from its audience. Erin's journey from a Scrooge-like character to someone who embraces the holiday spirit is predictable, yet satisfying. The chemistry between Erin and Sam, the charming love interest, is sweet, albeit a tad cliché. It's the kind of film where you know exactly what you're going to get, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

However, there's a surprising edge to this G-rated holiday fare - a rogue "damn" that slips through. It's a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but it's amusing to think how this little slip-up got past the censors. It doesn't detract from the film's family-friendly vibe, but it does raise an eyebrow. Overall, "Rescuing Christmas" is like a well-worn Christmas sweater - familiar, comfortable, and just right for a lazy December evening. Just don't expect it to be the star on top of your holiday movie marathon.

In some ways the premise is common. It's a quest where the romantic leads work together to achieve a goal, in this case to bring back Christmas. It is a not so common subset where the quest is to restore some reality that has been changed, usually by a wish. In many cases, the lead is the center of the quest and has been given a new life. In some cases like this one, the entire reality has been changed for everyone, that is if you accept the reality of Santa and Christmas magic.

It takes a while to set up the quest. And enlisting Sam doesn't seem to be the obvious choice, but Erin needs help from someone. The romance development doesn't receive a lot of screen time and therefore it may seem like "falling in love" was rushed. Rachael Leigh Cook and Sam Page still manage to display some chemistry.

There is a strong thread that the meaning of Christmas is family and friends and love and spending time together. Also some stabs at Christmas commercialism.

There are a lot of good lines. I typically don't laugh at lot at movies but I found myself laughing out loud a few times especially early on. The acting is good if you allow for some necessary silliness. I think RLC has good comedic timing.

My title says "Clever". I thought this was shown in imagining of the results of trying to get people to celebrate a Christmas that they have no basis for. Tennis balls for ornaments is just a small example. Or the mom complaining about what Erin was telling her kids which was actually kind of creepy.

Two elves convince (an unconventional) Santa Claus to let them rekindle Christmas spirit by giving someone three wishes ... as long as the wishes aren't outrageous ... like wishing for a million dollars.

The only issue with the movie is that it takes far too long to get to the crux of the story, which is when our female lead wishes away Christmas. This is a bit too similar to another 2023 film where the female lead ALSO wishes away Christmas. In both movies, they have to start convincing people to take the holiday back on ... albeit in slightly different ways.

But ... no outrageous wish ... yet wishing away Christmas is allowed. LOL

This movie doesn't really hit its stride until the third wish which cancels out Christmas and she has to try to recreate the holiday using whatever they can find, since dedicated Christmas decorations don't exist. That gets a bit humorous.

Dialogue is also good. Definitely worth the watch.

Shocked! A film not solely in Canada,pretending to be another place.. Just for that will give this positive stars,especially because it was Duluth.

Now on to the rest where it was a bit dumb so she wishes away Christmas & instead of enjoying it but coming to realize,the mistake therefore figuring out how to return things back.. She goes from wishing,waking to the change & trying to get back what not even 24 hours later bothered her.

Considering the whole story plot it felt a bit hypocritical for her statement,about skipping Christmas next year & going to Hawaii.. Because again she is caught in her own feelings over things not going accordingly,as the movie is nearing being over.

RLK acting is a bit bland maybe,it's her voice or something.. Otherwise it was cast ok,acting average & cinematography decent.

Thankfully music didn't overwhelm the talking,like in past Hallmark movies.

Full of clichés,plotholes & a storyline been done before.. Again,it's Hallmark!

Overall worth a watch but,not a rewatch like other Christmas movies.

Wanted to love it, but the cast didn't grab, hold my attention. I found myself doing other tasks while checking back in periodically. Sam Page is a good anchor, but felt monotonic in this particular offering. Rachel Leigh Cook appeared a bit off, perhaps being executive producer took away from her usual shine. The ending seemed to be a bit of cut ins pasted together to wrap up the ends. The elves were annoying which in an odd way brought some sort of emotion. The optics of a non White Santa was irksome. Non White, female, Christmas overlord was bothersome. In fact, a good reason to downgrade further.