Debbie Macomber's Joyful Mrs. Miracle

7.4 stars.

Not exactly sure about the new Miss Miracle although she's OK for the part. Interesting use of the bottomless Mary Poppins bag of tricks. She can reach in her purse, pull out a horse if she wants to. The idea being that she's got magical powers, whether she's an angel or some sort of Mary Poppins, but just makes the movie more interesting for the kids. As for the adults it's just whimsical, silly, but entertaining enough.

A couple of side stories are somewhat shallow, so we don't get to see quite enough development of some of the characters. The younger brother with the financial problems is actually the most interesting of all, even though he's kind of a trouble maker of sorts. Older brother is the studious one, but he likes to travel, see the world. The daughter is the smart one who was in love as a teenager. She is probably the female lead, shared with Miss Miracle, and it's somewhat unorthodox. Now she has the opportunity to fall in love with the same guy 20 or so years later. But once upon a time she was married and now has a young autistic boy, who appears to be on the fringe of the spectrum. There's a lot going on with the story, that's what I'm trying to say, there's a bit too much happening, too many directions.

It's Thanksgiving weekend, and you may have heard from friends or family at your feast (when inevitably discussing your Hallmark habit) that all Hallmark movies have the same plot, so why bother! Well, do they all have an advice-dealing, perpetually smiling, ever-perky, angel-like character like Mrs. Miracle? I think not.

She's a unique one. Except for the other movies or novels she has appeared in, but I digress.

DMJMM (movies with titles this long should have an acronym), is an evenly paced drama about three siblings deciding the fate of their grandmother's company and estate. They're going to screw it up, so an angel . . . Sorry, Mrs. Miracle appears at just the right time to guide them through the final stages of estate planning and life advice.

This is a wonderful character created for novels by Debbie Macomber. She has appeared in several other movies - and even played by Everybody Loves Raymond icon Doris Roberts. In DMJMM, she's played to perfection by Rachel Boston. Her happiness isn't over the top or sappy, but rather a spark that guides the decisions of people in need of help. Think Mary Poppins without the singing.

Our love story is between Charlotte (Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes) and Austin (Tanner Novlan), who both have real dreams and wishes and need to work it out.

Measuring Christmas Magic: Yeah, in bunches. Mrs Miracle is all Christmas magic.

Cast Kudos: Rachel Boston as our title character. But also a nod to Logan Carriere, who plays young Cody. He's got a bright future.

Alternative movie titles: Anything shorter than the current title of DMJMM; Mrs. Miracle and the Battle for the Board Seat. OK, that's longer, but also more accurate.

I love Rachel Boston, she is one of my favorite Hallmark Actresses. I knew from the commercial that Hallmark made the right choice casting Rachel as Mrs. Miracle. But I had no idea how right she was until I saw the movie. This movie was so heartwarming and fun. Yes Mrs. Miracle might be a bit over the top and silly but that's how she should be. She was sent to help the family heal and have fun together and apart. And that couldn't be achieved if Mrs. Miracle was boring. Just watch the scene with Cody meeting the horses, and you can see Mrs. Miracle's Christmas magic at work. Christmas is magical and Mrs Miracle brought magic, love, forgiveness and friendship to a family in desperate need of all of those things. Well done!

If you start this movie thinking that Rachel Boston might be a decade or two too young to play the titular Mrs Miracle but the happiest and bubbliest of all the Hallmark actresses will have you reassessing that about five minutes in. She is fantastic. Not Doris Roberts quality - but, honestly, who is? - but very, very close. She takes the role and makes it her own with a blend of humour, joy and whimsy.

Sent to put a fractured family back together, Mrs Miracle has a lot of work to do, and she does it with aplomb. There's gooey Hallmark Christmas sentimentality by the truckload here...and it works.

One of 2024's best.

One of Hallmark's best, full stop.

A worthy entry in the Mrs Miracle franchise. Here's hoping there will be many more.

I like Rachel Boston in almost everything I've seen her in. I'm not sure she is right for Mrs. Merkle. She is too young and pretty. I was almost waiting for one of the brothers to fall for her. Or maybe it's just because Doris Roberts was perfect. Also, in the previous Mrs Miracle movies there was a logical reason for her to be there. In this one she is an "estate planner" who no one questions. She produces a piece of paper that was supposedly signed by the deceased grandmother but no one checks to see if the signature is real or if it was notarized. The granddaughter is a lawyer but does no checking. Neither brother does either so they give her free rein of the estate.

Also, what woman who runs a successful company would not plan her successor to ensure that the family company would be well run and leave it up to the three grandchildren to decide among themselves? They all are in competition for the board seat but what about the property and other assets. There is plenty to go around so even the black sheep brother wouldn't have to worry.

I know it's a movie but those plot points were distracting.

I thought the acting was fine. It is nice to see some new faces at Hallmark. The little boy was so natural. I'm sure we will see more of him. Rachel Boston's portrayal grew on me by the end but I still would have liked to see a more mature actress in the part. Beverly Elliott who plays the housekeeper would have been a better fit.

All in all it was a pleasant movie if you can ignore the plot holes.