Help for the Holidays

I have this odd semi-obsession with seeing, about once-a-week, another Christmas... and this happens year round no matter what month it is. My obsession continued with this Made-for-TV movie from the Hallmark Channel. Santa sends an Elf to bring the spirit of Christmas back to a family who has lost it. Summer Glau stars and as she brings Christmas to the screen she is simply a delight to watch. Overall, an average, but still one of the better, Made-for-TV Christmas movies from the past several years, methinks. Definitely worth it for those who love that Christmasy feeling... even if it does take place in Southern California.

5.6 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

I'm a little late with my review, but still ... To be honest, I watched the movie exclusively because of Summer Glau. Otherwise I'm really not in Christmas movies. So, I started watching the movie with no expectations but to see another good performance of gorgeous Summer Glau. But, who would have thought ... I actually liked a movie! A lot! Not only that Summer's performance was excellent, also other actors delivered very good performances and even the story was good. I actually liked Santa in this one. Sure, you can't expect deep psychological studies, elaborate relationships, social criticism from a Christmas movies. They're here to entertain, to cheer us up and this movie succeeded in each and every aspect. The story's nice, the actors good but what overwhelms the most is really Summer's outstanding performance. It's simply amazing, how she manages to capture the viewer with only a smile and makes even the worse dialogues good (not that there were any bad or stupid dialogues in this movie). I think that she's one of the most underused actresses in this business. It's really funny that she even manages to curb the ratings of the episodes where she has guest appearance. Eva LaRue was also excellent. i know her from CSI:Miami and this was something completely different but she managed it with flying colors. Well done Eva! The other actors were not quite so good (at least for my taste), but still far better than 90% of performances in other movies. Pity that we don't get a sequel this year. It would be nice to see how Christine and Dave managed to fit in into real life or if Vancamps managed to keep the Christmas spirit. Nice movie, meant to entertain and it managed it perfectly.

At last! Hallmark presented a GOOD, new Christmas movie!...so rare anymore! I watched this movie several times and enjoyed it each time...and look forward to watching it again.

I like that it really stays focused on Christmas in all aspects: all the scenes...apparel...and make-up ...has magic...Christmas décor...and has a delightful, optimistic plot...with talented players. And the plot flowed very nicely!

"Christine" is absolutely delightful and believable...and she is what made the movie so extra nice to watch!

Santa looked, acted, and dressed as we expect a "real" Santa to be. (unlike some other movies.)

The little boy played his part very well!...not annoying at all.

Only slight downer: "Dave" ("Sara's" brother) was a bit too forward, too pushy trying to woo "Christine"...since he only knew her briefly. His approach should not have been over-bearing, but left to the viewer's imagination instead.

But anyway, I think the way this movie is...a Christmas movie with magic... is the way they should be...

...while some other Hallmark "Christmas" movies make attempts to combine Christmas and magic, they fall very, very short (one ex: the overly-hyped "Northpole")...as they stray from the point...to the point of annoying and boring since they include unrelated inner plots...while others have very annoying characters and/or unfit untalented players....and basically, have a lousy plot.

My Christmas film watching and reviewing quest that began at the end of last year has been interesting. That is not to say that every film seen was great, or even good. The overall quality of the quest was actually very variable, as has been the case with a vast majority of my completest quests over the years. Haven't had any quest/project where every film seen has been consistently good or consistently bad, a lot of both extremes of good and bad and quite a lot in between.

That was certainly the case with this quest. Of which 'Help for the Holidays' was actually one of the standouts. In a good way, actually was not expecting to like the film as much (with it sounding slightly predictable and cheesy) as it actually transpired. Moderate expectations exceeded if you will. Is 'Help for the Holidays' devoid of flaws? No, and few films are (actually have had minor issues with some of the films rated 10/10, but overlooked because of everything else being so amazing). As far as all the recently seen Christmas films go though, 'Help for the Holidays' to me was one of the best and that is saying a fair bit.

Perhaps 'Help for the Holidays' could have done with more surprises, so that it didn't feel "know exactly what happens when you go along" or as convenient.

Also found Dave on the annoying and contrived side, but maybe that's just me. Am not blaming John Brotherton who does well as the character, but more how the character's written.

'Help for the Holidays' is beautifully filmed however, it's not drably lit, is cohesively edited and the locations are made good use of despite it being obvious that it was not shot at Christmas time. The film doesn't make the mistake that most recently seen Christmas films have done of having over-used and overpowering music, it is lovely to listen to and has a festive feel. The dialogue doesn't have too much cheese and doesn't fall into schmaltz, it's amusing and sometimes movingly delivered with spirit.

It was very capably directed too, not allowing the film to drag and always making the drama and such clear. The story is predictable, but is very light-hearted and heart-warming with more character depth and likeability than most recently seen Christmas films. There is a lot of charm and it really does live up to its well meaning title. Actually found myself liking the characters and their personalities and didn't find myself frustrated by any behaviours or questioning motivations (have seen too many holiday films that have been guilty of those). 'Help for the Holidays' is well acted, with two immensely appealing lead performances from Summer Glau and Eva LaRue. Both have grown a lot as actresses.

Overall, lovely film and enjoyed it so much more than thought, worrying that it would not be my cup of tea. Speaking as somebody who has always been encouraging with reviewing but also firmer over the years with ratings and putting opinions across, liking films etc. of every genre and decade. 8/10

A really good Christmas film and a great performance from Summer Glau. There's a bit of an irony though that a film, specifically about Christmas and involving Santa and elves should leave Christmas out of the tile, in favour of "holidays".