A Christmas for the Ages

Love the premise of this story, but they went so overboard on literally everything. The sets were lavish and beautiful if a bit over the top as these all are at Christmas. The costumes were lovely and the actors were a great bunch of talent but seriously, there is NO family who is this perfect. At least once EVERY paragraph of dialogue they are gushing to one another about how much they love each other and how they will always be there for each other. While this is nice, it's not very realistic. Families get together at Christmas and while they may love each other, they squabble and get frustrated with other. That's just how families are. This movie is so syrupy sweet I felt like I needed an insulin shot.

Also, while I love the fact that the script isn't peppered with swear words they really slap you in the face with the Christian aspect of it. While I am a believer, if I was not, this movie would totally turn me off to the whole concept of God and Christianity. They hit you in the face with it at every turn and it's simply too much.

The whole thing needs to be dialed back to reality. This could have been so much more but they turned it into a preachy sermon that was not relatable.

That being said there were some cute parts. I liked the family dinners that were themed to different decades. Very inventive idea.

The ending songs with the four generations of women was really nice.

Cheryl Ladd did the best she could with this movie. Other actors are so weak. Always liked Candace Cameron Bure. However, as an actor, she is ok but not great. Honestly, Natasha is simply not believable. Casting her in a lead role is a poor choice. Many well known actors have children that have become great actors. In my opinion, Natasha may eventually improve over time. I usually like these kind of movies - no language, violence, or nudity. Although stories are usually predictable, these movies are often simply entertaining and enjoyable. This movie is not realistic and actors bring nothing to it.

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.

I love Hallmark and Great American Family Christmas movies. I look forward to them every year. It is a great escape from reality. However, this movie was just too much for me. In every scene they were always so happy and so perfect. Their home, their parties, singing in the choir together...it almost physically hurt to watch the movie. I couldn't finish the movie and I only had a few short minutes to go. I can't believe that I hung in there for as long as I did. I was writing Christmas cards so maybe my determination to get those done was my driving force to not stop and turn the stop button on my computer screen.

I love movies filled with light, happiness and hope, but this was just way over the top. It was too much that now I need to watch a horror movie to balance myself out.

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!