Il dono del Natale

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!

First half of the movie is a little irritating and frantic. Candace Cameron bure's character works so hard at making happiness that it does kind of grade on your nerves a little bit. The second half of the movie is thoughtful and has a very nice story. I think I like the movie because it wasn't your typical cookie cutter movie this is truly about an entire family. Not just two people falling in love at Christmas time. That was very refreshing and loved hearing about the true meaning of Christmas and how if you don't have God at your core then life's going to be a struggle. My husband enjoyed the movie also and he typically doesn't care for any of them because they're so cookie cutter.

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.

In many ways, this was not a typical Christmas movie. But that is probably one of the reasons I liked it.

While this movie was not perfect - some of the situations were kind of staged and forced, I liked what Ms. Bure was trying to do. I really liked the story she was trying to tell about a family. And not just a nuclear family, but the extended family, too. One family being there for another! This movie had a kind heart.

And I loved that they included church. Millions of Americans go to church during the holiday season and so many Christmas movies leave that out! How can you be a real Christmas movie without church!?

This story grew on me during the telling. I'm looking forward to watching it again.

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.