Letters to Santa

6.7 stars.

I have mixed feelings about 'Letters to Santa'. It's a nice story about two kids who want their parents back together. Mom and dad are separated due to some unknown circumstances that we are not aware of until much later. She gives us her reasons why she told him to go live with his mother, but those aren't the actual problems. What also happened is he misspent some precious money and she felt somewhat betrayed. He didn't cheat or anything. The whole premise is very weak. If a marriage can break on something as flimsy as this, we are all doomed. But the rest of the film is not too bad. Yes, the parents bicker. Yes, there are slow parts. The children are endearing and the fitness woman is actually likable too, as is the "elf". The mother is a regular Latina seen in many films and she does fine. The lead female grows on you after a while, but she is an acquired taste, and my theory is that she is the reason for many negative reviews. The lead male is charismatic, but his personality is absent. For some reason he's not present and it's disconcerting, because beside his apparent lack of focus, he just doesn't show up for the part. I wonder if that's not the final straw for this movie. Cast two different lead actors and you probably have a winner here. What are the odds that both of them fail to entertain? Oh well, it happens.

The only thing great about this film was Laura Cerón, who plays Camilla, Enrique'a mom.

I loved the Latin family...but felt it was pretty racist to think that Rebecca (Katie Leclerc) couldn't understand family because she was white and an only child.

I didn't really understand the separation at all. Couples fight about money all the time, this was a single thing and to go to separation because of it?!?!? If it wasn't for coincidences these two would be getting divorced. I saw no actual work on their relationship. And why aren't they talking together...I understand the mom not wanting people to know about her financial situation, but if you borrow money from a couple both of those parties should know the reason and if you can't tell them, then you shouldn't be borrowing from them.

I did like the kids book and I loved that the grandmother was really trying to make the magic pen letters come true...it's a sweet idea, but the movie overall I wanted to like more than I really did. I also really liked that the Brit could speak Spanish.

For me this was too melancholy for a Christmas film and I just got tired of seeing Rebecca's sad face.

Loved this holiday movie. The story was not an easy topic to address but it was handled very well.

The acting was terrific. Each and every character was totally believable. I really felt that the characters struggle. The children were amazing actors. It was so enjoyable to see how They interacted so well with the adults.

I found the entire story to be very heartwarming. As a hallmark movie, you expect a happy ending and that's exactly what you got. Nonetheless isn't that what we all hope for.

I'll definitely watch this movie over again.

I also loved the cultural diversity.

Definitely not a typical hallmark movie but definitely one that everyone can relate to.

When I started to watch this I thought, "this must be a fan-favorite series, since this was number 5". I hadn't seen or heard about it's predecessors, but I would like to assume they continued the saga due to popular choice. It is daring to tackle the subject of marital-strife, and especially, its damaging effects on the security of children, especially centered around a Christmastime theme. This is definitely a more serious tone than a vast majority of Hallmark's holiday movies, and it may have been heartwarming (with better execution) if it didn't devote almost three-fourths of its time to the bickering, misunderstanding, and pettiness between the parents, Rebecca and Enrique. The redemptive moral is the wonderful mother-in-law, Camilla, who Rebecca, somehow, mostly fails to recognize . Of the three of them, Camilla is the only selfless one, who truly exemplifies the spirit of giving. Only when the children (pure of heart) contribute to Rebecca's book, does Rebecca affirm the extra-efforts that Camilla had undergone to lighten the heavy hearts of the children attributable to her and Enrique's separation. Camilla also illuminates Rebecca of Enrique's selfless investment, and personal sacrifice to save their family restaurant business. This is, unfortunately, a fact in many marital disputes - that the spouses are blinded by resentment, and only a bystander can illuminate the problem. Unfortunately, by the time Rebecca and Enrique resolve their differences, it's so late in the movie, that you're deprived of any deep emotion or gratification.

This is a movie that can be skipped this season. There is so much anger from Rebecca Letters to Santa. At first I thought the premise of the movie was cute. Until very early on in the movie the secret is revealed. Rebecca and Enrique are separated and going to counseling. There is so much anger with Rebecca that she needs to deal with. She goes from being so angry to having fun like a light switch. I didn't like the anger and then the happiness. There was no chemistry with the leads. The acting isn't very good in this movie. I hadn't heard of any of the actors except Rebecca. I knew her only from the Big Bang. This one can easily be skipped.