I think we can all predict the various events that will happen. And, yes, there are multiple Christmas miracles in this corny but family- friendly story.
Paul Hopper makes the perfect Santa Claus. He never says his name, but at least one person knows that's who he really is.
James Cowans playing Mr. Harold gives another standout performance. Mark Boyd as the town drunk is quite good too. These are the only acting performances really worth mentioning, but this a corny family holiday story and that's what you would tend to expect.
At one point Rick dreams everyone in his life is Santa Claus. This is funny.
The Christmas pageant is not shown in its entirety but in what we do see, the kids seem to understand the important messages. And there is a hilarious moment that Alfonso Ribeiro should be introducing. Not that the pastor agrees; he is a Scrooge himself, saying The Lord has no sense of humor and never has.
I wish there had been more good music. There's not a lot of Christmas music, or if there is it's not recognizable as Christmas music to me. Most of the so-called "music" is the sort of thing young people enjoy.
I am curious about the V-chip rating used when I saw this. No one (except for one time) curses except the pastor (who apologizes) and even Clark Gable was worse than that, if you know what I mean. Most of the time when a person is about to curse the person is admonished not to. The words "cram it" are quoted from a message from Diane about Kara, but the quote is quickly stopped because no one needs to hear any more.
It's a wonderful family film if you don't have really high expectations. If you're turned off by formula feel-good fluff, turn somewhere else.
