A Christmas for the Ages

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.

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 disagree with all the people rolling their eyes because, Heaven Forbid there should be a CHRISTmas movie that actually mentions God and religious messages!

That's what CHRISTMAS is about. It's not about all the excessive shopping and parties.... It's about the birth of Christ and families coming together.

I do agree the sets are excessively decorated, but that's the case in most Christmas movies. Not all people live in these massive beautiful homes, but if we did I'm sure we'd all decorate them as much as we could! So relax!! Stop the eye rolling, Sit back and enjoy a Christmas movie with a great message!!

6.0 stars.

I don't recall seeing Natasha Bure in anything, and I'm understandably curious to see if she's anything like her mom. But this movie has a very low rating, 5.7, way below the 6.2 line of demarcation I've set for all my Christmas viewings. I just don't have the time for anything below it.

So I did what I usually do with anything this low and I watched roughly the first 30 minutes and then skipped to the last 30 minutes. My initial takeaway is that Natasha tends to be shrill, not sure why she yells so much. The interactions between her and boyfriend are amateurish, which gives me the impression this film is a dry run for them, see if they got the chops.

The cast is a pretty crack crew, but the script is low quality and probably not worth the time spent on it. Four generations of women is very touching and there is so much potential there. I was hoping for a bit of a pleasant surprise, alas it didn't happen. And the finale: cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. IMDB ratings still ring true on the accuracy meter, and 'A Christmas for the Ages' this is not.