Everything Christmas

Everything Christmas was a real mixed bag for me. I thought it started out quite well with the over the top Christmas loving Busby and her level-headed friend played by Katherine Barrell on a buddy road trip to the town of Yuletide Springs. They break down and shortly after are helped by a man who resembles Santa in body and spirit. From there are a series of coincidences and almost magical experiences that lead them to believe that he might be the real thing. Oh, and of course there is romance for the both of them.

Unfortunately, after a good start with some legitimate laughs provided mostly by Barrell, it starts becoming more and more bland and predictable. I've pretty much liked Busby but here she comes across almost like a child going on and on about "believing," etc. Etc.

I thought Barrell pretty much stole the show, and George Masswohl provided solid support as the continually appearing Kris. The biggest disappointment was Corey Sevier who was the major love interest but didn't say or do much of anything. He was always just staring googly-eyed at Busby and was basically just a bubble-brain. The other male love interest wasn't a whole lot better.

Kind of a head scratcher and somewhat of a lost opportunity.

The basic virtue - it is a fairy tale. The significant error - the try to define the identity of Santa.

A film with serious virtues , from portraits of small comunities to the miracles , accidents, gifts and their meaning, the purpose of travel of young woman and pills of lessons about life. All- more than seductive and it is just a good point the try of Hallmark to propose something different - in some measure than you expect.

Sure, unrealism and large spoons of magic. But each of them works more than well in this mix and, not ignoring the virtues of performances, the story suggest a nice air of nostalgia, like each fairy tale, and this is the best thing, in fact.

The characters took us on an arduous trip to a few Christmas towns where the ultimate payoff was for Cindy Busby to place her dead grandmother's ornament on the town Christmas tree - and the tree looked like it was decorated with toilet paper. Because who doesn't want to take a beloved ornament and leave it behind in a town you'll never see again. Santa did the usual annoying habit of inserting ho-ho-ho's into every sentence he spoke. The friend's new boyfriend sometimes appeared as though he could not hide his disdain that he was actually trapped in this movie and physically he was too small to fit the friend's stature. There were too many demands of the viewer to use willing suspension of disbelief to get through most of the scenes. None of the characters were charming or engaging or delightful enough to keep the viewer interested. Feel free to skip this one - you won't miss anything.

As a connoisseur of Hallmark movies, I especially enjoy Christmas storylines that tug on my emotions, by illustrating the spirit of thoughtful giving. Some of their holiday movies empasize the romance, while others, it's the "journey". To me, "Everything Christmas" is nothing original - there's a redundant storyline, ie. Big-city protagonists leaving on a road-trip to a snowy, small-town, steeped in Holiday tradition. Nor, is it about the quality of the acting, or magnetism I sense between the love interest(s). At times, there are exciting Hallmark casts that will influence my desire to watch, more than the teaser storyline (Corey Sevier, here). Although, Cindy Busby doesn't usually draw my interest in romance themes, here she was a believably reminiscent (teary-eyed) woman. But, I found myself more entranced by an unfamiliar actor portraying Kris - his mystique (ie. An illusionist) and his aura as the true Santa. There was nothing surprising with the twists in his "illusions", but each one creatively tied-in as a true gift of the heart. The romances really weren't the core, or excitement, of this film, and I didn't feel the storyline built up any tension to warrant a "final kiss". Definitely, a feel-good watch, not for a kiss, but one I would recommend to lead-off in sparking your Christmas spirit, say after Thanksgiving dinner...

For the umpteenth time, Hallmark revisits the old trope where someone in town either looks or acts like Santa and seems to have magical Christmas powers. Sometimes, the Magical Santa appears briefly, sometimes the Magical Santa grants a wish and checks back in a few times, and sometimes, as in this movie, the Magical Santa not only looks the part, goes by the name Kris Kringle, drives something red, and constantly bellows "Ho Ho Ho", he dominates the entire movie with his magical powers and carefully planned coincidences.

40 year old Cindy Busby plays 32 year old Lori Jo and, to be polite, she comes across as a wee bit maniacal from time to time. She's also kind of a crappy friend. She quits her job because of a task that she's been planning for years but has decided, rather arbitrarily, to complete this year. Then she encourages her friend and co-worker Tori, played engagingly by Katherine Barrell, to also blow off work and join her. Their jobs don't appear to be the kinds of jobs that have allowed them to squirrel away wads of cash. But hey, who needs money?

Lori Jo and Tori start driving cross country so Lori Jo can hang an ornament on a tree somewhere in Ohio (is that really worth quitting a job to do?). It was apparently something she and her grandmother had talked about doing for years but never did before her grandmother passed away 4 years ago. Along the way, their car breaks down and they meet a tow truck driver named Carl, played by Corey Sevier, who just happened to be passing by. Magic Santa also drops by and employs his first bit of magic (and not the real world illusion kind). The three new friends then team up with Jason, another stranger played by Matt Wells, who has a great line ("career, family, it doesn't have to be one or the other").

The plot essentially amounts to them being repeatedly manipulated/tricked by the All Powerful Kris Kringle in ways that make them wonder if he has some Higher Power. It's moderately entertaining, especially if you like old white guys with white beards messing with peoples' lives. No one has any past lovers or spouses to complicate the story and I actually liked that this movie gave equal time to the 2 new budding romances. I was actually more drawn to Katherine Barrell's character which, in most other movies, would have been the cardboard best friend whose sole purpose was to cheer on the main female lead. She's a real person with thoughts and feelings here (and attractive in a girl next door sort of way).

Aside from the, um, very animated performance by Busby, the acting was solid especially by George Masswhol, the actor who fully commits to the role of Kris Kringle. The movie also included a couple of great quotes but only one was properly attributed. "Life is a journey, not a destination" is often misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, as it is here. But the first known recorded use of the aphorism was by Lynn H. Hough. The other great line, "not all those who wander are lost" was indeed written by J. R. R. Tolkien, in The Fellowship of the Ring."

This wasn't a classic but it wasn't a complete misfire. It all depends on your tolerance for Magic Santas and Cindy Busby (I'm not a hater but she's not one of my favorites).