User reviews

Andrew might not have a nice Christmas this year. Not only does his wife Suzie have cancer, but it is suggested that his career is in trouble. We don't know exactly where they live, but Andrew listens to Cleveland radio station WGAR in the car.

Andrew attends a party alone because Suzie is just too sick to go, and Suzie is missed--especially because of her singing. We get to hear how talented Suzie is in one of the many flashbacks. In fact, Andrew and Suzie met because she was singing easy listening music in a night club.

Suzie still teaches music, even in her condition, and we get to hear one of her talented students, a young girl who is the niece of Charlie, a police officer who gives the family a sort of Christmas present (Andrew thinks he's getting a parking ticket). Charlie lost his wife and child, but he hasn't lost his Christmas spirit.

But Andrew gets good news about Suzie in a cell phone conversation with bad reception. So he and Suzie pack up son Chris and daughter Mary for a vacation at the old Maxwell place.

In the attic while looking for decorations, the kids find some old belongings of Suzie's (apparently she once lived here), and they also find things that belonged to Lucy. The mere mention of Lucy makes Suzie cry.

Andrew finds out that he did not hear all of the phone conversation, and Suzie's situation may not be getting better after all. But there is hope: a mysterious old man named Uncle Gus may have the answers.

Is this a family movie? It's debatable. There is no explicit content that would prevent kids from watching, but the scenes connected with Suzie's illness, including Andrew's struggle with the situation, are somewhat intense. Nevertheless, there are plenty of happy moments, especially in the flashbacks. And the movie's emphasis on faith is stronger than in many movies of this type.

Suzie had an abusive relationship in her past, though there are only hints of this. The strongest caution for parents is that young children should never hear about one topic implied in the movie. We never hear the words, but children might ask questions that they're not ready to hear the answers to. Older children might be able to handle it better.

Jack (short for Jacqueline) Hourigan gives a very good performance as Suzie. Although she is convincing as a sick person, she shows a full range of emotions. we do see the happy times, and she was quite pretty in the old days.

William Laufer, who also wrote and directed, gives the other standout performance as the priest who helps the family deal with their problems but doesn't judge.

The movie has plenty of good music, though very little of it is recognizable as Christmas music (one song has Christmas-related lyrics). There is lots of easy listening and jazz (not smooth jazz, but real jazz--and in a romantic flashback!).

It's worth seeing, but just be prepared for misery.

Warning: Very heavy handed anti-abortion guilt message film. Before you ruin your and your kids' Christmases forever: Beware! This is not a warm & fuzzy Christmas movie! This is a heavy handed anti-abortion morality lesson. It is heavy on guilt, sobbing, nightmares over an abortion, Catholic images of scary demon gravestones, while trying to justify the rightness of it with Catholic church interiors & icons, a priest, a pale cold corpse & a heavy ton of guilty torment to ram the anti-abortion message into your brain like a rusty metal stake in a scary Catholic graveyard. NOT at all appropriate for family viewing!! (unless you want you want your kids mentally twisted & permanently neurotic, fearful & hating you forever). Appropriate only for catechism scare/guilt lessons. Beating yourself and wearing a hair shirt for being a sinner would be more of an upper than watching this. Honestly I worry for the mental stability of kids being forced to watch this guilt & fear producing film, at any time of year, but it will ruin their Christmas experience forever.

Touching, sensitive, and a great alternative to the usual holiday fare. This is a beautiful film with a refreshingly talented cast. It has a difficult task of presenting a very sad story so that it is still uplifting and appealing to viewers at a time reserved for happy films. I think the writing is amazing, and the fact that this is a family film (with careful communication between parent viewers and younger child viewers needed)created by a family of filmmakers increases the magic and the obvious care and love that went into it. I am very happy to have been exposed to this movie! So often at holiday time we get only epics or horror films for the teens or goofy comedy movies or cartoons or romance movies that are very light and fun, but it is so rare that a film comes out that has substance, meaning, and a theme of such pure love that can carry and elevate it to a memorable place in people's hearts.

This is a good, heart to heart, Christmas Movie - go see it with a friend. The movie starts out a little slow for my taste but it develops the characters pretty well and you get a feeling of strong family and community. The main character is a bit of a snobby guy and unrealistic in his expectations. But overall the movie is much better than expected.

This movie was shot on Hi-Def Sony equipment and is being distributed digitally. It is worth seeing how a small-budget independent film can have the look and feel of a Hollywood big-budget film - the film is attractive visually and the sound great when viewed in a digital, surround sound theater.

I believe when compared to all movies the rank is 5/6 but for a family Christmas Movie it is a 7.5 to 8.

This film was beautifully shot and has a couple great actors, and a couple of bad ones.

Charlie May's and Julia May's performances left much to be desired. The actor's that did voice-overs were very bad, for instance the receptionist on the phone.

This film sways to much in it's journey to the end credits. The director should have just stayed on one path instead to taking numerous distracting side-trips.

Overall, this film is a good attempt. While it may garner a 7/10 from one viewing it could not maintain that rating after numerous viewings.

Sarah Smith MADE the movie for me. She was so extremely convincing as the aborted daughter, Martha. Everyone else was OK, but SARAH, oh, Sarah was the best!She was so amazing that I would hire her to work for me and indefinitely become a huge star. Sarah Smith is the best actress in this movie, beyond a shadow of a doubt! When given the opportunity, this girl will most likely shine throughout the country as a great and beauteous celebrity. Let's hear a cheer of Sarah Smith, shall we? I cannot stress how much this girl has influenced my views as a movie-viewer. I was brought to tears! I could just go on, and on, and on, and on, and ON about her!

Sarah was my favorite. Emmy-worthy performance!