A Dad for Christmas

I caught this movie at around 8pm on the movies24 channel. I don't know what drew me in, but from the opening credits you somehow realise this is going to be a 'little gem' and it was. Basically its about finding out who you are and the consequences that has on the others around you; coming of age; rites of passage; etc, but this one is very good especially I suppose because we hear so much about fathers reneging on their responsibilities and the people who never knew who their father was etc etc, that a film like this, tries to show us another side of the whole 'unwanted pregnancy' conundrum.

I don't want to say too much else about the plot because you should all see this film if you get the chance.

Another point, if family rifts have touched your life, then this film will make you cry and cry....I think the greatest message communicated in this film is not in the dialogue, but in the Pinteresque loaded silences between the dialogue and all these actors are ideally suited to that kind of intelligent non-verbal communication.

I don't think I had ever seen this particular young Canadian actor before. Kristopher Turner is a face to watch and I hope he breaks onto the big screen soon. He may want to consider getting a new agent if this doesn't happen soon as he is a wasted asset. The guy has everything for crying out loud and he's 6'.....(move over Mr Cruise!!!)

I loved it, I really loved it! I just got done watching it on my tape + now I have to clean up all the wet tissues from around me. Kristopher Turner was a good choice for the lead. Louise Fletcher was a seasoned "gramma" + went from hard-nosed to warm + caring during the movie. I'm a baby person, I love + watch anything that has to do with babies. I also thought at the end that I wish I had had a "Matt" for a father. So loving + caring. That baby will never miss love like so many of us have. Shame there aren't more Matt's in the world! He was a really good actor. I realized it especially when the social worker took Luke away. I thought Matt's heart was going to break just by the look on his face! I'll give it a 10!!

Alongside Christmas Note and 12 days of Xmas Eve ( the best fantasy film ) This is one of Hallmarks best films. A young father fights for the custody of his newborn son while his ex-girlfriend wants to just foster the baby out so she can go to college aided by her manipulative mother. Matt gets support from his granny and Bert a retired lawyer.

As with Christmas Note, this film deals with real issues unlike most of the cliched Hallmark Christmas movies.

A young man taking on the role as mother and father to his baby son is reminiscent of the film " 3 men and a baby. An exceedingly watchable film.

Based on a book of the same name, 'Me and Luke' also goes by the title 'A Dad for Christmas'. As the alternative title suggests, this story unapologetically centres on family issues, in a wholesome way.

Well-crafted family dynamics focus on the lives of a newborn baby Luke and his young parents. Each main character shines sufficiently to make their motivations clear. Matt Bessing (Kristopher Turner) is the young 19 year-old student father. However, Megan Eubanks (Emma Taylor-Isherwood), the mother, decides college and career is her destiny, not the newborn whom she alone now chooses to give away for adoption. People's lives forever change, and Pam (Lindsay Ames, of Metropia; Gossip; and The Vow) steps into Matt's life. She too has mapped out her own future, away from the small American town where the events unfurl. Louise Fletcher and Jack Shepherd feature as doting grandparents Glennie and Bert (a retired attorney who warmly gives Matt encouragement to do the right thing) amidst a major legal problem concerning Luke's custody.

There are no fireworks, just healthy family interplay – of the kind often missing in busy modern life – though the film's only rogue, Benson, has other devious ideas. Under Eleanor Lindo's directorship warmth wins the day without allowing the film to nosedive into unnecessary cheesy schmaltz. Lindo's entire directorial career is in TV movie-making. Consequently, the situation and characters are always believable and draw you right in. Both titles are somewhat misleading, as the film would be better called 'Pass the Baby' and Christmas is incidental.

Begins well, develops at a steady pace, ends suitably, and makes a worthwhile watch.

This movie has had me in a chokehold since I was 9 when it came out in 2006. My sisters, mom and I would gather around the tv every year going through the tv guide to figure out when this movie was scheduled to play. We watched it nearly every year and a few years ago we purchased a digital copy on Amazon. Yes it's cheesy, yes it's fast paced. But it is a wonderful story of how much a young man works to step up in his role of fatherhood and make sure his son is cared for and loved. It's not a romance, but it is a love story. A love between a father and his son, and the family he's working to give his son. You don't see stories like this. I highly recommend.