On the 2nd Day of Christmas

This is absolutely one of my all-time favorite movies. Ever since it came out in 1997, "On the 2nd Day of Christmas" has aired on television every year, and I have yet to miss it. It's such a great movie. Mary Stuart Masterson and Mark Ruffalo have such a great chemistry on-screen. It's a cute storyline and a truly enjoyable film. This one's a definite must-see!

When I first read the overview of this movie I thought that it sounded familiar. I checked my Christmas movies and it turned out that Remember the Night from 1940 written by Preston Sturges was the film. Here is IMDb's overview of that film which starred Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray "Just before Christmas, Lee Leander is caught shoplifting. It is her third offense. She is prosecuted by John Sargent. He postpones the trial because it is hard to get a conviction at Christmas time. But he feels sorry for her and arranges for her bail, and ends up taking her home to his mother for Christmas" And once again they fall in love... If you enjoyed "On the 2nd Day of Christmas" then you might enjoy this older B&W film with a similar theme.

Bert (Mark Ruffalo) comes from a family of police officers and had aspirations for the profession himself. Unfortunately, his eyes are not perfect enough for the job. Therefore, he has settled into a security guard's position in a major department store. Meanwhile, Trish (Mary Stuart Masterson) and her niece Patsy run street cons where they pickpocket and trick folks out of their wallets. The duo comes to Bert's store where they endeavor to take a gentleman's wallet. But, Bert spies the action. Despite Trish saying that she was merely trying to find the owner of the wallet, the store owner orders her and her niece to the authorities. Yet, its Christmas Eve, as Bert points out. The image of the store will suffer to have a CHILD arrested on the holiday. Therefore, the owner commands Bert to take the two back to his, Bert's, apartment and keep an eye on the them until the day AFTER Christmas. Ho ho ho, this should be fun. Trish and Patsy try to run away at least a couple of times, but Bert matches wits with them. Since the two adults are single and good-looking, can a thief and a guard fall for each other? You bet! This sweet, somewhat derivative film has two attractive, talented lead actors who carry the film along nicely. All other actors, including Howard Hesseman, are fine while the film has good sets, costumes, and plot concepts. Are you the type who loves holiday romances? This one will work its warm and fuzzy charm on you.

I thought that the movie was cute and heartfelt. I thought of it more than a romance. Of course, the movie was as predictable as can be. You felt bad for the little girl. The ending to the movie was pretty funny. The way that the security guard kept having all kinds of things happen to him while he was in charge of watching the woman and the little girl. I wish that they would make more movies like this. They need to come out with more holiday movies like this. Mary Stuart Masterson was excellent in the movie. Mark Ruffalo was sort of a Scrooge type in the movie, but played it very well. I wish they would bring the movie out on DVD. Two Thumbs Up!

"On the 2nd Day of Christmas" starts like the Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist": a pickpocket has enlisted a small child in the profession of stealing! As appalling as this scenario sounds, the film then progressed to a rather charming and romantic Christmas story.

The film's modest success is due primarily to the chemistry between the lead performers Mark Ruffalo and Mary Stuart Masterson. Ruffalo's character Bert, who works security in a department store, is given the assignment of guarding the pickpocket Patsy (Masterson) over the Christmas holidays until she may be turned over to the police. Of course, the romantic sparks begin to fly between Bert and Patsy!

To support the principal relationship of Bert and Patsy, there could have been better character developments in the large family of Bert. Arlene Meadows turned in good work as the mother, but the other family members seemed one-dimensional. When Bert and Patsy visit his family members on Christmas, we learn that the entire clan consists of police officers! During the Christmas meal, the banter could have been more lively and the characters more colorful.

Still, there were some touching and tender moments in this film due to the two likable leads. Only one question sticks in my craw: Was it really necessary to make Patsy's character a modern-day Dickensian pickpocket? If Bert had been the department store's security guard and Patsy had been employed as a salesperson, this story would have played out just as effectively as a heartwarming holiday film.