Our First Christmas

I watched this 3 times to see Lewis Smith. i guess he was on the cutting room floor. Lewis is the best contemporary actor I've seen since the day of big studio & big stars. I'd buy anything he does but the business is more interested in nepotism than quality of performance. The story line touched on real issues & confusion in blended families. Many hallmark stories portray realistic content but entertainment still needs to give an escape from some of the daily conflict. Inspiration is so much desired in a very difficult political & financial climate. More period/teaching story lines are great for taking us away from daily disappointments.

This story is about what happens when a newly blended family tries to blend their traditions for Christmas. They do a good job of showing how traditions are bittersweet when someone is no longer there to share them. We see that these kids are not selfish and in fact very mature for their age in that sense. Giving up the traditions is like losing that loved one again.

This is not your stereotypical Christmas story, although I'm sure elements of it have been done before. The ending could have gone a couple of ways.

All the acting is good. Two of the kids seem especially mature for their age. I was particularly impressed with John Ratzenberger who was nothing like he was on Cheers and presented a Christian retired pastor as a reasonable man of faith and love.

There was a Bible reading about Christmas and saying of grace that was more than rote. The movie may be a little preachy, but it is not about religion. It is about the importance of family.

This is a great film. It is as family as a "The Brady Bunch" episode and is that is not a bad thing. Its heartfelt. It comes across as "Real People" adjusting to new family members and I love the fact that is does have the "Typical Love Conquers All" ending but, the ending is moving it makes you wish there was maybe this much love in your own family.

A movie about blending a family is almost as old as movies themselves. This film has a "Great Cast" and I can't wait to see this again next Christmas!

Widower Tom Baer, a school counselor, recently married school coach Cindy Noll, a widow. Their respective offspring gets along fairly well, despite different parenting styles, but as their first Christmas with all step-siblings approaches, each set is desperate to respect their own seasonal traditions, reminiscent of their late parents. Tom's father, retired preacher Joe Noll, and Cindy's mother-in-law (from her deceased husband, Dave), Evie, a businesswoman, each liked by both, hoped to bridge the gap, but when that fails, she returns home alone. Just that gets the kids reconsidering their pouting pact.

ONE OF THE BEST HALLMARK FILMS OUT THERE~

Christmas is jeopardized when a newly blended family can't seem to get together on how to celebrate the holiday. All is seemingly made well when the two kids from the dad's side decide to go with what the daughter of their stepmom wants, which is to spend the holiday in Boulder. Unbeknownst to them, that daughter has decided it will be best to skip Boulder and stay in town for a Christmas Eve pageant in which her two step-siblings usually perform. To complicate matters, the former mother-in-law of the wife shows up for an extended stay and has her own ideas. The heart of this typical Hallmark TV movie is Dixie Carter's performance as the grandma to the Boulder-loving daughter. As always, Carter is terrific. And she is nicely supported by John Ratzenberger as the fun-loving and very shrewd grandpa to the pageant-loving kiddies. Ratzenberger and Carter play off each other very nicely. A pregnant-looking Julie Warner is the wife being pushed and pulled by the three kids.

Made-for-TV (Hallmark Channel) production, one of about a hundred in the past decade alone. So many have lost their way, using Christmas in name only when the story itself has so little to do with Christmas. Here we get a different treat, a 1 in 10 movie that actually works. Despite taking place in Southern California, it's quite Christmasy throughout. The holiday spirit is the background for this. Unfortunately another background exists -- the orchestral score which is so in your ears at times that it's distracting. Why add that in so heavily? It's like they don't want to rely on strength of script to carry the film. Strip the score away and you get drama. Add it in you get schmaltz. Score aside, this is pretty good. Dixie Carter and John Ratzenberger are such a joy here! Anything with Cliff from Cheers is definitely worth seeing! Such a good and warm actor! The end result works and is sure to pull at the heartstrings the way a good Christmas movie should! Worth seeing!

6.4 / 10

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener