Dear Santa

Love this movie. Plot is totally predictable like 90% of every other movie in the IMDb. Widower dad adorable daughter wants Santa bring daddy new mommy spoiled rich girl finds letter to Santa yadda yadda ...

But who cares? Great execution by everyone involved. Amy Acker lights up every scene. Jason Priestly smartly keeps the camera on her most of the time. The father/daughter pair are cast perfectly and play off of each other well. The antagonist girlfriend hits just the right note. The LGBTQ character plays beyond stereotype effectively. Production values are passable. Hard to imagine a better Hallmark/Lifetime-like movie.

Formulaic, cheesy, cliché'd and wonderful. Maybe it is all of the afore mentioned, but it is Christmas! Surprisingly well cast with Amy Acker stealing your heart as the rich girl gone good, and a nice turn by Haydn-Jones as the love interest. Gina Holden is excellent in the evil queen personage and Olivia Gowan is not allowed by director Jason Priestly to over act (which is sometimes the problem with made for TV productions) and she does wonderfully. Appreciative nods also must be given to Peter Creery in the role of matchmaker...

A sweet movie not to be taken seriously, and something you can watch with your child or your girlfriend.

Shopaholic Crystal's (Amy Acker, Alias) wealthy parents give her an ultimatum: change her irresponsible ways by Christmas or they will cut her off without a cent. With no job or romantic prospects, what's a party girl to do? Fate intervenes when she finds seven year-old Olivia's (Emma Duke) letter to Santa asking for a new wife for her widowed dad Derek (David Haydn-Jones). Crystal tracks them down and vows to win over father and daughter before the fast-approaching holiday deadline.

This is a nice little film. It has lots of spirit and charming actors. It has more depth than your average Christmas Movie!

When you see it pop up on television WATCH IT. You will enjoy this.

20 November 2013. While one of those predictable romantic lightly ironic comedies, the character of Crystal played by Amy Acker (Angel, 2001-2004; Person of Interest, 2012-2013) is offered a role that expands on the traditional relational depth especially with the young girl in the movie. Amy also portrays Crystal without the stereotypical hard edged elite finish, offered used by snobby, spoiled women on screen. Instead Amy brings a more softer but just as effective naive, selfish demeanor to film. Her transformation is appealingly fascinating. If not for another Amy, an actress named Amy Adams, who has been more successful in transitioning from television to the movies with the breakthrough in Enchanted (2007), Amy Acker (Man of Steel, 2013) might have been much further in her career.

There are moments especially with the energetic rhythmic music that there are flashbacks to 80s delightful romantic comedies such as Mannequin (1987) and Electric Dreams (1984). Dear Santa has the same tempo and tone as Sarah Michelle Geller's Simply Irresistible (1999) but without the literal "magic". Overall this is an above average romantic film that doesn't resort to extraordinary plots, melodramatic performances, but relies on decent performances to depict an entertaining romance, coming of age movie with a simple but enjoyable plot outline. Other romance, coming of age movies might include a deliciously beautiful performance and locale for Diane Lane directed by Audrey Wells in Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) or Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown (2005), or German romantic comedy Mostly Martha (2001) and remade as No Reservation (2007) starring Catherine Zeta Jones or the coming of age of Scarlett Johansson's character in Nanny Diaries (2007).

This isn't exactly as it states in the Storyline, they're only small points but I think critical. She doesn't find the letter to Santa it blows past her, she picks it up and calls to the person who dropped it but they've gone before she can give it back. She then opens the letter and reads it and gets the return address, she takes it back on her own accord (not for monetary gain). She's not as bad or as selfish as the Storyline makes her out. This is a good thing as it makes her more agreeable to the viewers.

Crystal is portrayed well by Amy Acker, of whom I've been a fan of since I saw her in Angel. She was the reason I watched the film, of which I'm glad as the description didn't do the film justice.

She works really well with Emma Duke who played Olivia Gowen, the daughter of the love interest Derek. These scenes are well written, acted and directed with humour, warmth, and tenderness.

There are some good bits throughout the film, though my favourite is the "Whipp-Off" where Amy Acker and Gina Holden have a baking showdown. Awesome.

You could watch this film with the family or just cuddled up with your love. Much better than I expected and I would watch again.