Dotsthavesp
I wanted to but couldn't!
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
kz917-1
Kristy Swanson stars in this Christmas film about a woman with three kids in search of a new job and place to call home after her toad of a husband skips town with all the family's cash. To make matters even more complicated one of the kids is a stepson, who isn't happy about being separated from his father (even though he is much better off for it!). They eventually land in a town where the residents are mostly helpful, but a few are out to scam her out of every dime she has. In the end Christmas spirit is out in full force!
Red Death
When first seeing the DVD case, I assumed it was going to be boring, preachy and needlessly heavy handed in being so. I was correct, unfortunately, yet I was still unprepared for the horrible acting, scripting and execution. The movie can be summarized as follows: women loses husband, moves, settles in new town, goes through a bunch of contrived and boring crap, only to finally get help after praying. The problem is that there is no sign any of it had anything to do with god. The villagers were already helping her almost as much as the government support programs she should have swallowed her pride and gotten for the sake of her children. There was no surprise when she got the financial support and room, which is why it makes no sense as to why she believed it was from god. Clearly, whoever made this had a religious agenda. Maybe her husband would have stayed with her if she had an actual personality.I personally felt this movie lacked a few things, such as a decent script, decent actors and an engaging story. Kick-Ass, by virtue of a capable director and decent acting would be a better choice for the family. Sure, it may not be appropriate, but at least they will be entertained. As a plus, the humor there is intentional, and it works.For this reason, I cannot recommend that you buy this movie. The only thing they got right was holding the camera still, and given that most movies are shot on a mounted camera, even that may be giving it too much credit. Maybe not, considering that if they are making back 100 times their budget each time they sell one DVD, maybe they couldn't afford a mounted camera.All in all, lacking even unintentional humor or talent on the part of anyone involved, this travesty fails even as "so bad its horrible material". It isn't something I willingly watched, actively though unsuccessfully trying to avoid it. If you like boring, contrived, sappy, pointless and irritating movies so bad they fail to even provoke the bile fascination caused by Birdemic, this movie is for you. But if you are a normal person, watching this should be akin to an arachnophobe seeing a spider the size of a dog. That you would avoid it at all costs and never look at it again.
emaureen
The drama rose above the clichés because of excellent performances all around, especially by Kristy Swanson. There was enough material, and enough characters (mostly endearing), for a regular TV series spanning a year. This single mom had a TERRIBLE two weeks. My only regret was the inevitability of everything winding up in a hurry.I got a laugh from the review saying that at 42, Swanson was too old to play the part of someone who should be around 30. For this role, you need someone who might be thirty but who shows the prematurely ageing effects of too much worry and too many sleepless nights. I thought she was perfect. Lots of good characters, so this Hallmark Christmas movie is recommended. However, I'd steer clear of the menu at the diner, far too much gravy.
deetdee12
I'll give it a 4, because I DID cry and the little boy was an excellent actor (his stammering just broke my heart). That said, it's A) completely derivative and B) ignores a whole bunch of options open to the destitute mom.First the unoriginal part: Hallmark Hall of Fame themselves already basically did the same movie 12 years ago starring Carla Guigino called "A Season of Miracles". Single, impoverished caretaker of sweet, scraggly moppets? Check. Wonderful small town full of warm hearted people who only want to help? Check. Car problems she can't afford/have her stranded? Check. Perfect hawt lawman love interest? Check. Minimum wage job that she's grateful for and somehow provides for them all? Check. Christmas/Jesus last minute miracle? Check.Except at least in "A Season", Carla's on the run from DHS with her niece and nephew, so you understand why she's hiding in a tiny town and not looking for any assistance. In Martha's case, it just makes zero sense.As an abandoned mom, she has an entire litany of services available to her. She is precisely WHY there are programs like TANF, WIC and Food Stamps. While I admire her independence, I'd have swallowed my pride really fast to keep my kids fed and housed. It's always meant to be a hand up, not a hand out--and clearly she was in dire straights.Instead of wasting precious gas and subjecting my kids to such uncertainty, I would've sucked it up and visited my local DHS office. Where they also would've been able to offer me job training or placement assistance. And provided Early Head Start Care for the youngest (who acted like she was about 18 months, NOT 3). With three kids, she would've been placed at the top of the list for housing, as well.My next visit would've been to the courts (which any DHS social worker, also could've helped me with). Sorry, but fathers don't get to just run out on their kids and then get divorces within a week---totally free of responsibilities. She should've been receiving child support from her first husband for her older daughter, as well.Even if this hadn't been the case, once her kids were enrolled at school again, they would've automatically qualified for free breakfast and lunch---and school officials would've directed her to social services, as well.Instead we saw this silly, Republican fantasy in which the government is evil ("sorry, I had to take out taxes" says Tess Harper. Except with three dependents, earning minimum wage and taxes being so low now, anyway that wouldn't have been much at ALL), but the church and others will provide for you. Except in real life, she'd just work at the local Walmart and watch her life slip away.Also, Kristy Swanson, at 42, was waaaaay too old to portray someone who should've been 30 or younger.And lastly, since everyone so wanted to help her, when she was gonna be tossed out, why didn't someone just say, "hey you can stay with me for awhile"???
