Murphy Howard
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Leofwine_draca
FINDING JOHN CHRISTMAS is a cheap and sentimental American TV movie with a Yuletide setting. I have no love for these sickly sweet productions and this film's no exception; it tells of a family estranged through past disaster, and their efforts in the modern day for reunification. The script offers nothing in the way of depth and the actors don't feel like they're giving much of an effort either. The sole exception - and reason I tuned in - is the presence of Peter Falk, playing an angel in human form whose job it is to spread joy and goodwill through the season. Falk brings a lot of his famed Columbo mannerisms to the part and is a delight, especially the little musical number he shares with the singing girl. He's the only reason I bothered.
robert-temple-1
This Christmas fable makes no pretense at realism, though the largely unknown cast do very well in realistically portraying their characters in situations which are constantly hovering on the edge of fantasy. Peter Falk plays a mysterious 'Christmas angel' who pops up in many guises throughout the story, gently pushing people along to help them resolve their problems. In some instances, he goes over the edge and becomes silly (such as being the guard of a fire engine), and his costumes are very poor and cheapen his value, but as the story moves along, he gets into his stride and adds a dimension of magic to the tale, through sheer warm-hearted professionalism. The heart of the story is that a young man was so shaken by a tragic fire incident (he had been a heroic fireman, saving many lives) that he dropped out, abandoned his mother and sister, left town and disappeared for years. The story is all about his coming to terms with his past, and his sister's determined efforts to persuade him to rejoin his family and rejoin life as well. This is a perfectly harmless family movie where people are not slitting throats, firing guns, or copulating on camera, so that one hardly believes one is in contemporary times. They are just living, but magic enters their lives as they struggle with their problems. People who criticize this film for being a bit corny and sentimental should better spend their time criticizing the wicked films instead, where everybody gets murdered and raped and tortured. After all, there is nothing wrong with people making pleasant films once in a while, even if they are not great art. Nor does great art always have to involve graphic sex and violence. The people who claim they are only being 'realistic' by wanting to pour blood and gore all over the screen are deeply sick people, and we should not be supporting them. We should not be ashamed of some honest sentiment, or lack of realism, if it doesn't hurt anybody!
freakfire-1
William Russ is the main character throughout this made for TV movie. He left his family behind to only reappear and begin paying off his debts. But he tries to keep away from his family. Thats where Peter Falk (Colombo) comes in, playing several different roles, to convince him to come home.The story is average and they actually managed to get a former star (Peter Falk) and use him to a fairly nice degree. But William Russ wasn't truly a star. However, it appears his acting is still OK.I found the delivery and story very cheesy in how everything was predictable. In fact, the last 20 minutes I could almost dictate word for word before it happened. A good movie should never be like that.Overall, it was a sub-par movie. In a letter grading system, it would receive a "D".
mweiss53
From a poorly contrived plot line that makes almost no sense to bad dialogue and disjointed scenes to the ultimate downer, bad acting (even Peter Falk can't find his way) "Finding John Christmas" is better left lost. Ms. Bertinelli's performance is without depth or emotion as are her co-stars, William Russ as brother Hank and David Cubitt as love interest Noah. Jennifer Pisana as Soccoro, the daughter of single dad Noah is almost unbearable to watch let alone listen to singing. But who can blame them with material like this. Michael J. Murray's script is juvenile at best. Each year at this time I search the TV guides and wait anxiously for some of the really classic Christmas and inspirational holiday films to appear on the small screen. Films like "Miracle on 34th Street", Ernst Lubitsch's delightful "The shop around the corner" and, of course the 1951 version of "Scrooge". There's Frank Capra's classics "It's a wonderful life" and "Meet John Doe". Hey, forget the classics. What about "Home Alone" or " Home for the Holidays" with Holly Hunter and a great performance by Robert Downey Jr.? My present to you is by way of advice. Your time would be better spent searching out these films than finding "Finding John Christmas". Merry Christmas!
