The Christmas Shoes (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Andy Wolk

Writers (WGA):

Donna Van Liere (book)
Wesley Bishop (teleplay)

Release Date:

1 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young boy tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for his dying mother, while a lawyer tries to deal with the break-up of his marriage.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Based On Book

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Rob Lowe	...	Robert Layton
Kimberly Williams-Paisley	...	Maggie Andrews (as Kimberly Williams)
Max Morrow	...	Nathan Andrews
Maria del Mar	...	Kate Layton
Hugh Thompson	...	Jack Andrews
Dorian Harewood	...	Dalton Gregory
Shirley Douglas	...	Ellen Layton
Amber Marshall	...	Lily
Rhonda McLean	...	Gwen
Jeremy Akerman	...	Tom Wilson
John Maclaren	...	Dean McGraw
Brian Heighton	...	Jake Cardwell
Geoff Herod	...	Young Adult Nathan
Bill Carr	...	Dr. Mather
John Dunsworth	...	Dr. Julian

Also Known As:

Les souliers de Noël (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:U | Singapore:PG | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Beth Grossbard Productions

Trivia:

The book that the screenplay was based on, was based on the lyric written by Eddie Carswell for the song of the same name - a #1 song by the group New Song.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: It is supposed to be set in 1985 (as evidenced by the dates on the grave markers at the beginning and end of the film), but many later-generation cars (mostly from the '90s) can be seen throughout the film.

Quotes:

Maggie Andrews: Honey, what's the matter?
Nathan Andrews: Your heart. I just wanted to see if it was still beating.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Christmas Blessing (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Christmas Shoes

Nice movie about miracles, if somewhat sad

Rob Lowe plays a lawyer who is so obsessed with work that he misses a school concert where his daughter has a solo. He is also having problems with his marriage. Kimberly Williams is the volunteer choral director who finds out she has a fatal condition requiring a heart transplant for a cure to take place. Two families cross paths in a number of instances. Lowe's wife takes over for Williams, canceling an important job interview her husband worked hard to arrange. Williams' husband is the mechanic who ends up working on Lowe's car. Later in the movie, Williams' son, fearing his mother will be having her last Christmas, seeks to buy Williams a pair of special shoes which Lowe earlier found lying in the street, mysteriously intended to be delivered to a department store which did not order them. Lowe gets the shoes to the store (eventually) and later plays a role in helping the boy buy the shoes. The boy's teacher rents a room from Lowe's mother, who we know will probably die during the movie, since Lowe is visiting her grave at the movie's start, 15 years after her death. The boy faces numerous obstacles in his quest for the shoes, and while miracles do happen in the movie, not everything comes out the way you would hope.