why this movie is so acclaimed by the voters on iMDB. A friend bought me the tape of this movie for Christmas, and I had never seen it. I just got around to watching it, and it is definitely one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I do like good Christmas movies, however - The Bishop's Wife and the recent remake, The Preacher's Wife immediately come to mind - but this is nowhere near those.
The ONLY redeeming value in this movie is Melinda Dillon's performance - she is always good - and she acts everyone off the screen. My complaints are numerous, but most importantly, this movie has NO PLOT and NO CONFLICT! There is nothing to keep you interested - I want my hour and a half back! What a waste of celluloid. This movie is sickenly sweet without EARNING the right to that sweetness - like "Home Alone" and others in the same genre do.
The scene where the kid has his mouth "washed out with soap" is a kick in the face to anyone who ever had this done for real. Pardon me, but sticking a bar of soap in the kid's mouth isn't quite cutting it. Also the scene where the kid is bullied and teased is also quite tame compared to the real thing. Movies like this really undermine the struggles of those people who had REAL problems as children.
The parents are entirely too old to have children that young, though most movies back in the 30's and 40's DID have parents that were too old. The main character is 9 years old but still believes in Santa Claus?
Again I'm back to the lack of conflict. Let's see, the kid wants a certain toy for Christmas and may or may not get it. That ranks right up there with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" - sorry for the sarcasm. Oh yes, and there's a scene where the husband gets a lamp that the wife doesn't like.
Bottom line - this stinker doesn't deserve the 2 out of 10 rating I gave it and I'm getting rid of it on eBay as soon as I can.
The ONLY redeeming value in this movie is Melinda Dillon's performance - she is always good - and she acts everyone off the screen. My complaints are numerous, but most importantly, this movie has NO PLOT and NO CONFLICT! There is nothing to keep you interested - I want my hour and a half back! What a waste of celluloid. This movie is sickenly sweet without EARNING the right to that sweetness - like "Home Alone" and others in the same genre do.
The scene where the kid has his mouth "washed out with soap" is a kick in the face to anyone who ever had this done for real. Pardon me, but sticking a bar of soap in the kid's mouth isn't quite cutting it. Also the scene where the kid is bullied and teased is also quite tame compared to the real thing. Movies like this really undermine the struggles of those people who had REAL problems as children.
The parents are entirely too old to have children that young, though most movies back in the 30's and 40's DID have parents that were too old. The main character is 9 years old but still believes in Santa Claus?
Again I'm back to the lack of conflict. Let's see, the kid wants a certain toy for Christmas and may or may not get it. That ranks right up there with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" - sorry for the sarcasm. Oh yes, and there's a scene where the husband gets a lamp that the wife doesn't like.
Bottom line - this stinker doesn't deserve the 2 out of 10 rating I gave it and I'm getting rid of it on eBay as soon as I can.