Seemingly typical for Hallmark presentations, "Silver Bells" becomes a bit syrupy during its final act, and takes its time getting there. The story, set in Nova Scotia and New York, gets off to a good start with a father/son conflict in the family Christmas tree business. But the vast middle was difficult for me to watch because a lot of time is spent observing the characters without anything new going on. It was as if they took a good 45 minute film and stretched it to two hours (with commercials).
Tate Donovan is Christy Byrne, single father of teenagers Danny (Michael MItchell, looking like a chubby faced Leo DiCaprio) and Bridget (cute Courtney Jines). In November everyone pitches in to harvest the year's crop of trees, bag them, and get them ready to haul to their usual spot in NYC to sell them. But Danny, 16, doesn't look forward to inheriting the tree farm, instead he is an artist, an avid photographer. Tension develops when dad makes him work through the day instead of letting him meet a deadline for pictures for the school yearbook. So the whole movie is about trying to resolve the father/son conflict, and to let both of them experience growth after mom's premature death. Only moderately interesting.
SPOILERS. Anne Heche is Catherine Tierney, recently widowed, and works in news and photography, and happens to live very near where the Byrne family has been setting up for years selling their trees. As this particular year of tree sales progresses, young Danny wanders off with his Leica, mesmerized by the city. He and dad have a big argument, Danny strikes him, runs away, dad and sis have to go home without him, police cannot locate him. One year later, back in NYC selling trees, Danny appears, he has been living best he could, Catherine has been giving him odd photography jobs, he studies for his GED, he wants to stay in NY and go to college. He is finally caught after falling from a rooftop trying to elude police, badly injured and brought to the hospital, when he recovers he and dad make a deal, he will stay in NY, and by the way, dad and Catherine end up together in the end. No surprise there. Although, I wonder why he didn't marry the nice homely lady they stayed with when they came to town each year??
Tate Donovan is Christy Byrne, single father of teenagers Danny (Michael MItchell, looking like a chubby faced Leo DiCaprio) and Bridget (cute Courtney Jines). In November everyone pitches in to harvest the year's crop of trees, bag them, and get them ready to haul to their usual spot in NYC to sell them. But Danny, 16, doesn't look forward to inheriting the tree farm, instead he is an artist, an avid photographer. Tension develops when dad makes him work through the day instead of letting him meet a deadline for pictures for the school yearbook. So the whole movie is about trying to resolve the father/son conflict, and to let both of them experience growth after mom's premature death. Only moderately interesting.
SPOILERS. Anne Heche is Catherine Tierney, recently widowed, and works in news and photography, and happens to live very near where the Byrne family has been setting up for years selling their trees. As this particular year of tree sales progresses, young Danny wanders off with his Leica, mesmerized by the city. He and dad have a big argument, Danny strikes him, runs away, dad and sis have to go home without him, police cannot locate him. One year later, back in NYC selling trees, Danny appears, he has been living best he could, Catherine has been giving him odd photography jobs, he studies for his GED, he wants to stay in NY and go to college. He is finally caught after falling from a rooftop trying to elude police, badly injured and brought to the hospital, when he recovers he and dad make a deal, he will stay in NY, and by the way, dad and Catherine end up together in the end. No surprise there. Although, I wonder why he didn't marry the nice homely lady they stayed with when they came to town each year??