Lucky Christmas (2011 TV Movie) User Reviews

Well, I wasn't expecting Rene Clair, but...

[boblipton · 6/10 · 13 November 2011]

About ten minutes into this Hallmark Christmas movie, I was thinking that this was going to a variation on Rene Clair's 1931 movie, LE MILLION, in which a poor man in a Paris tenement wins the big lottery -- and loses the ticket. Alas, despite some good acting, particularly from Jason Gray-Stanford, best known for his role as the klutzy police detective in the MONK TV series and good work by Elizabeth Berkley as the chef who could really use the million-dollar lottery ticket, this is a rather straightforward story without much in the way of jokes .... a comedy if not a farce. In addition, the problems that hang over the movie for almost its entire length serve not to make it suspenseful -- will he figure out how to get that ticket back to her without blowing his chances? -- but mildly depressing.

Still, the story is a good one, the actors are very good and if the direction makes me think that the point is the money, rather than the people.... well, maybe it is.

Predictable but I liked it

[MattyGibbs · 7/10 · 25 November 2012]

The run up to Christmas is the one time of year I am prepared to watch predictable and cheesy films.

This film is just about as predictable as it gets, you know what is coming from the first minute and you aren't proved wrong. Sometimes however you really do just want to watch something undemanding and this fits the bill.

What makes this an above average TV Movie is the cast. It suddenly clicked halfway through that Elizabeth Berkeley is the 'star' of the infamous 'Showgirls'- but she is OK in this movie. The real star however is Jason Gray-Stanford who I thought excellent in this.

I watched this film with my wife and kids and we all enjoyed it so I recommend it to those who know what to expect.

Decent enough

[Zoooma · 6/10 · 28 January 2014]

A decent Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Elizabeth Berkley (Saved By The Bell, Showgirls) and Jason Gray-Stanford (the clutzy detective on Monk.) Both turned in pretty good performances in this quite predictable average romance set at Christmastime. It really has very little do with Christmas, which is sad because that's what a freakin' Christmas movie should be -- Christmasy! But with so many produced for television every year, many of the stories are stale yada yada yada that could almost just as easily take place in August. This is one of those. Not too terrible, though. Surely could be a lot worse but when it comes to their Made-for-TV movies, Hallmark Channel routinely has at least average productions... and if you know their cards, they're dripping with sap.

--A Kat Pirate Screener

Clichés put together without caring about consistency

[LateScribe · 19 December 2013]

Lucky Christmas has a few issues at its core, and they have nothing to do with the fact that the bachelor who is thrown in the single mom's life is handsome or that boy kisses girl right before the end credits. This is a holiday TV movie and I believe a fair share of the viewing public understands the requirements of the genre. What we don't (or should not) tolerate is a sloppy and irritating ride to the big kiss.

Lucky Christmas is the story of a single mom (Elizabeth Berkley) who wins the lottery but gets her car (in which she left the ticket) stolen by the first major problem of the movie: the handsome bachelor's friend. That character has nothing to do in the movie and the more we see how handsome is developed, the less we understand the friendship which looks more like a plot device.

The second issue is handsome himself. There is something unsettling about his dreams and aspirations (as well as the kind of personality that would be associated with them) when seen within the context of his family. None of that seems to mesh well together. Not to mention who he hangs out with and how he chooses to deliver the ticket. We are well familiar with irritating romantic comedy ploys, so the ticket wandering around, in and out the house, is not surprising, but mailing it? Really? The movie seemed to be too determined to mess things up, creating a very inconsistent male lead character in the process.

The last issue, and the most damning, is how the single mom (who is despite that the most appealing of the bunch) ties forgiveness to finding the ticket and then professes that she doesn't really care about the money. There's something wrong in there somewhere, which makes the character appear more materialistic than she should have for the story to work.

Couldn't even finish watching it!

[ceegee78 · 1/10 · 20 December 2015]

I am not usually too picky when it comes to cheesy holiday movies, and it takes a lot for me to not finish any show or movie once I have started watching it. However, I was so annoyed by the stupidity of the characters that I turned it off less than halfway through the movie. A Christmas movie should put you in the holiday spirit. Not this one. Instead of settling in to enjoy a festive movie, I became more and more irritated. The plot was convoluted and predictable. While I have no complaints about the majority of the actors and their performances, I could not stand to look at the leading man's buddy for one more minute. He was repulsive in character and so unappealing in appearance that it was hard to believe anyone would be his friend or go along with anything he wanted to do. I could not stand looking at him for another minute. If ignorance doesn't get under your skin, maybe you will enjoy it, but otherwise, avoid this movie at all costs!

A good Christmas film with a good, different story

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 13 February 2022]

"Lucky Christmas" has an opening that might tempt some to think this won't be a very good film for the holidays. But once it gets past two grown men, Mike and Joe, drinking beer as they toss Joe's family mementos into a barrel fire, the story takes on some new twists and angles with a single mom her young son.

The lucky aspect of this film is a state lottery in Michigan that each week from Thanksgiving to Christmas will pick a winner for one million dollars. The plot develops around that when the singly mom, Holly, has a winning lottery ticket about two weeks before Christmas. But several things happen that keep her from having her ticket to cash in by midnight on Christmas Eve.

These characters will come together, along with a few more, in an unusual and refreshingly different Christmas movie. The three principals in the cast are all very good. Elizabeth Berkley is Holy, Jason Gray-Stanford is Mike, and Michell Kummen plays Holly's son, Max.

This is a good Christmas film about hard work, trust, kindness and family. Most people should enjoy it.

Stocking stuffer or holiday junk mail? Maybe a bit of both...

[moonspinner55 · 2/10 · 13 November 2011]

Elizabeth Berkley is once again the freshest thing in an otherwise stale movie, this one made-for-TV. Sorry yuletide concoction attempts to equate car theft, a lottery win, ice hockey and last-chance boy-girl romance with the holiday spirit. Financially-strapped single mom (whose husband disappeared somewhat mysteriously before the story begins) has her car stolen with a special "Christmas lottery ticket" in the glove compartment. Of course the ticket is a winner--worth an underachieving one million dollars--and of course the guy involved in the car-nabbing is a handsome bachelor with a soft spot for struggling moms and their offspring. Berkley actually manages to make her scenes tender and believable, however the rest of this Hallmark Channel presentation is rather bedraggled.

Plain vanilla

[Jackbv123 · 6/10 · 25 November 2017]

The story is totally predictable. I don't think there was anything the least bit surprising.

The acting and production were also pretty average or maybe a little below for this type of movie. Even the humor lacked any dazzle. Elizabeth Berkley's Holly was very likable and her acting was probably the best for the film. It took me a long time to begin to forgive Mike and if it weren't a Hallmark movie, Holly wouldn't have forgiven him. One big complaint I have is that it is hard to disconnect the fact that she forgave him right when they found the ticket. I'm surprised she didn't clock Joe when he showed up at the door. Joe should not just be fired, but he belongs in jail, at least for a while. Mitchell Kummen did a pretty good job as young Max.

Here's the thing. If you like this kind of movie and don't expect a lot, then you will enjoy it. If you have big expectations, or don't like the Hallmark sappiness, then you won't like this movie.

Awful

[clarkcwilson · 2/10 · 15 December 2019]

This has to be the dumbest movie I've seen in a long, long time. The plot follows no legitimate logical. The acting is comparable to an elementary school play. There is absolutely no consistency in the plot. What most films would try to make characters sympathetic, this film makes characters appear as detestable pieces of human garbage. Characters make decisions that are questionable at best and indescribably moronic at worst. The script is ridden with inconsistencies and the most basic dialogue imaginable. It baffles me how anybody can find any entertainment in this film at all, as this isn't even to the point where it's fun to get angry at, it just makes you want to drop an eighty pound dumbbell on your head. The only reason I could find NOT to give it a 1/10 was that it was shot using a camera, and the actors were in frame most of the time. Those of us who were able to make it to the infuriating ending of this sorry excuse for

good

[jewelch · 6/10 · 28 December 2021]

Not one of the best but still well worth watching, I just love the theme in these movies. Yes, I recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 12/28/2021.

disappointed

[cbentley-89918 · 3/10 · 25 November 2018]

Did they even have time? no. false. they cannot just end it there. it was past midnight. they said love was more important than money these hosers. i hope she did not get the money because she is a complete bafoon.

Christmas Trials and Tribulations.

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 8/10 · 23 December 2016]

This is not really a Christmas film, it's a romance set at Christmas time. So there's no real festive spirit or seasonal joy.

What you do get though is a more realistic, than normal, love story. Elizabeth Berkley does a great job playing the struggling mother who wants to give her son everything while having the job she dreams of. She works hard at three jobs trying to bring her dreams to fruition. So when she wins the lottery all her dreams come true... only to be ripped to shreds when her car is "borrowed", along with the winning lottery ticket. She does a great job showing the emotional roller-coaster she's on... and before things get better they get worse.

Jason Grey-Stanford does a passable job of depicting the charmer who, unintentionally gets pulled into Elizabeth Berkley's life. There are a few laughs and heartwarming moments along the way, but I doff my cap to the writers and director for taking a more realistic storytelling path.

In all the glitzy, schmaltzy, Christmas tales this is a breath of fresh air; one that I would recommend. If it's repeated in a couple of years I'll probably give it a second viewing.

Yelled at the screen for 90 minutes

[rcolbey-86637 · 1/10 · 12 November 2022]

Do not watch this horrible movie. A holiday romance requires the characters to have some redeeming qualities. Mike is drunk when his friend Joe steals Holly's car. The next morning they learn that the stolen car contains Holly's winning lottery ticket. From then on, Mike makes bad-natured, self-serving decisions and we get dragged through a plot with more holes than -- I mean the scouts have a Father-Son Pinewood Derby on Christmas Eve?? Would you schedule that? And the ticket is due by midnight on Christmas Eve. Would you staff a lottery office at midnight on Christmas Eve? Mike is unlikeable and his defense of his evil-doing friend, Joe, throughout the entire movie is indefensible. Holly just made another big mistake with her love life.

Blech. It was awful.

Hallmark romance film that actually has a more realistic depiction of contemporary class anxieties!

[findingdina · 10/10 · 18 November 2011]

What I like about this film is that it foregrounds class issues, two people who don't have much money, yet one holds a lottery ticket that belongs to the other. And, thus, it becomes this nice allegory of how we should share wealth among poor folks. No one person should possess such a "ticket to ride." And, by the way, I am annoyed by the previous reviewer who is trying to compare a Hallmark produced film to Rene Clair's 1931 film "Le Million." Of course, the lottery tale is a cliché, it's one of the greatest clichés in all of cinema (the Cinderella tale is an equivalent). Yet, this film's Hallmark cliché worked for me (after a day of house cleaning, mind you): a mise-en-scene of old cars, cramped living quarters, and manly construction sites. And, people wanting to find each other through/in isolation. Too bad there's not a ticket for all of us.

Surprisingly Good!

[smithduke · 9/10 · 25 March 2018]

I loved this movie! It just shows you that you can't always trust ratings. We all have our standards I guess. I'm a lover of Hallmark movies and I hate sad endings. For me, this movie was incredibly heart-warming and gave the message that doing the right thing will always win. Jason Gray-Stanford (some of you may remember him from Monk as Lt. Randy Disher) was 100% believable in his character. At first the movie seemed like a slap-stick sort of comedy but it quickly became clear there was more depth to it after awhile. Don't shy away from this movie because of the beginning. Stay with it and you'll be pleasantly surprised. One of my top favs.

Excellent!...."Stay Safe!" : )

[adoptshelterpetstoday · 10/10 · 1 December 2014]

(what Hallmark Christmas movie isn't predictable, folks?) I absolutely loved this movie! Nothing corny, air-headed, or drab like some HC movies.

Elizabeth Berkeley played a realistic, down-to-earth person in realistic situations perfectly: if anything can go wrong for a good, decent person, it will. "Holly," a lovely, sincere female, who was dealt an undeserved and unfair shafting, is struggling to make ends meet, as well as raising her son alone to the best of her ability....while desiring to fulfill a major goal as a café owner. Yet, there is always some scoundrel who tries to take advantage of her with her potential fortune........"Holly" came across as a very likable person, someone who would make a good, trustworthy friend.

I didn't care for "Mike's" looks. His eyes seemed sinister and insincere. (It was like you didn't want her to be burnt again). But his heart was in the right place, and Elizabeth's appearance and performance wonderfully countered his expressions.........And finally, Wow! that was a nerve-wracking close call to 12 midnight! ***Congratulations, Holly!*** "Happy LEON!"