Naughty or Nice (2011 TV Movie) User Reviews

A hoot!

[rossmcfarlen · 7/10 · 4 November 2018]

Very entertaining Christmas comedy that really has that festive air with clever premise ...Hilary Burton is very funny in lead role and the gags in Act I are on point.

This is the kind of film you can watch every Christmas and not be bored with it.

Balance

[boblipton · 7/10 · 24 November 2012]

Krissy Kringle is having an awful Christmas season. She is cursed with a stupid name; she has just been fired from her job and has had to take a job as an elf in a gift-wrapping department; she lives on Candy Cane Lane and gets all of Santa Claus' mail; and worst of all, she has been mailed Santa's naughty or nice list and discovered that her boyfriend has cheated on her in this well-written and executed Hallmark Channel TV movie.

Hilarie Burton plays Krissy and she does a very nice job with a well written role. She moves easily from comedy to small-scale tragedy as the power from the naughty list first improves her life and then makes the world collapse around her. I have only noticed Ms. Burton in an episode of "Castle" before this, but she certainly is pretty and knows how to give a performance. She is aided by a good cast, with Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter (the parents of the 1980s show "Family Ties") as her mother and father.

Surprisingly funny

[kmccabe- · 7/10 · 14 July 2018]

Normally these xmas tv movies are pretty dreadful. but this one was genuinely funny. The main cast had real comedic chops. Not your usual Christmas fair. Definitely worth a watch.

My Christmas movie recommendation for 2012

[HallmarkMovieBuff · 1 December 2012]

Even though I judge TV movies on a more lenient scale than theatrical movies, I don't know how IMDb gets a weighted average of only 5.9 for this when the arithmetic mean = 7.8, and the median = 8 (after 88 viewer votes). Whatever! This was my most-anticipated, and the best Christmas movie I expect to see, this season.

Why was this my most-anticipated movie of the season? Simply because it stars one of my favorite actors, Hilarie Burton (okay, I'll admit it: I think she's hot — she's not only a good actor and nice to look at, but she also has attitude, self-confidence, and a sparkle in her eye), as Krissy Kringle (of Candy Cane Lane, no less…don't worry, it's explained in the movie). And, no, she's not Santa's daughter, as one might expect, if you've watched as many of these Christmas movies as I have.

In all my reviews, I have never given the producers due credit, but in my honest opinion, they deserve it here.

1. They got Rickie Castaneda, who gained experience writing three of last year's Christmas movies (two sixes and a seven on a scale of ten, in my opinion) to write a relatively non-formulaic, more-clever-than-usual script, both in structure and lines.

2. They hired Lindsay Chag as casting director, whose list of credits is longer than your arm, and who assembled a wide cast of well-known actors, including for supporting roles; and in a special case of inspiration, got "Alex Keaton's" parents from TV's "Family Ties" to play Krissy's here.

3. Finally, they had David Mackay, a veteran of mostly theatrical films, direct. The result is pitch-perfect performances, with nary a hint of overplay.

In short, even though I haven't yet seen all of this year's offerings, this is the one I recommend.

Better than a lot of other Hallmark Christmas movies.

[adoptshelterpetstoday · 7/10 · 10 December 2014]

The first time I saw this movie, I didn't care for it. It just didn't have anything outstanding about it...yet it really wasn't boring and didn't have any annoying characters. So it didn't deserve an immediate "thumbs down."..........After seeing it the second time, it started to grow on me. And the third time, even more so........I attribute its increasing appeal is due to the increasing number of lousy Christmas movies that Hallmark has been presenting last year and this year. So in comparison, this movie became better.........I can't say it's really one of my top favorites, but I like that it stays focused on Christmas with a magical theme. All the players were well-casted, and they did well..........I would certainly prefer to watch it again, rather than watch the movies a second time that deserve an immediate "thumbs down."

Cute

[clarks58 · 7/10 · 20 December 2021]

Fun little Christmas movie and better than most. Not just a romance with Xmas lights. A little magic to cheer it up.

Only thing I feel could have made it better would have to have cast a different boyfriend,Matt Dallas doesn't fit the feel of the movie.

But definitely recommend.

A Heartfelt, Fun, Entertaining Contribution To The Christmas Movie Genre

[tabuno · 7/10 · 16 January 2021]

An entertaining, Christmas comedy drama involving a single professional woman who has a terrible day and mysteriously ends up with Santa's "Naughty or Nice" book. In this pleasant and somewhat different and balanced movie, Naughty or Nice is a worthwhile, if not classic addition to the Christmas Holiday movie genre.

Fun movie with interesting premise

[herrcarter-92161 · 7/10 · 2 June 2023]

I enjoyed this Hallmark Christmas offering. It was fun, original and a little quirky. It was definitely a departure from Hallmark's typical cookie-cutter Christmas movies. The premise was interesting and compelling. What if you had Santa's naughty/nice book, and could use it to expose dirt on anybody in your life that you wanted to get back at? You would have awesome power to not only mete out some well-deserved justice, you would also have the power to inflict a lot of unintended pain, as our heroine Krissy Kringle finds out rather quickly.

I liked how the story made the point that, while everyone has naughty moments in their life, they also have plenty of nice ones too. People need to concentrate on the good in others and not focus on the bad so much. After all, would any of us like to be judged solely on the worst thing we ever did in our lives?

The acting in this movie was mostly good. Hilarie Burton gave us a protagonist who was likable, but also a bit flawed and relatable. The dialog was mostly fresh and believable and the story was funny, yet profound at times.

There were a couple of over-the-top cringe scenes, such as when Krissy bursts into the restaurant and tells off her boyfriend Lance about his supposed cheating in front of all his work colleagues, or when she went full-on psycho with the little kid at the department store. Those scenes could have been handled better. I also thought that everyone was way too willing to forgive Krissy for her previous meanness, especially her neighbor Deb and her boyfriend Lance. I really didn't buy him deciding to propose to her at the end. Even if she hadn't been a total jerk to him, why, after 6 years of fence sitting would he suddenly decide to commit? Seems a bit far fetched.

Interesting that they cast Family Ties alums Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter as Krissy's parents. I wonder if that was on purpose, or by accident.

So, except for a couple of rough spots, this was an entertaining, fun Christmas movie that gave us something from Hallmark that was new, fresh and interesting. Definitely worth a watch.

Best Christmas Movie in years!

[kthonson87 · 10/10 · 10 September 2014]

In all honesty, I only gave this movie a chance because Hilarie Burton has been one of my favourite actresses since One Tree Hill started! Never in a million years did u expect it to be one of the best Christmas movies I've seen! From losing her job to working as an elf (been there) then learning all this info about people in her life and consequently having a very public breakdown, this movie keeps the spirit of Christmas alive even when Krissy doesn't feel it. Having Matt Dallas of Kyle XY and Danneel Ackles (also of One Tree Hill) is just a bonus for me. If you haven't watched it yet, please do! You won't regret it!

Decent but mediocre at best

[Zoooma · 6/10 · 17 July 2014]

Who is Hilarie Burton? Someone I'd never heard of. Apparently she was on One Tree Hill for years. Here in this Made-for-TV movie she is marvelously wonderful to look at. Yum! She's a good actress, too. Hallmark Channel has a habit of casting these types of actors for these movies and while they usually give good performances, the movies aren't the greatest. This one is mediocre at best, but still a decent Christmas movie. One particular bonus in this is the casting of Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross, as the star's parents, and they each had starred in Family Ties many years ago.

5.4 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

Who has been good and who has been bad?

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 8 November 2014]

Naughty or Nice is an amiable and appealing Hallmark television film. Fun and life affirming in the run up to Christmas but not really that good. Where it should have had some cynicism is replaced by some saccharin.

Hilarie Burton is spirited as Krissy Kringle who lives on Candy Cane Lane. She does not enjoy Christmas due to the attention she receives because of her name. She has a steady job at a firm and hopes to marry her boyfriend sometime soon. However she is suddenly fired by her cold boss and her parents arrange for her a demeaning job as an elf in a local mall.

One day, Krissy receives a package in her mail, and finds herself in the possession of Santa's naughty or nice book. By calling out their name, Krissy can now see in the book what naughty deeds people have done such as her mall boss stealing money, a neighbour stealing decoration, her boyfriend might have been cheating on her and a rival at her former job was stealing her ideas and plans to steal the firm's clients for a rival one.

However she soon realises that the book is in two sections with a nice part as some of the people also do nice deeds.

It is watchable but only in a syrupy television film standard way.

Excellent Hallmark Holiday Movie

[rainyday4357-466-500164 · 10/10 · 26 November 2012]

Naughty or Nice features a great cast, entertaining story, and the typical charms that are often evident in Hallmark's excellent Holiday offerings.

I especially thought the casting in this one was terrific. I was not familiar with Hilarie Burton's previous work, but she won me over as Krissy Kringle, the oft-put upon main character who accidentally receives Santa's magical "Naughty or Nice" log book in the mail. She uses the book's mystical spying technology to her advantage, finding out what "nice" or "naughty" shenanigans her uppity neighbor (True Blood/Grimm's Jessica Tuck) and her fiancé (Kyle XY's Matt Dallas) as well as other random people in her life are up to. This leads her (as well as her wacky co-worker confidant) into several sticky, and typically hilarious, situations. This is a cute, fun movie that kept me interested for the entire running time. Highly recommended!

Another casting tidbit: The parents from 80s sitcom Family Ties - Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter - co-star as Krissy's parents. Fun casting choices like this are what keep me coming back to Hallmark movies time and time again!

Touching xmas story but not for kids.

[OneAnjel · 7/10 · 2 December 2023]

I enjoyed this movie, it has a good message. I can't say the acting was perfect or that the dialogue was anything to be excited about but it was a good story with an important message. I don't know if I agree with the messages this film used, for example, Debbie across the street did in fact do some dirty underhanded stuff. But what it's showing is that everybody has a good side and if we can look for the good and try to overcome the bad then we can have a lot of leverage in our lives.

I think it's not for children, however, because it will ruin Christmas surprises for the little ones. There's also quite a extraordinary scene where Chrissy Kringle admonishes a bratty little boy that I personally wouldn't want my small children to see. When we take them to the mall to see Santa we don't want them wondering if one of the elves is going to have a meltdown. I think there's a lot of simplistic story here but also, like I said, a very good message. I probably wouldn't watch it again but I'm happy that I saw it during this holiday season. There are some pretty bad Christmas movies out there and I can promise you this is not one of them. But like I said, not for the children. I don't know why this is rated for General audience.

boo hoo hoo

[sandcrab277 · 1/10 · 30 December 2021]

I don't like meredith baxter in anything, especially hallmark movies, what a cow, always getting her nose where it doesn't belong...if that is quality acting then she must be the queen of the kristmas karols... i'm sorry i just can't get with the spirit ...ho ho no,bah humbug.

interesting premise for a Hallmark movie

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 15 September 2019]

Life is not going well for Krissy Kringle (Hilarie Burton) during the Christmas holiday season. The hot water is out. She's expecting to be promoted but gets fired instead. She's the only without decorations despite being on Candy Cane Lane and gets harassed by her neighbor. She is mistakenly delivered Santa's Naughty or Nice list. The book reveals everybody's naughty acts. Krissy uses it to out people and take revenge against her enemies.

For a Hallmark movie, this actually has an interesting premise. There are a few laughs. Hilarie Burton has a little fun. It's pretty good considering it's Hallmark. It is a little clunky and the production has its limitations. It needs a few more rewrites and a few more bucks. I really like some of the ideas in the premise.

When can I buy it?

[oneofakind197 · 10/10 · 4 December 2012]

I just wrote an extremely long review of how amazing this movie is and somehow it got erased. While I do love this movie and wish to explain why in thorough detail...again...I will not. I will simply say, that this is by far one of my new favorite Christmas movies and I would recommend it to any and everyone. The cast is completely perfect and the plot is extremely refreshing. This movie has the perfect balance of holiday/message/comedy/intrigue/and sheer enjoyment. I will be keeping it on my DVR for as long as I possibly can. I'd love to actually buy a DVD of it but have no clue when that will be available. Already can't wait until it's back on Hallmark again next year! Go watch it, it's on about 8 or 9 more times until December 29th!

Sit back and enjoy, I know I did

[Bkw150163 · 10/10 · 25 November 2012]

Just finished watching this movie and I have to say I liked it a lot. This might not be a big surprise as I am all over Christmas movies and always looking forward for the most recent ones I haven't seen yet. Like always, it's not an award winning story or performance but it fits right in to the holiday time.

And I really liked the deeper meaning of the naughty or nice story.

We finally might look at it in a different way. Or not as we know there is no such thing as Santa or a naughty and nice list, or is there??? ;-)

Just lean back, maybe get some pop corn and enjoy and if you are a little bit like me, relax a bit more as you realize there is some truth to it and nothing in life is that bad that you can't change it.

It's a feel good movie, I can only recommend for this time of the year.

A most enjoyable Christmas Movie

[dghickma · 8/10 · 15 December 2016]

We have been waiting for this movie to be broadcast on Hallmark again this season (2016) and have been very disappointed. It is a favorite for my wife and I. The story is interesting, the acting is very good, and its story is somewhat unique and captivating.

All the actors and actresses do a very good job, and "lessons" presented are very good ones, and we would highly recommend this for families, couples, and individuals.

We also recommend that each of the Christmas movie channels (e.g. Hallmark, Ion, and Up at the very least) add this movie to their regular line up. I will explore whether Net Flix has this movie in their catalog.

Refreshing and nice. Leaves you smiling

[jolenesingh · 8/10 · 6 December 2012]

First off, let me say that I chose to watch this movie solely for Matt Dallas. I hadn't seen any of his performances since Kyle XY and I wasn't disappointed at all. He is a really good actor and I hope to get to see much more of him. Now, the movie, well its Christmasy, with magic in the air. It leaves you with big smiles and a light heart at the end.

It's all about seeing the nicer side of people and of yourself.

I really like all movie ventures by Hallmark. All actors have done a good job. But really, for me Matt was the highlight. He is a beautiful person and a good actor.

Good one for Hallmark

[charcnc · 10/10 · 9 December 2017]

Loved this movie. The acting was excellent, and the heroine's lapse into ridiculousness is very brief. My pet peeve with Hallmark is they like to make the heroine emotional to the point of illogical. I thought the plot was different, and I usually don't like the fantastical themes, but this one was well played. Only criticism was that I didn't think there was a ton of chemistry with the boyfriend.

NICE! Hillaryous- Vote this into the Christmas Movie Hall of Fame

[gehewe · 10/10 · 12 November 2018]

Just watched this one again after a few years. Hillary Burton as Krissy Kringle from Candy Cane Lane made this character her own (but they named it Candy Cane Lane after she moved there). A funny fantasy story with some good emotion. Loved the role of Marco who helped her make this movie Hillaryous. Jessica Tuck who I recognize from Judging Amy had a memorable role. We have well known Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross in minor roles as her parents. My wife's positive comment "finally a movie where the boy friend is actually the right guy for her".

This was Hillary Burton's first and best Christmas movie. Let's vote it into the Christmas Movie Hall of Fame. Excellent Movies like this probably assures a Christmas Movie Hall of Fame some day. She is in Christmas on the Bayou (2013) and Last Chance for Christmas (2015). I look forward to her new movie this year Christmas Contract (2018).

Great wholesome fun Christmas Movie.

[cgdfmppcz · 8/10 · 11 December 2023]

I only watched this because of Hilarie Burton. I loved One Tree Hill. I was surprised to see Matt Dallas from Kyle XY and the Family Ties parents as well. As far as Hallmark Christmas movies go, this was great. The acting was a step above usual Hallmark Christmas movies, that's for sure. The story was a wholesome fun Christmas movie. It was quite predictable (though what Christmas love isn't) but it didn't take away from the movie at all. I kind of felt bad for Marco, stuck in that wrapping job. I kind of wish his story progressed a bit further. If you're looking for another Christmas movie to add to your holiday marathon, I'd recommend this!

VERY WELL WRITTEN AND AN ENTERTAINING PREMISE

[muoiomark · 8/10 · 1 January 2022]

A better director and budget would have made this a memorable Christmas movie. Instead it comes off as a cheap TV movie of the week. Still, the story and the writing kept me interested.

Shockingly good

[milansmith67 · 10/10 · 25 December 2023]

Woke up Christmas morning and this movie was on. I don't usually watch Christmas movies bc they tend to be corny. I had v low expectations for this movie.

The beginning was confusing (maybe bc I missed the first 10 minutes) but by the end, I was fully convinced this is the best Christmas movie I've ever seen and I'm not exaggerating.

Hilarie Burton can ACT. She sells the hell out of everything in the movie, even things that would be corny if it was another actress. She has great chemistry w her bf, Lance, and her new bff, Marco.

Lance is perfect. In the first half he didn't have a lot of lines but it's makes sense bc they want to leave the audience guessing if he's a good guy or not. He's also very cute and I've loved him ever since Kyle XY.

Of course it's not a perfect movie but I 100% recommend it and will be watching it every year during the holidays.

Naughty to Nice

[Jackbv123 · 8/10 · 7 November 2017]

This was not what I expected from the title. Actually, I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. This is not your typical Hallmark Christmas movie. The story is different, at least to me.

In this movie, there are not all the usual holiday traditions ticked off in the story as in so many of the movies. (Not that I don't like them.)

For much of the movie, Krissy Kringle is petty and vindictive and often mean.

The story is excellent. The production is decent. (The house decorations are spectacular.) And the acting is good. There is some humor. I'm not sure the movie would have been nearly as good without Gabriel Tigerman who adds a lot of humorous spice to the story. Burton and Tigerman play well off each other.