A Lovely Surprise

When I saw the rating and read some of the reviews, I almost deleted this one from my DVR without watching it. You see, I am on a Christmas movie binge this year. And there just is not enough time to watch every Christmas movie I have recorded. As it gets closer and closer to Christmas and for every Christmas movie I watch and delete, I record two or more, I see the handwriting on the wall. I am having to become pickier and pickier over the ones I watch all the way through before moving on to the next one.

The romance is sweet and there are some parts and dialogue that border on almost edgy. It doesn’t fall back on lazy fantasy to finally give us the answer to the mystery of Kris, wonderfully played by William Morgan Shepard.

Since I know that movies on Up TV are under-rated compared to the ones on Hallmark, I gave this a chance and I’m glad I did. Recently widowed Anna is a journalist who has been given the assignment of investigating a small-town Santa Claus who has been Santa for 50 years. “Kris” has had a beneficial impact on the small town in which he lives and is beloved. It is a charmer with humor and heart-tugging moments. The acting of the entire cast is great, especially Christine Taylor. She plays a cynical big-city Christmas avoider, but who still manages to be respectful and kind to the small-town people to their faces. The one time she loses her temper, it is funny rather than cringe-worthy. She brings depth and humor to a role that could have been very stereotypical.

December 12, 2020