Wow!

This one really took me by surprise. For a Christmas movie, it was really different. A lovely and sweet teenager moves to town and gets on the wrong side of a mean girl by winning the Christmas solo that mean girl thought she was entitled to. Meanwhile sweet and lovely girl’s mother and mean girl’s Dad (who is also very nice and very attractive) are falling in love. The mean girl is mean partially because her Mother was cheating on her Dad and left her to be with her boyfriend. This movie was full of tension and the mean girl goes way over the top, ending up vandalizing her rival’s house! That brings things to a head. The ending is almost too heartwarming.

The main problem I had with this movie was how quickly and easily the mean girl, Melissa, did a 180. In reality, she would have been signed up for years of therapy and a selection of some very powerful drugs. The other thing was the casting of the nice Mom. The actress seemed too old for Jonathan Scarfe who played the nice but overwhelmed Dad. And although Kelli Williams is attractive enough, it was not a good match. Ending on a complimentary note, despite the tension and almost horror of the situation, the script was full of witty banter and had some humor. I also liked that Charlotte, the nice girl, had friends who had her back, and even one of Melissa’s posse repented and went over to Charlotte’s side.

December 18, 2020