The Two Leads and Santa Saved This One

Emily Kinney was very appealing in this. Very Cute. I really liked her, and she and Rita Moreno kept me watching this to the end.

Emily plays an event planner who has snagged a very high-profile client which will really help her business. He is very demanding, however, and will only settle for the best Santa in the history of the world for his Christmas party or he will fire her like he fired the last event planner. He is played by Patrick Cassidy of *those* Cassidys. Due to some Christmas magic, Emily finds out about “Santa Boot Camp” which trains Santas and other Christmas characters. She is correct that this is the best place to find the perfect Santa because it soon becomes apparent that the boot camp is run by the real Mr. And Mrs. Claus, played by John Shuck and Rita. I was very surprised to see John Shuck in the credits. I remember him from Macmillan and Wife. Anyway, Emily has to join the boot camp to earn Rita’s recommendation for the best Santa. She has a romance with the camp chef, who is almost too gorgeous.

I am floored by how beautiful and full of vitality 90-year-old Rita Moreno is. Short of selling her soul to the devil, she must have the best genes and/or the best plastic surgeon in the world. She looks very young for her age but totally natural, unlike other actors who have had work done. I won’t mention another elderly (85 years) actress who graced a Hallmark production recently. Bless her. Ms. Moreno looks like a very believable 65, and could probably pass for younger. And speaking of casting, I do want to give Lifetime props for featuring a deaf actress as Emily’s lovely mother. It was no big deal, just normal life.

The end was a little ham-handed. The magical mystery part, which was done subtly and charmingly through the whole movie, including Rita’s beautiful wardrobe, was too explicitly revealed and broadly done at the end. To my mind, there should have kept a bit of nuance and mystery about the pair’s true identity. Just a bit.