But She’s Not

Angel in disguise, Mrs. Miracle descends to earth again to fix the lives of us humans. This year played by Rachel Boston, she takes on the persona of a real estate appraiser who enters the lives of three estranged siblings mourning the death of their grandmother, the chairman of the board of a large real estate firm. Her mansion is full of valuable antiques that  “Ann Merkle” is there to appraise and get on the market. Not a “Mrs.” in the movie. Each of the two brothers and one sister want to take over the chairmanship of the company. Charlotte is a single mother of a little boy who has some anxiety and perhaps other issues. She is a former lawyer who is recovering from a bad marriage and wants to prove herself. One of the brothers flies in from London where he is a financier and almost engaged to a nice woman. The youngest brother is a ne’er do well who is indebted to a threatening character, possibly mob-related, who is going to remove his fingers and other things unless he is paid. He wants the chairmanship for the money. They are at odds with each other due to an unfortunate business debacle mostly the fault of the youngest brother. Thanks to the magic, machinations and truisms of not-Mrs. Miracle they re-discover their love for each other and the importance of family just in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, Charlotte successfully navigates a second chance romance with the former stablehand, now estate manager. And the right person is chosen for the chairmanship.

Rachel Boston represents a new take on Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle character. The series is based on her books. The first Mrs Miracle (Mrs. Miracle and Call Me Mrs. Miracle-both terrific) was perfectly played by Doris Roberts who embodied the role for two years until she died. A decade later, (in A Mrs. Miracle Christmas ) the role was taken up by Caroline Rhea who was, in my view, just as great. Her movie added a new character, Mercy, who was a treat as Mrs. Miracle’s daughter, who, in a heart tugging touch, was also an angel. In between, there was a movie called Mr. Miracle, which didn’t work for me. This year, Mrs. Miracle, in a totally unneeded refresh, is a much younger woman. See above poster.

Rachel Boston embraces the role and her typical Rachel Boston (over the top cheerful, energetic, and animated) take on the character could have worked. But she was too overwhelming. She sucked all the air out of room. And this was partially the fault of the script. This Ms. Miracle was much too bossy and too intrusive into the business of the family she was sent to guide. Unlike the previous Mrs. Miracles, she comes across as a real busybody. Always hovering around night and day so very handy with her wise observations, unasked for (but good!, it must be admitted) advice, a sympathetic ear, and direct orders. She can not be ignored or avoided. They do ignore her magical purse however, never questioning how she can pull out crisp legal papers and folders, large toy horses, bunches of huge carrots, etc. like Mary Poppins and her carpet bag. Her references to dancing with Ted Williams, how they baked cookies in the 1890s and other references to her immortality earn a few quizzical looks, but are never challenged. They didn’t even google her. Ms. Boston’s performance and the script was totally lacking in subtlety, mystery, or the dawning sense of wonder of the other Mrs. Miracles. I think what happened was that Hallmark decided to go with a younger more energetic character, decided on Rachel Boston, and wrote the script with her in mind. It’s not the first time RB has played an angel. I don’t really blame the actress, but the casting, script and the direction. They would have done better to cast one of the many talented older actors to carry on the role. Wouldn’t Jane Eastwood, Teryl Rothery, or Barbara Niven have been great? Among many many others. Hallmark has motherly and grandmotherly actresses coming out the ying yang. For that matter, why didn’t they just recast Caroline Rhea? If they wanted a younger vibe, they could have expanded her young daughter Mercy’s role, perhaps laying the groundwork for a spin-off series. I’m ok with Hallmark going younger in their choice of actresses for many of their movies, but in this case, it just didn’t work as well as it could have. The movie as a whole was just OK, but to be fair, Rachel Boston did have her moments.