Last Chance for Christmas

Hallmark has sold out. Apparently mean spiritedness has made its way to Mrs Clause in this cultural cliche which includes an otherwise well intentioned cast. ( they could've cut out her storyline all together and it would've been your typical sweet holiday hallmark love story) Mrs. Santa Claus suggests that her stableman "do anything" to replace one of the ailing reindeer which leads to stealing a reindeer from a girl and her single mom. I turned it off after the kidnapping figuring that the best possible is that Mrs. Clause apologizes for her very bad behavior in the end. Personally, I can get that plot line every night on the evening news! I think I'll sit out this season.

I don't like Santa Claus movies in general, but this one was a winner. Hilarie Burton was particularly appealing and sympathetic as the feisty no nonsense Annie who is eventually won over by the shy, fish-out-of- water stable-master, John. Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. Claus, was a hoot. Clearly the brains of the operation, She was the ruthless mob boss, willing to send her minions to steal a little girl's pet reindeer so millions of little children aren't disappointed on Christmas morning. Yes kids, sometimes the end does justify the means. Lots of laughs, a poor single mother trying to save her farm from evil big business, a sweet little romance. and some charming fantasy. Overlook the forced conflict between the two lovebirds, and the questionable ethical issues, and you'll have a good time with this one.

It was not easy telling whether 2015's 'Last Chance for Christmas' was going to be good or whether it was going to be bad when first hearing of it, reading the plot synopsis and seeing the advertising. The story did sound interesting if not with much to make it unique and it didn't look too bad. Hilarie Burton is often watchable too, though expectations were dampened somewhat by seeing the negative reviews and hearing of the characterisation of Mrs Claus.

While there are certainly far worse Christmas films about, 'Last Chance for Christmas' was rather lacklustre and despite starting off decently and having two likeable leads it did lack charm and festive cheer. Really do have to agree with those that disliked 'Last Chance for Christmas' and those critical of the characterisation of Mrs Claus, the latter aspect significantly bringing things down. It is not giving any pleasure saying all of this by the way, being a fan of Christmas and having been pleasantly surprised by some of my recent festive viewings.

'Last Chance for Christmas' does have good things. The scenery is lovely and quite picturesque at its best and slickly photographed. The music had an affectionate festive atmosphere and had me smiling and humming along, as good music should do, even if it was intrusive at times. The film starts off quite charmingly.

Burton is the best thing here, she is radiant and immensely likeable. Gabriel Hogan successfully manages to not make his character too uptight or a jerk and is in full command of his material. Their chemistry is definitely there and is sweet. The little girl and reindeer are adorable and the father-daughter interaction while cliched was touching.

However, 'Last Chance for Christmas' has a lot wrong with it. Mrs Claus, instead of being jovial and heart-warming, is a thoroughly unpleasant character, who is irritating, mean-spirited and just a plain bad role model. Jayne Eastwood for my tastes over-acted to the extent that she takes one out of the film. While the two lead characters are easy to like, the supporting characters are very sketchy and have been seen so many times before with a lot more personality. A few of the performances as said are good, but most of the acting was less than great. There is some signs of chemistry between Burton and Hogan and it's sweet and natural, but it doesn't sparkle enough and felt underused and underdeveloped.

The script is excessively cheesy and over-sentimental and is very stilted. The story starts off decently, but is paper thin, very dull and with so many Christmas film cliches and a done to death formula there is absolutely no freshness. To me it lacked charm and heart, doesn't have that much of a warm centre aside from the two leads (Mrs Claus' character writing being a big part of the problem) and was quite bland. The ending is too pat and didn't feel all that realistic either.

Concluding, lacklustre. 4/10

Prancer is in need of some hoof repair. When Santa's stable hand, John Stockman, informs him that there is a crack in Prancer's hoof, Santa is immediately alarmed since that means that he won't be able to fly. Not delivering the toys in time for Christmas is not an option, so Santa insists that John find a replacement. Things are looking up for John when he comes across Frankie, a beautiful reindeer that belongs to a charming 8-year-old girl. Now, John just has to convince the little girl's mother, Annie, to allow him to use Frankie as a sub. Convincing Annie to allow him to take Frankie up to the North Pole is not as easy as he thinks.

Not the Best Christmas film you will see but not the worse. Small children might enjoy this. The film isn't boring. The cast is enjoyable. I would not go out of my way to see it again but I wouldn't ever ruling out watching it again.

This was a Lifetime Christmas movie in 2015. Gabe Hogan (Heartland's Peter) and Hilarie Burton were a good pair for the leads and the little girl was adorable. They did a good job in matching the pair. The interaction of Hogan and the little girl was well done. Burton was in Christmas in the Bayou-2013 and I thought the black hair and outfits made her look better here. Great to see Jayne Eastwood playing a rather different kind of Mrs Claus (we've seen her in many shows and she's always good). Yes I spotted Derek McGrath (Dr Hebert on Doc) as Santa. Two elves and a pilot provided some great humor. There was not really a dull moment in this movie. Really didn't think the movie would be this good. It was funny in parts as well, even though it was not listed as a Comedy. Enjoyed the reindeer.

Here are a few criticisms. This is supposed to be taking place in Alaska at Christmas. I have never been there, but isn't daylight kind of scarce that time of year? We had lots of daylight in this movie. Yes, the great reindeer preserve is a small pen of 12 reindeer you feed a handful of hay to. It was OK though.