Weihnachten mit Holly

Eloise Mumford is 26 in this 2012 movie and is great. She starred in Just in Time for Christmas (2015) which was a perfect movie. Love her telling the story here of the Fairy who lives in the doll house. One such moment made me tear up. Loved her happy Irish dancing. Sean Faris as the uncle turned dad is a familiar face and does an adequate job. I watched this about 4 years ago and this second time it seemed better. The high 7.0 rating probably comes from the nature of the story a little girl (Holly) loses her mother and as a result has stopped talking. The Christmas theme seems a bit forced in this story.

I have read other reviews posted, saying it was sappy with uninteresting characters and I say, NOT! If you are the type of person who attends film festivals and thrives on subtitles, maybe so. If you just need a plain old fashioned heart warming tale, this is it! Needless to say, I purchased it for my collection. I am a hopeless romantic and I love Christmas, so this was a given. I think it is a wonderful story of love lost and love found, of family trials and the enduring spirit of a families ties. I say give it a chance and you will not leave without shedding a tear or bursting out in joyous laughter. I have five brothers, so the brother scenes are a hoot! Break out the popcorn and tissues!

You don't have to be Alex to know where this is going.

Holly is adorable even when she doesn't speak or even smile. There's just something about her.

The main characters are appealing enough. Sean Faris and Eloise Mumford (who looks like Katherine Heigl to me) do a good enough job for Lifetime. This is a Hallmark Hall of Fame production, though, but they're okay. Catherine Berube as the voice of reason probably does the best job of anyone.

The town is one of those pleasant small towns, but with a little more culture than Mayberry. The people there are nice for the most part.

The best moments involve Maggie and Holly and that tiny house where the fairy lives.

And Maggie can Riverdance!

It's a nice Christmas story, even of it doesn't quite reach the level of a Hallmark production.

The opening scene with the bride left at the altar was unnecessary and appeared to be way out of place; it gives you a false impression of what the movie's plot will be. Fortunately, the direction the movie takes is much better than what you'd expect from the awkward opening.

The back story of the young mother who recently passed away, on the other hand, would have been useful but that's the omitted story you only learn bits of from dialog. Her daughter Holly in the grief of her loss, shut down and became non-verbal. Custody of the child was given to the youngest of her three uncles as per her mother's will.

The highlight is the acting of the twin sisters who play Holly; very sweet and the character is very sympathetic. The struggles her guardian uncle is facing in learning "on the job" to raise her work well in the story. The constant arguing of the uncles was somewhat annoying, but those issues are resolved and the story ends up being stronger for it. Finally, there is a romance that develops involving the shop owner (the abandoned bride) and the couple interact well together.

The fact it's set at Christmas time is a superfluous throw-away. This story could have been set with any backdrop.

The interaction of the characters works well, and although the plot doesn't have much dramatic conflict, there are some scenes that are very heartwarming to see, mostly those that feature Holly.

Three brothers are cast well and very believable in their interactions. Love the characters. Little girl is adorable & has wonderful facial expressions.