New York Christmas - Weihnachtswunder gibt es doch

Of course I had not heard about the 2015 movie "Christmas Eve" prior to sitting down to watch it here in 2024. But then again, I am not usually overly keen on sappy Christmas movies. But every now and again I do go all in December up until Christmas Eve and watch an abundance of these movies. And thus, I had the opportunity to sit down and watch "Christmas Eve", and so I did.

Truthfully, I wasn't really harboring the biggest of expectations to the movie. But perhaps writers Mitch Davis and Tyler McKellar would surprise me with the script that they churned out for the movie.

I have to say that I feel that "Christmas Eve" utterly and totally fell short of being a proper Christmas movie. I found no entertainment, enjoyment or interest in the narrative. I mean, people stuck in elevators and talking hardly constituted as being what I am looking for in Christmas movies. So this movie was a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me.

The movie has some familiar faces on the cast list, such as Patrick Stewart, Jon Heder, Cheryl Hines, Steve John Shepherd, Taylor James and Gary Cole. Despite the fact that the storyline and script was falling short of entertaining me, then I will say that the acting performances were good.

This movie is definitely not a movie that I will return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend people looking for Christmas movies to sit down and watch.

My rating of Mitch Davis's 2015 "Christmas Eve" lands on a three out of ten stars.

I was surprised to read that critics initially panned this movie.

I saw it on cable and found it amusing, entertaining, touching, inspiring and intellectually stimulating. I was quickly involved in the plot and the off-beat characters and remained engrossed through the end.

Even after the movie was over, I continued to worry a about the fate of some of the characters: What happened to the woman with the fatal ailment? Did she end up telling her husband that she was going to die?

I suspect that one reason that critics underestimated this film is that it is different. For example, the humor is not slapstick or laugh-out-loud hysterical. Instead, it is quirky, droll and subtle.

Another reason that critics may have been put off is the fact that the story seems more appropriate for a stage play rather than for a movie.

The action is mostly confined to the interiors of a series of stuck elevators. Hence, there is not much physical activity. Because the setting is static, the movie, naturally, is talky---something that is not to everyone's taste.

This movie has been under-appreciated. As more people are exposed to it on cable, I suspect that it will grow into a cult classic.

Why?

This movie was hard to watch even when barely watching.

I can't wrap my head around how someone wrote this and thought it was good enough to make a movie out of, like it could compete with even the worst movie that already existed.

I can't wrap my head around the amount of people that gave this 2+ stars much less 10

It's not even funny bad.

I agree with another review that said the lone girl stuck in the elevator with the creepy dude was like watching a horror movie hoping she makes it out alive or at the very least, unharmed, and the writers tried to makes this romantic. Cringe.

It's very rare I find books or movies so bad I have a hard time finishing them. This is one of those times.

Out of all the movies that exist, literally not a single reason to watch this one.

WHY??????

I guess that this is as short a summary as I can write. And it does have certain of the same qualities as Love Actually has, which makes me wonder why people don't like it much.

A philosophical high strung bunch of people stuck together, and how the story develops. Now what makes the story lacking a little bit, are the questions we are stuck with. You'll figure them out too, if you see the film.

Christmas Eve has potential to being somewhat more, though.

What about a Directors Cut? There has to be a few more questions answered in other footage that wasn't used in this cutting?

Let's see that, next Christmas.

Watch this movie before you read some of the moronic reviews below. They are filled with racists and people complaining about racism and those who clearly need the plot spelt out for them. People look for all the flaws instead of enjoying a movie and I feel sad for their lives

Over-all good but not great. it is deff, feel good but leaves questions at the end.

6.4