Un lugar para el recuerdo

My problem with this movie is that the cover shows a bunch of puppies so my daughter & I thought it was going to be ABOUT puppies at Christmas. It was in the kids section but it did not keep her entertained & we were both unhappy that we felt misled by the cover & where it was placed in the video rental store. The sticker on the DVD cover says Family Holiday which I guess is correct because there were no inappropriate themes, etc. so I can see why it is family & holiday. I guess my problem is more with where it was in the rental store because it was in the kids section, not family section. I think it is more of a family holiday romance though so I am glad that we get unlimited movie rentals for a flat fee with Blockbuster so I did not have to spend much on this lesson.

Its Christmas and Jessica comes back home for Christmas. She comes back to the house she loved and that her dad built. Its been 3 years since she's been home. She is excited to tell her parents she decided she wants to give up her life as a lawyer and come back home. She was not ready for the devastating news her parents revealed. She reminisces about her childhood and the young boy she met one summer and the lunch box (time capsule) they buried. Its been rough since her husband passed away, 3 years ago. She meets Michael, a single father, who lives in town. After her parents tells her who he is, she automatically takes a disliking to him. A dog showed up at Michael's doorstep and he took her in. But, the dog always seems to find his way to Jessica's house. Could the dog be trying to get them together? Does the dog know something they don't know? All you have to do is give me a nice story with wonderful actors and I am a happy camper. And that is what this movie has.

Why do all of these seemingly normal men fall for these crazy, horrible women? You have to wonder what happened to Jessica to make her so bitter and jaded? Her parents were really nice and Henry, her son, must have taken after his dad, because he was lovely. So why has she made her life so hard and her personality so appalling?

We already know that Nicholas Brendon can do better. After all, he got together with Cordelia, Anya and Willow in Buffy, I'm really not sure why he's pursuing this damaged individual.

It's all acted well and the story itself isn't bad, I like the time capsule bit, but Jessica's attitude is just really gross and upsets what could have been a cute romance instead of an unbelievable love story.

The dog is adorable.

These comments will not summarize the plot; the reader will have to look elsewhere for that. This is more a meta-comment about aspects of the production.

This is the best holiday movie I've seen this year...and the second wherein a wandering golden retriever was cast as the catalyst for precipitating a happy ending. As today is given as the release date, the airing I just viewed on the ION channel must have been the premiere. Consequently, these comments might not be fully appreciated until somebody fills in the plot or synopsis.

I just want to say that special kudos should go to the casting director, Ricki Maslar. Every part was "perfectly" cast...the leads were ideal for their parts, the kids were cute (although their characters seemed a bit mature for their age, in the way they "advised" their respective parents about their love lives), and everyone playing a supporting role couldn't have been better.

But I want to mention two parts, in particular. It was so good to see Bruce Davison, as the family patriarch, in a sympathetic role (for once), that I wish his part could have been bigger. And Elisa Donovan as Anna, who pokes and prods and needles and knocks her big sister Jessica (Andrea Roth) toward romance is absolutely, positively delightful!

The tone and tenor of the production was uniformly appropriate throughout, *except* I didn't care much for the vocal backgrounds in the soundtrack during certain characters' pensive moments. I would have much preferred simple instrumentals.

18 May 2015. It's hard to explain exactly what's so wonderfully magical about this movie. Perhaps it's the eerily mysterious but sweet melody that wraps around the mind in places. Perhaps its the predictable and secure plot that allows the audience just to enjoy the movie instead of being bent out of shape during the holidays. Perhaps its the characters that offer up a dependable performance without getting too serious during the Christmas season. For me, this movie just reflects the holiday spirit, the magical wishes of Christmas, and the fulfillment of dreams passed by. Among the best of Christmas movies that set a new wave of contemporary holiday-themed movies afterwards.