The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

...And, I must admit, I do. Of course, there are few surprises in the plot. You know, as you start the movie, that the happy couple at the start of the movie is not the happy couple at the end of the movie, that the course of true love never runs smooth and so forth. So how do we get from point A to point B and is the trip worth it?

For me, this little TV movie is worth it, partly for the scenes of Brooke Burns coping in a brittle fashion with holiday stress -- negotiating for the hot Christmas gift on behalf of her son. dealing with manic Christmas-light neighbors or trying to figure out how to cook a turkey -- but mostly for Henry Winkler playing her goofy cop uncle from New York. Goofy humor is, all too often, the province of young actors. Older actors are all too often worried about their serious career and too embarrassed to play intellectually sloppy characters. Henry Winkler is still willing to take that risk and I am grateful for the chuckles. Watch this and you will likely be too.

Christmas-themed romantic comedies seem to be all the rage right now. You can watch about a hundred of these movies every December and the plots are generally the same: attractive single father (or mother) with steady, stable (boring) boyfriend (girlfriend) and cute kid(s) meets seemingly inappropriate man(woman) who works their way into their heart as well as instills the "true" meaning of Christmas. There are a few variations (sometimes Santa gets involved, sometimes there is some kind of magical element). The variation I like the least involves the children doing the matchmaking (Ugh! What child of any age has ANY interest in his or her parent's love life?) What does "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" offer? Nothing new EXCEPT sharp writing, actual comedy, and Henry Winkler.

Yes! Winkler really makes this movie with his funny, warm portrayal of our heroine's interfering uncle Ralph from Brooklyn. This is the first comedy I've seen him in in a long time, and he really does shine in these kinds of pictures.

However, Brooke Burns and Warren Christie are also very fun to watch as the mismatched couple. I liked that they didn't make Burns a Scrooge who hates Christmas. She is simply a busy woman who loves her son and wants Christmas to be special. And in her desire to do so, has lost sight of what Christmas should be. And kudos to Connor Christopher Levins who gives a boy with some mature habits (his penchant for organization) some very real childlike desires (his wish to believe in Santa even when logic dictates he shouldn't).

The plot moves along very briskly and the movie seems to end all too soon. Would that we could all be neighbors to such warm, funny and attractive people! There's even a good message about how we need to stopping stressing about Christmas.

My favorites quote (from Uncle Ralph): "When it comes to life, she's dumber than a bag of barber hair!"

When you watch Christmas films these days, there's a certain sameness about many of them. This is NOT a criticism, as many folks KNOW what they're in for with these films and they love them...much like romance novels. So, when you see "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", you'll notice that there are a lot of familiar story elements AND you know exactly where all this is going...but you likely won't mind.

I should also point out that "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" has many similarities and shares many plot elements with my favorite Christmas film, 1949's "A Holiday Affair"....though there's enough new stuff in this one so that it's not really a remake...more a re-imagining.

Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler) is a nice guy who, along with his deceased wife, raised Jennifer (Brooke Burns) . And, he's on the way to her house for the holidays when he meets up with Morgan (Warren Christie) at the airport. The two end up becoming friends and Ralph invites Morgan to accompany him to Jennifer's house for at least the next day or so, as Morgan's connecting flight has been canceled due to the weather. Ralph also has an ulterior motive....as he dislikes Jennifer's all-business fiance and hopes he can play matchmaker and get Jennifer and Morgan together. He also wants to do this because Jennifer has a son...and the fiance likely would make a cold and crappy step-dad.

As I said above, the story is pretty predictable and the story is familiar. But the acting and production are so well done, you won't likely mind. Enjoyable and sweet...and a nice Christmas film for the whole family...even curmudgeons.

A delayed flight, a woman who's lost sight of what Christmas is all about, and a kindly Uncle all combine for this wonderful Christmas Hallmark film, that pulls you in and provides a lovely 80+ minutes of entertainment.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and thought the cast (including Henry Winkler no less) did a great job. The story line is sweet and funny, and actually has some important messages thrown in along the way.

There are lots of films that claim to be 'Christmas classics' that really aren't, but this is a worthy contender.

I am a sucker for Christmas movies. A Christmas Story, Home Alone, all of the old classics, I just adore them. They just get me in the mood for family, relaxation, and of course, the TRUE meaning of Christmas. This movie was no exception. I caught it for the first time December 09 during our first of five blizzards last year. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was funny, charming, good leads, a cute kid, a decent story, and Henry Winkler. His Uncle Ralph was great. I was able to catch it from the beginning this time, so I enjoyed it even more. It aired on Hallmark on Sunday and I plan on keeping it on my DVR through the season.