I'll Be Home for Christmas

It is like my fifth or sixth Christmas film of the season and I must say that I'm not fully pleased. Sadly, this one stands at the last among those I have seen. I'm not bashing it, but the narration lacked the festival spirit. Everyone in the story seems kind of depressing. But that is how this tale was designed to be different from this theme that our television channels are crowded with at this time. So I enjoyed watching it, in the end, I did not like it much as an overall film.

A father, travelling around the North America in his RV had not seen his daughter for like a decade. But his surprise visit during the Christmas eve brings a mixed feeling to her. That's not the same with the rest of the town, who are very happy to see him again. When he adopts a dog, it causes even more trouble in a relationship with his daughter. But his granddaughter is very fond of him and together they do all the festival stuffs. The remaining is to cover how he's going to win his daughter back.

Expecting too much from a television film is very foolish, but that should not be a reason, even when a film is really does not stand up to the mark. The main plot was much better, and it was not fully exploited as it should have been. Especially, most of the parts were predictable and that's fine, but a couple of energetic and surprising events would have turned it around.

Still, I liked the actors, particularly the director in one of the main roles, and again in particular the little kid. She sounded like a very matured (child) actress, so I hope she makes big in the filmdom. Sorry to say, none others, including Mena Suvari looked like they are in the film. In some of the parts, the dog stole the show. So overall simply an okay film, but it can be watched once.

5/10

James Brolin is a pro on both sides of the camera. Giselle Eisenberg as Gracie is utterly captivating. Without her rate this one 6-7, with her give it a 10. The plot is somewhat formulaic, and the rest of the cast is made up of typically capable Hallmark Channel movie actors and actresses, but the viewer tends to stay tuned for Gracie's next scene.

This is a movie I'll look forward to watching many times. A true to heart lesson about going home to right any wrongs. An enjoyable performance by Giselle Eisenberg and an amazing performance by both James Brolin and Mena Suvari, the three of them create a family unit that is sometimes stressful, but continually moving forward to an unbreakable family bond. Fabulous movie!

I have watched most of Hallmark Christmas 2016 movies. I also saw many of the older movies as I am relatively new to Hallmark Christmas. I rate this one high, because it was well acted. There was no portion where I wanted to stop watching because the actions (usually the heroine's) were cringe-worthy, painful or too unrealistic.

The plot wasn't incredibly original, but it was well put together. A father reconnecting with his daughter after a number of years, and a heroine with multiple romantic interests. The little girl in the movie was adorable, and Hallmark didn't shy away from divorce this time. Even the dog was a nice touch. Frankly, this was one of the better movies of the season, even if it didn't hit us over the head with Christmas. Even the dislike of the holiday story line was short lived and not dragged out. The scenes with the grandfather and granddaughter were cute.

Overall, I think perhaps this season Hallmark may have produced too many movies this season, because the quality appeared to not be as good as some of the older movies. Still, this one was pleasant.

Contrary to many of the negative reviews of this film, my view is that this film is one of the better Hallmark films.

If more Hallmarks had such diversity, then perhaps there would be more of the regular population who would view them, not just the "sappy typical" females (and some males) that many view as the "chick flick" type!

The roles played may be of the same "title" as others, but the characters were more unique than the typical characters in too many Hallmark films. It is great to see diversity in the characters of the higher quality Hallmarks.

I highly recommend this film.

It illustrates humour, caring, and love with a little different plot and a pleasure to watch as the characters blend with each other to enhance each other's characters. We continue to learn from each other, right?

Enjoy!