A Christmas for the Ages

Love the premise of this story, but they went so overboard on literally everything. The sets were lavish and beautiful if a bit over the top as these all are at Christmas. The costumes were lovely and the actors were a great bunch of talent but seriously, there is NO family who is this perfect. At least once EVERY paragraph of dialogue they are gushing to one another about how much they love each other and how they will always be there for each other. While this is nice, it's not very realistic. Families get together at Christmas and while they may love each other, they squabble and get frustrated with other. That's just how families are. This movie is so syrupy sweet I felt like I needed an insulin shot.

Also, while I love the fact that the script isn't peppered with swear words they really slap you in the face with the Christian aspect of it. While I am a believer, if I was not, this movie would totally turn me off to the whole concept of God and Christianity. They hit you in the face with it at every turn and it's simply too much.

The whole thing needs to be dialed back to reality. This could have been so much more but they turned it into a preachy sermon that was not relatable.

That being said there were some cute parts. I liked the family dinners that were themed to different decades. Very inventive idea.

The ending songs with the four generations of women was really nice.

Cheryl Ladd did the best she could with this movie. Other actors are so weak. Always liked Candace Cameron Bure. However, as an actor, she is ok but not great. Honestly, Natasha is simply not believable. Casting her in a lead role is a poor choice. Many well known actors have children that have become great actors. In my opinion, Natasha may eventually improve over time. I usually like these kind of movies - no language, violence, or nudity. Although stories are usually predictable, these movies are often simply entertaining and enjoyable. This movie is not realistic and actors bring nothing to it.

I won't reiterate the negative comments in other reviews, many of which I agree with, but am commenting on the unbelievable casting. Natasha Bure is 25 years old, and the actors portraying her parents are 41. Do the math. Kate Craven especially looks too young to be her mom. Though Cheryl Ladd is old enough to be the grandmother, the amount of plastic surgery she's had makes her look to young for the role. I'm not criticizing her choice to have the surgery, only that it makes her look too young for the role, unless the 3 younger generations in this Christian family all had teenage pregnancies.

I have to agree with a lot said by katykw-2. Too syrupy sweet and too much gushing.

I felt like instead of a real story, the movie was scenes of a family at Christmas without a lot of progress toward an end goal. There was an underlying message of Yay Family but that was there beginning to end. Also, a story needs some tension. This movie had less real tension than almost any Christmas movie I've seen, at least in a while and that's saying something with this network. GAF prides itself on family friendly and sometimes they dial down any real negativity, i.e. Tension.

The main romance was Savannah and Rudy. They were already together from the start. Savannah had about 2 seconds of doubt which wasn't based on any real complaints. There was never a chance of their relationship going south. If there was a real story here, there would have been some hiccup, some obstacle, either in their relationship or something else. Where were the bursting pipes?

There is lip service about God and it is repeated, maybe a little too much. If there was a message here, it was vague. This network also prides itself on being faith oriented. That's great and I am all for it, but they need to fill it out. What exactly is your definition of the true meaning of Christmas and why Jesus came?

I loved the musical number at the end.

Lots of potential, and we were happy to see Cheryl Ladd, but we could only take a half hour of this syrupy mess.

The scenes were full of unimaginative, banal dialogue about preachy family issues. Cheryl Ladd and her daughter talking about kids leaving the nest was the first crack in our willingness to continue, and then her scene with her neighbor talking about the upcoming 60s Christmas party with little giggles ... which I think were added in post production since we never saw any indication they giggled in the scene, finished off any desire to continue.

Great American Family is typically a step down from Hallmark offerings. They've improved in the past couple of years, but they're still not as consistent.