The Christmas List

Ever since we stumbled onto it in 1997 during FoxFamilyChannel's 25 Days of Christmas programming, my husband and I have made it a point to catch this one every year when it airs. It makes a nice break in the shopping/decorating/music rehearsal/baking/working routine that rolls around in December. David is played by the guy who had the lead role in "Sweating Bullets" from the old CBS Crime Time after Prime Time shows from the early 90s. He looks so completely different here--his ponytail and funky beach duds are nowhere to be found--but oh, my, he's still a hunk. Just a more respectable one:) Mimi Rogers (known to many as the first Mrs. Tom Cruise) does a great job as the 30-something perfume salesperson who wants a shop of her own, and to move ahead with her life. She has potential but a lot of trouble showing it. Mimi is one of the few Hollywood actresses who can actually look really mousy and drab or drop-dead glamorous with just a few touches here and there. Marla Maples has a supporting role here, too, as an obviously wealthy, high-maintenance woman who's set her sights on marrying a doctor. I'll be honest here--she IS a very pretty woman and actually has a voice that sounds like it was honed to perfectly modulated tones in one of those old Southern charm schools. The guy who plays George (he of the "5-year plan") has the most thankless of the lead roles, but he does a good enough job with it that I have to laugh when he keeps getting his come-uppance at Melody's hands.

Why do Melody's wishes come true? We don't know. What we DO know is that whether it's luck, Santa Claus, or the natural laws of the universe, she learns in the space of a few days to capitalize on opportunity--which is, after all, the place where preparation and luck meet.

The ending is sweet and sentimental--what Christmas should be for everyone!

We have this one on tape, but if it's ever released for sale, I would definitely buy it to put in the cabinet beside "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Rudolf."

...as well as a holiday tradition! Kudos to Merv Griffin Enterprises...

Who can not love Melody Parris, the main character? Yet, the main point of the story is how everything came together for her when she decided not to 'wait' for anything anymore. It was only when Melody stopped wishing and actually did something that all the pieces fell into place: like going to that swanky restaurant even though she had no escort, and joining in the fun with the other diners.

Favorite moment: Melody's honest, heartfelt plea to the cops who were about to tow her car away - 'if you take away that car, you will ruin whatever luck I have', or words to that effect. And you know...it worked! Second most favorite moment: Melody dumping dinner in George's lap.

I'll never get tired of watching this one. And, for the record, I still watch 'It's A Wonderful Life', though many have gotten sick of it, sad to say.

It's rare that I like a TV movie this much, but I've been watching it every year since it first premiered. I used to watch it on the 25 Days of Christmas marathon, but after they started burying it in the wee hours just once a year (usually on Sundays) I taped it and still watch it that way each season (but if the higher ups are reading this I highly urge you to release it on digital download or streaming as I'd love higher rez version, even SD would be better than my warm out VHS). Anyway, what makes the film "perfect"... it's hard to explain without sitting down and showing it to you. Mimi Rodgers is a real person, not some prissy over the top caricature of a woman like most Hallmark or Netflix movies. She's beautiful, yes, but she is also is vulnerable, realistic looking, with reasonable reactions to her life passing her by. The rest of the cast are all over the top, but somehow it works perfectly... from the 1950'd thick framed boss, David, the boy that the story hinges on, the jealous soap opera style jealous other woman, the dippy former boyfriend... they are all able to get you into their vibe with very little on screen work. The concept is magical, but works in a very subtle cause and effect way that is just enough to give it the spark of Christmas spirit. It is FULL of moments that are special, sentimental, small touches; like, for example, the moment when David pulls her arm back to smell his mom's perfume that smells just like her. It takes the time to have moments instead of rushing to the next thing too quickly. Is it cheesy in parts, is it made on a tv studio budget, is some of the acting questionable... sure... but in all the right ways. It knows what it is and succeeds. Nice job! Thanks for adding to our 23 yr Christmas tradition.

I liked Mimi playing a woman somewhat down on her luck. She wants very much to better herself, but things don't go her way....until she writes her Christmas list. Even then she still has problems: an overbearing boss, a fruitcake mother, a totally anal boyfriend, and a bitchy co-worker. Then she falls in love. One of the better holiday films.

A perfume saleswoman (Mimi Rogers) whose life isn't going so well makes a list of things she wants for Christmas and, one by one, gets everything on her list. In the process, she discovers the truth to that old saying, " Be careful what you wish for...".

This film will never win any Oscars or Emmys and it's pretty easy to spot some of its problems. However, it's a movie with a lot of heart and a good performance by Mimi Rogers as the dowdy protagonist.

My wife and I recorded the film when it first aired on the Family Channel and watch it periodically throughout the year. It really lifts your spirits!