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It really pains me to write this review. Due to the increasing lack of inspiration and repetitiveness of Hallmark and other TV movies, I have nearly stopped writing reviews, as of lately. Yet, I have personally cherished Rhiannon Fish very much. She is beautiful, lively and, often, funny. So I approached this movie with some expectations and, now, I feel betrayed enough to openly complain. As I have earlier remarked about Hallmark Christmas productions, when script writers are running out of solid ideas, cannot convey real feelings and emotions, or embrace romance, they tend to engage the perilous slope of the farce. Unfortunately, creating a really appealing farce, while trying to express captivating human sentiments and uplifting values, is quite an arduous task, not unlikely to fail. So, we get these half-baked plots, navigating among the idiotic, the juvenile, the outlandish, and the morally corrupt. The characters result shallow, over the edge, forced, and a bit unpleasant. This is such an entry. I blame the script, maybe because I cannot accept that actors I usually like could be solely responsible for the disaster. How does one give life to an empty character with little integrity and superficial qualities? Rarely before I have sen Rhiannon so much overuse the same stereotyped facial expressions and exaggerated body language. But, she is not the only one that seems uncomfortable in his/her role. The interactions feel false, the romance is vapid, the entire bunch of characters appear amateurish. I do agree with earlier reviewers: the story stinks. Thank you Hallmark, for degrading my consideration of one of my favorite actresses!

On the other hand, and this is why I conferred an extra couple of stars to the film, Peru looks beautiful and the cinematography captures its spirit and attractions more than some documentary I have seen in the past. This may be the only reason why one may want to spend a little time and watch the movie.

I guess I do not get it. There are different ways to look at Christmas: for some it should feel more like "Silent Night", others go for "Grandma was run over by a reindeer". Obviously they won't agree on many points. This is my view. The movie does have a few sweet and serious moments, is family friendly, and ends with the expected moral conclusion. A poorly developed romantic story between two initially antagonistic personalities, who work together to save a business, is the core of a zillion TV movies and sounds quite trite. Most of the action is devoted to the elements that have characterized most of this year's Hallmark Christmas productions: contests or competitions, crashing parties, and widespread silly farce. Personally, I have not found it elating, nor hilarious. It makes me think of when a person is uneasy with his feelings, or ashamed, and unable do express them. All he/she can verbalize are jokes. Are people at Hallmark at such point in their creative life? Can they still feel, understand and portray the real spirit of the Holiday? Live by farce and die a farce.

As a curiosity, how did Paul Campbell consent to play such a stupid role? So far this year, in my opinion, Hallmark has broadcast no more than two or three Christmas movies that were really worth seeing.

For 2024 Hallmark gives us one more installment in the saga of Mrs. Miracle. The original two, with Doris Roberts, did, indeed, have some magic. The choice of the actress for the role, Rachel Boston, seems well justified. In the 2017 movie "Christmas in Angel Falls", she convincingly played an angel, projecting the feeling of inner mirth and wholesomeness with levity and restraint. I am not sure whether seven years have changed her so much, or the script and movie direction have made the difference. In this movie, her performance appears uneven and somewhat hollow. She wanders between acting frantically silly ( again, the recent Hallmark penchant for making a farce of everything), rather than joyous, and somberly serious. She gets involved in other people's lives almost forcefully, rather than nudging, and talks too much, leading people rather than hinting. She seems in command of the action, rather than in a gentle advisory capacity. In essence, the angel has lost her joy and Mrs. Miracle has lost her magic. The rest of the story is bland, with characters that sound superficial, with no psychological consistency, and predictable outcomes, though not well constructed by the action.. Is it a bad movie? Not really. It is watchable, with some values and Christmas spirit, but it is half-baked and poorly inspired. Once more, I feel that somebody at Hallmark has lost the ability to really feel the Christmas spirit and just goes through the motions, probably pressed by the need to produce volumes of movies, rather than caring for quality and substance.