Caro Babbo Natale

How can you watch a movie with Thora Birch and not just want to eat her up for being so cute. I am not referring to the lovely Thora in American Beauty, but the really cute one in this film.

She just wants Santa to get her parents back together. Her brother Ethan (Ethan Embry) doesn't believe in Santa, so he tries to help make his sister's wish come true with the help of the lovely Amy Oberer.

Now, I don't know what mom (Harley Jane Kozak) sees in Kevin Nealon, when her ex is Jamey Sheridan (Syriana, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"), so he must have screwed up big time.

Anyway, Ethan comes through and all is well. Or, was it Santa (Leslie Nielsen)?

I saw this years ago at the theater at Christmastime. I haven't seen it since, but I remember it made me feel warm and happy. Leslie Nielson and Lauren Bacall as Santa and Grandma were both wonderful. Thora Birch's first major role was in this movie. She played the cute as a button little sister and was absolutely charming. Too bad my most vivid memory of her these days is seeing her topless in American Beauty. But that's another story. Good holiday fun!

"All I Want for Christmas" is a good modern Christmas movie. Film critic Michael Medved described it best as, "The satisfying family picture that we've all been waiting for." That was alluding to the plethora of Christmas films that are made every year for the holiday season. So many are syrupy, silly or assembly line melodramas. While the plot for this film is predictable, that doesn't mean it isn't or can't be very good. Most comedy romances are predictable, and there have been many very good films in that genre, especially in the mid-20th century. It's the details of a plot, the quality of the screenplay, and the performers that make the difference. And, those are all good in this movie.

This film might also be considered something of a comedy romance, but the focus here is on two children and their efforts to get their divorced parents back together. The final plot on Christmas eve is a lot of fun. The settings are good, and the performances are quite good.

Lauren Bacall plays the grandmother, Lillian Brooks. Harley Jane Kozak and Jamey Sheridan play the divorced parents, Catherine and Michael O'Fallon. Some other roles are fine, including Leslie Nielsen as the store Santa Claus. But the best of the roles are Ethan Embry as young teenager Ethan O'Fallon, and Thora Birch as the nine-year-old Hallie O'Fallon. She is especially good and very adorable as an intelligent and cute third grader.

This is a good Christmas season movie that the whole family should enjoy - even well into the 21st century.

Here's my favorite exchange of lines.

Hallie O'Fallon, "Hi! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah!" Mr. Chase, "Hallie, darling, happy holidays." Hallie, "Teacher says you should always say both things in New York because people are really sensitive."

A brother (Ethan Embry) and sister (Thora Birch) attempt to bring their divorced parents back together for Christmas.

Apparently this film did poorly at the box office and critics hated it, too. I can understand that, as it is sort of a lame version of "The Parent Trap", except less quirky and the kids try much less seriously. Really, this one had me wondering why the parents broke up in the first place. (Presumably if it was worth divorcing over, they probably should not get re-married).

What makes this average film worth watching is the kids. Ethan Embry is decent and it is no surprise he has gone on to a remarkable career. Thora Birch is fantastic. Just amazing. Exactly what happened to her, I do not know. After "Ghost World" she seems to have faded away.

Ethan (Ethan Randall) and Hallie O'Fallon (Thora Birch) live with their divorced mother Catherine (Harley Jane Kozak) and grandmother Lillian (Lauren Bacall) in their upper class New York townhouse. Their father Michael (Jamey Sheridan) opens a diner based on a place important to his relationship with Catherine. Ethan is infatuated with Stephanie from Boston. Hallie asks the store Santa (Leslie Nielsen) to have her parents get married again. Then she overhears her mother agreeing to marry her boyfriend Tony Boer (Kevin Nealon). She realizes that she failed to ask to have her parents marry each other.

The kids are adorable. They're laying a parent trap. The divorced parents' chemistry is obvious and unflinching. Nealon is not necessarily a jerk but kind of a jerk-lite. This is cute but not actually funny. The movie has its heart in the right place but this is not really classic.