Natale a sorpresa

Connie Sellecca plays a PhD.-holding psychiatrist who divorces her philandering husband and moves with her daughter to her family homestead in South Carolina, which has been sitting abandoned, presumably for years. Naturally, she encounters the boy next door (Randy Travis, from the next farm over), whom she left standing at the altar nearly two decades before.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the script or the acting. The faults of this film are in the casting and execution. I like both Travis and Sellecca, but have trouble seeing them as a couple. Indeed, Ms. Sellecca's appearance in this film was a prime reason for watching, but what we have here constitutes a serious flaw in the pairing of romantic leads.

Given that the rest of the cast seems fine for a film that is set in the rural south, one is sad to report that Ms. Sellecca seems to be the one miscast, as throughout the film, she appears from both nature and design to have just stepped off the pages of Vogue. Can you picture a high-tone model or a society chic, dressed in fashions and jewels, functioning comfortably in a dilapidated house in farmland?

And then there are the little things. Once a major flaw appears, one goes on alert looking for others. Start with the farmhouse.

When Sellecca's character and her daughter arrive, the first thing we see on a clear day is water dripping from a leaky roof into a half-full washtub. So who's been in there recently to manage the tub?

Next we have a working wall phone. Who bothers to pay monthly phone bills for an abandoned house? Or maybe she called ahead to have it hooked up…we don't know.

But wait, there's hope. Mr. Travis, whose character is now the local sheriff, mayor, and all-around Mr. Fixit, has been dating a local social worker who wants to marry him. They appear to be well-matched. In the end, will he do the right thing and make her an honest woman, or will he jump the shark to hook back up with his long-lost love? The 90 minutes of suspense killed my rating of this supposed-to-be feel-good film. To me, this was a holiday movie to forget.

I have just read All of the reviews. I am already hooked on seeing this Christmas movie. I have a fair collection of Christmas movies that I just could not live without (or thought I couldn't). Many, (if not most) of my collection are out of print and some are just down right RARE.

Unfortunately, one of the reviewers has stated they are looking forward to its release on DVD. That means that the movie is not available at my local video store or BB's large box electronic store.O.K... so here I go again, hunting for a copy, as waiting for a studio to release it can take decades, maybe forever.Anyone out there that has made a copy off the small screen that they are willing to trade or whatever ?

My Grandfather was in this production. For those interested.. some back story....

Somewhere between 1994/95, a film crew came to my Grandparent's small town of Box Grove - Markham, Ontario, Canada.

Box Grove is a picturesque setting (at least until the sub-divisions came in about 6+ years ago) with big trees, large lush properties, friendly smiles and an old-fashioned sense of community.

My Grandparents have lived in Box Grove for over 50 years. For many years, they attended a 5-minute-walk-away quaint little church simply entitled "Box Grove Church". At this Church my Grandfather faithfully, and with much love and affection for others, entertained the congregation with his organ playing. With his wonderful smile and impeccable dress, the movie production decided to cast him as the organist within the film -- also using the same Church he used to perform in.

It's not without a sense of irony that the film is entitled "A Christmas to Remember", for 2 reasons. First, my grandfather suffers from memory loss and remembers nothing of meeting "Randy," as he called him... and little from anything from day to day now. For me though, when I watch this one movie he was in in the future, it will always remind me of him... his wonderful smile, his kindness to others... certainly a Christmas to remember.

Carolyn (Connie Selleca) has just gone through an extremely painful divorce. A therapist who has been residing in Los Angeles, with her pre-teen daughter Jordy, Carolyn is anxious to move on. Therefore, she tells her only child that they will be leaving SoCal and moving back to Mayville, North Carolina, her hometown. Jordy is less than thrilled. When the two females arrive, their house, once Carolyn's grandma's abode, is in need of many repairs. Not only that, Carolyn soon runs into a former flame, Clay (Randy Travis) whom she left at the alter years ago. He's still mad as a hornet. But, his loving aunt (Rue McClanahan) is delighted to see Carolyn and meet Jordy. One night, hearing noises, Carolyn discovers that a young, homeless boy is living in her basement! He won't tell anyone where he is from or who his parents are. Soon, Carolyn is befriending the little lad, much to the chagrin of the town's social worker, who also happens to have her eye on Clay. With a possible romantic triangle brewing, two energetic kids, a Christmas pageant, and more, what will happen next in Mayville? This is a darling holiday winner that fans of romantic comedy will take to like a duck to water. It has comedy, sparring flames, old biddies and cute kids, as well as good sets, costumes, a clever script and a zesty direction. Looking for a mood setter to re-capture the holiday spirit? Remember to look for this one!

"A Holiday to Remember" is another film that follows a sub-genre of films about divorced or single moms with a child. After her divorce, Carolyn Giblin decides to pull up stakes with her daughter. They leave southern California for her hometown in North Carolina. Another sub-genre of these romantic films made for the holidays enters here. That's meeting an old flame from schoolhood days.

These films are all predictable, and the only thing that makes one stand out, or even be worth viewing, is any twist or unique aspect of the film to punch up the story and make it interesting. The plot for this one tries that with an orphaned kid who stows away in the basement of grandma's house. An expected love triangle emerges with another local woman who has eyes for Carolyn's former sweetheart. But none of that is able to raise this film.

The setting, scenery and direction earn it most of the five stars I give it. The acting is mostly fair, but the plot is lame with a script that follows suit. Only viewers who are hooked on sentimental fluff will find this film worthwhile.