Un ospite a sorpresa

I am a sucker for Christmas movies. A Christmas Story, Home Alone, all of the old classics, I just adore them. They just get me in the mood for family, relaxation, and of course, the TRUE meaning of Christmas. This movie was no exception. I caught it for the first time December 09 during our first of five blizzards last year. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was funny, charming, good leads, a cute kid, a decent story, and Henry Winkler. His Uncle Ralph was great. I was able to catch it from the beginning this time, so I enjoyed it even more. It aired on Hallmark on Sunday and I plan on keeping it on my DVR through the season.

The film starts with Andy Williams singing the song that gave this film its title. That in itself is a good start. If the budget stretches to popular music, they generally don't skimp on anything else too much.

The Fonz is a retired Police Officer on his way to see his niece when he meets a gorgeous guy, Warren Christie, that he thinks would be perfect for her, despite the fact she already has a man.

Shenanigans ensue as the build up to Christmas Eve and the big day that follows is prepared for. Can she get the turkey right and impress the boyfriends parents? Will she get to the shops on time to get that all important present? Or will she need a little help along the way?

* At this point I have to ask why Americans leave their seasonal prep so late? They were only putting the tree up on Christmas Eve and the night before that, she was just starting to write cards, that I'm pretty sure never got sent, let alone arrived in time for the big day. I know it's 2020 so it's a bit different this year, but I already have two trees up, two bags of presents wrapped and the cards are ready to go and it's only November 22nd! Leaving it until the last minute doesn't make sense to me and it means you don't get to spread out the joy for very long at all.

It all comes together in the end for Jenna and the romance in the film is cute, you can actually see the flirtation and the interest building between the two leads, which I've found to be lacking in some of the others I've seen lately.

Hey!! You can't go wrong if the Fonz is in it, I mean look at the success of "Scream".

Christmas-themed romantic comedies seem to be all the rage right now. You can watch about a hundred of these movies every December and the plots are generally the same: attractive single father (or mother) with steady, stable (boring) boyfriend (girlfriend) and cute kid(s) meets seemingly inappropriate man(woman) who works their way into their heart as well as instills the "true" meaning of Christmas. There are a few variations (sometimes Santa gets involved, sometimes there is some kind of magical element). The variation I like the least involves the children doing the matchmaking (Ugh! What child of any age has ANY interest in his or her parent's love life?) What does "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" offer? Nothing new EXCEPT sharp writing, actual comedy, and Henry Winkler.

Yes! Winkler really makes this movie with his funny, warm portrayal of our heroine's interfering uncle Ralph from Brooklyn. This is the first comedy I've seen him in in a long time, and he really does shine in these kinds of pictures.

However, Brooke Burns and Warren Christie are also very fun to watch as the mismatched couple. I liked that they didn't make Burns a Scrooge who hates Christmas. She is simply a busy woman who loves her son and wants Christmas to be special. And in her desire to do so, has lost sight of what Christmas should be. And kudos to Connor Christopher Levins who gives a boy with some mature habits (his penchant for organization) some very real childlike desires (his wish to believe in Santa even when logic dictates he shouldn't).

The plot moves along very briskly and the movie seems to end all too soon. Would that we could all be neighbors to such warm, funny and attractive people! There's even a good message about how we need to stopping stressing about Christmas.

My favorites quote (from Uncle Ralph): "When it comes to life, she's dumber than a bag of barber hair!"

Hallmark, we need more comedy like we have in this movie!

When you watch Christmas films these days, there's a certain sameness about many of them. This is NOT a criticism, as many folks KNOW what they're in for with these films and they love them...much like romance novels. So, when you see "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", you'll notice that there are a lot of familiar story elements AND you know exactly where all this is going...but you likely won't mind.

I should also point out that "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" has many similarities and shares many plot elements with my favorite Christmas film, 1949's "A Holiday Affair"....though there's enough new stuff in this one so that it's not really a remake...more a re-imagining.

Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler) is a nice guy who, along with his deceased wife, raised Jennifer (Brooke Burns) . And, he's on the way to her house for the holidays when he meets up with Morgan (Warren Christie) at the airport. The two end up becoming friends and Ralph invites Morgan to accompany him to Jennifer's house for at least the next day or so, as Morgan's connecting flight has been canceled due to the weather. Ralph also has an ulterior motive....as he dislikes Jennifer's all-business fiance and hopes he can play matchmaker and get Jennifer and Morgan together. He also wants to do this because Jennifer has a son...and the fiance likely would make a cold and crappy step-dad.

As I said above, the story is pretty predictable and the story is familiar. But the acting and production are so well done, you won't likely mind. Enjoyable and sweet...and a nice Christmas film for the whole family...even curmudgeons.