Des retrouvailles à Noël

I have been watching hokey Christmas movies all day and this is by far my favorite. Christmas movies are what they are. For the most part, they aren't going to win any Oscars, but if a movie can make me laugh, cry and yeah, get mad then wrap it all up in a bow by the end, well then I'm a happy camper.

This movie was very well done. We have four main characters. The divorced parents Tracie and Rick and her parents Ed the pastor and Mimi. Dee Wallace who played Mimi was fantastic. She had just the right amount of nasty. I do not think it would have worked if we had the traditional nice mom like Susan Hogan playing the part. Dee Wallace was the mom on ET many years ago. The pastor was also excellent with some great practical dialogue with Rick which really promoted the story. He was excellent and played the part just like Gerald McRaney would have. Well written dialogue with some bible verses well done like when Rick said "I recall the Lord turned water into wine" when Mimi criticized his former drinking and a comeback "the bible says not to be drunk" by Mimi. I thought it was very well done. Great story- enjoy.

I really didn't have any expectations for Every Other Holiday...... but surprisingly my family and I really enjoyed this one. Acting was pretty good between the leads, I would give this movie a watch!

I am one of those who records and watches hundreds of hallmark movies and Christmas movies. I had not really watched Lifetime in a really long time but stumbled across their holiday line up. The plot read a little different from most so I recorded it. To my surprise they hit the mark with this movie. It has just the right amount of everything you look for and the acting was good. Just the right amount of laughter, drama, romance, God, teachable moments and music. Very genuine believable characters. Love this movie!

This is not a Christmas movie like all the others, especially not like the Hallmark ones.

If you don't stick it out til the end, or at least through most of it, you might be tempted to think this movie is about bashing Christians for their hate and hypocrisy. There is certainly plenty of hypocritical hate where there should be love. But about half way through we start to see that not everyone is hatefully judgemental. The movie is a story about how difficult family can be and working through that. It doesn't have all the pie-eyed optimism. It also doesn't have a lot of the traditional tropes like Santa, sleigh rides, caroling, and so forth. It has a few, but mostly incidental.

The acting is real and therefore some of the characters are rough at times rather than ideal. The chemistry between Tracie and Rick is real also - both good moments and bad. The couple has two young daughters that add a little of that element, but they aren't as central as they would be in a Hallmark movie.

The movie is pretty good, but it is not my cup of tea. I like my Christmas movies a little kinder and gentler.