The Christmas List

Ever since we stumbled onto it in 1997 during FoxFamilyChannel's 25 Days of Christmas programming, my husband and I have made it a point to catch this one every year when it airs. It makes a nice break in the shopping/decorating/music rehearsal/baking/working routine that rolls around in December. David is played by the guy who had the lead role in "Sweating Bullets" from the old CBS Crime Time after Prime Time shows from the early 90s. He looks so completely different here--his ponytail and funky beach duds are nowhere to be found--but oh, my, he's still a hunk. Just a more respectable one:) Mimi Rogers (known to many as the first Mrs. Tom Cruise) does a great job as the 30-something perfume salesperson who wants a shop of her own, and to move ahead with her life. She has potential but a lot of trouble showing it. Mimi is one of the few Hollywood actresses who can actually look really mousy and drab or drop-dead glamorous with just a few touches here and there. Marla Maples has a supporting role here, too, as an obviously wealthy, high-maintenance woman who's set her sights on marrying a doctor. I'll be honest here--she IS a very pretty woman and actually has a voice that sounds like it was honed to perfectly modulated tones in one of those old Southern charm schools. The guy who plays George (he of the "5-year plan") has the most thankless of the lead roles, but he does a good enough job with it that I have to laugh when he keeps getting his come-uppance at Melody's hands.

Why do Melody's wishes come true? We don't know. What we DO know is that whether it's luck, Santa Claus, or the natural laws of the universe, she learns in the space of a few days to capitalize on opportunity--which is, after all, the place where preparation and luck meet.

The ending is sweet and sentimental--what Christmas should be for everyone!

We have this one on tape, but if it's ever released for sale, I would definitely buy it to put in the cabinet beside "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Rudolf."

This is one of my favorite holiday movies! As far as I know it isn't as well known as the other Christmas movies, but it is just as good! Mimi Rodgers does beautifully as the main character, Melody Parris. Danny, the boy she befriends while working at the department store is also perfect. I could tell from just watching this movie it looked like they had a lot of fun making it. April Mae was also good as the character you love to hate. A fun film, watch it with your best friend!

I liked Mimi playing a woman somewhat down on her luck. She wants very much to better herself, but things don't go her way....until she writes her Christmas list. Even then she still has problems: an overbearing boss, a fruitcake mother, a totally anal boyfriend, and a bitchy co-worker. Then she falls in love. One of the better holiday films.

I LOVED this movie! It's a very enjoyable, feel-good movie, and it lifts my spirits every time I watch it! It has become one of my "Christmas classics", like the original "Miracle on 34th Street". Mimi Rogers was *excellent*. Enuka Okuma as her friend, Stella Stevens as her mother, Rob Stewart as her romantic interest, and Marla Maples as her (sort-of) competition, were all very enjoyable to watch. I hope more people get to see it and enjoy it as I have.

A perfume saleswoman (Mimi Rogers) whose life isn't going so well makes a list of things she wants for Christmas and, one by one, gets everything on her list. In the process, she discovers the truth to that old saying, " Be careful what you wish for...".

This film will never win any Oscars or Emmys and it's pretty easy to spot some of its problems. However, it's a movie with a lot of heart and a good performance by Mimi Rogers as the dowdy protagonist.

My wife and I recorded the film when it first aired on the Family Channel and watch it periodically throughout the year. It really lifts your spirits!