Le jackpot de Noël

I had not heard about the 2006 movie "Christmas In Wonderland" prior to sitting down and watching it here in 2024, as part of my December month of binging Christmas movies. And yeah, I thought that this was an actual Christmas movie.

But I have to say that I found the storyline to be somewhat like "Home Alone" in a way, except it took place in a mall. Just because the movie's narrative was set during the Christmas time, doesn't mean that it was a Christmas movie. So I was a bit disappointed with the fact that this wasn't an actual Christmas movie. That being said, then don't get me wrong, because it wasn't as if "Christmas In Wonderland" was a bad movie, not at all. It just wasn't what I was expecting. Writers Wanda Birdsong Shope, James Orr and Jim Cruickshank put together a fair enough script and storyline.

The acting performances in the movie were good, and there were some familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Patrick Swayze, Tim Curry, Chris Kattan and Cameron Bright.

Watchable, for sure, just don't expect this to be a traditional sappy Christmas movie. I am sure that if you enjoyed the "Home Alone" movie, then you might actually also enjoy this movie.

My rating of director James Orr's 2006 movie "Christmas In Wonderland" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Wayne Saunders (Patrick Swayze) moved his family from Los Angeles to Edmonton, Alberta, to take a new job. Unhappily, the company chose that moment to downsize and Wayne loses the post before he has a chance to even begin! Also, its near Christmas and his wife is back in California, tying up lose ends with her own job. Therefore, Wayne and the three kids, teenage Brian, middle schooler Danny and young daughter Mary have to get a tree and shop for all of the gifts. Needless to say, Wayne is not used to balancing the whole affair on his shoulders AND, since his job melted away and there were moving expenses, finances are extremely tight. Therefore, when the family heads to the enormous underground mall, Dad puts Brian in charge of the other two kids, so that he, Wayne, can shop for the children in private. But, Brian, downcast since the big move, likes the looks of the teen girls he sees at the mall and gives Danny money to take care of Mary, letting him, Brian, hang out with kids his age. Whoa, wait until Dad hears this! On their own, Sam and Mary stumble upon a bag of cash, which they believe is a gift from the mall's Santa. However, its really counterfeit bills that a trio of dumb thieves (including Carmen Electra) were going to use for their own brand of Xmas cheer. Now, the thieves are after the kids and the kids are out to avoid being caught and to trip up the robbers at the same time. Who will win out and will it turn into a merry season after all? This is a cute holiday film, sort of a Home Alone at the mall. The kids and the crooks are very entertaining, generating many giggles with their antics. Swayze, naturally, is nice as the harried dad, although the focus of the film is more on the young folks. Supporting actors like Electra, Tim Curry, and all of the others do fine work, too. In addition, the setting is very nice, as the mall looks gorgeous, festive, and quite, quite enormous. Those Canadians sure are lucky! The movie likewise has attractive costumes, a humorous script, and a lively direction. Therefore, although the title is easily confused with a host of others, look hard for this one at holiday time or, indeed, whenever the mood strikes you or the children. Its another fine addition to the growing number of holiday cinematic treats.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY REVIEW ONE FILM. THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE ABOUT THESE FILMS.

IN THIS FILM Three kids and their Dad move from L.A to Edmonton. When they go shopping at West Edmonton Mall they find counterfeit cash. They inadvertently help catch the crooks, and later make a discovery about Santa.

The film is safe for small children but they will even be bored. The cast of familiar faces do their best but the material just isn't there.

The screenplay had a nice gem of an idea but it needed a little more work. Had the screenplay been better the film could of been great.

I got to see an advanced screening of this movie in Edmonton. Sadly while its good for a movie to be made in Edmonton, this is the worst movie i have ever seen. Worse than Police Academy Mission in Moscow. Worse than a Sylvestor Stalone or Hulk Hogan comedy. And those are bad movies. Im sure most direct to DVD movies are better than this. And this is sad as i do enjoy GOOD Christmas movies.

The script is terrible and doesn't give the actors much to work with, but only a few actors seemed as though they are not just reading lines. The movie is full of product placement. Initially at their house with apple products and a PSP in center screen, then at the mall with the kids going on a shopping spree. The West Edmonton Mall had a terrible CGI makeover from the outside to make it seem 'magical' as it was painted in blue gold and pink. The first 5 minutes of mall footage was like a promo video for the mall. (Although it is a great mall and you should all visit it, this is meant to be a movie not an infomercial.)

The love story in the movie is unbelievable. The older boy misses his girlfriend from LA. But luckily he finds an attractive girl with the same obscure name as his old girlfriend, who also just moved from LA, and who has the exact same catch phrase as the boy does. He says one line to her, and they are instantly dating. It must have been love at first sight.

There were a couple of bright spots though. Tim Curry Played a Scottish Canadian Mountie. He forgot peoples names and i did laugh when he called one of his helpers 'Rico' when that was neither of their names. But this gag was used several times and grew tiresome by the end of the movie. Santa also made many appearances, making the whole family believe in him again.

One part i cant get over though is the image of the north pole. One of the boys opens a door supposedly to the north pole. The next scene is very poor cgi animation. I think the whole audience was shocked by its lack of quality. They must have hired a computer graphics student who hadn't finished the course yet. As it was beginners level stuff.

To conclude, while I got a free pass to this movie i still felt somewhat short changed by it all. I would have hated to have paid money to see it. Terrible.

I am fully aware of the mortifying reviews most viewers have given this movie. I'm here to tell you that I found it fabulous and endearing. The themes of family and Christmas and magic are abundant, and it's an enjoyable film the whole clan can enjoy. The acting... could have been better. Patrick Swayze has definitely given better performances before, but he's such a sweet father that I managed to overlook the extreme cheesiness. Cameron Bright was a bit dull, but in all fairness, he was cast as the stereotypical "big brother who misses his life back in LA and can't stand his siblings," and I believe he played the part correctly. I have my own older brother, and he sounds just like that: a bored teenager. What more do you people expect? I found the constant switching between the actresses playing Mary a bit nauseating. Can we PLEASE pick ONE twin for the part and leave it at that? They're not Mary-Kate and Ashley; they don't look completely identical. Chris Kattan was hilarious, as always, as was Tim Curry. All in all, it was a delightful, bright comedy that teaches an important lesson about family. (For the sake of this review I won't comment on the horrid CGI North Pole fiasco. Let's just put that out of our minds, shall we? :)