Un Noël inattendu

I looked forward to watching An Accidental Christmas because one of my favorite stars (Cynthia Gibb) was featured in it. (Funny that she's not even listed on the credits here?) ... Needless to say, it was Oh-So-Predictable from the very start. I went ahead and watched it anyway. I was neither engaged nor empathetic with any of the characters but something else kept gnawing at me which I couldn't pinpoint until 1/2 way through the movie. Millbern's tweezed eyebrows gave me the impression that he's gay. Perhaps he is or not, (it doesn't matter) - However, given the film's subject and his role as the husband, I couldn't get this perception out of my mind. Though his acting is 'ok', I felt the role was wrong for him. Scenes involving romantic interludes were not believable at all. This (tiny) observation bugged the heck out of me and kept me from enjoying the movie. Two Thumbs Down for miscasting and predictability.

This was similar to Parent Trap, set in Christmas time. The writing left a lot to be desired. The story line wasn't developed well and you never really felt connected to the main characters.

The split up of the couple was never explained until the end, so why would the audience want them to stay together? The addition of the "boss interested in the wife" was just plain hokey. It would have been more credible if she was interested in him and there was a conflict in deciding who she wanted to be with.

The scene where the little boy was lost was either completely edited to pieces or the worse writing of the entire show. The actions of the characters were totally unrealistic. The mom and daughter wouldn't have stood there holding onto each other - they would have been out there yelling and searching. And how did the dad know exactly where to find the boy - there should have been more dramatic search. From the camera view, they drove straight to the boy and found him - while mom and daughter were standing there crying. It looked like the boy was incapacitated due to a severely injured leg, yet dad picked him up, took him to the car, and set him down. No hospital? The log he lifted off the boy - not that big or heavy. The boy should have been able to roll it off.

The "almost reconciled" scene towards the end was poorly written. When they were discussing the faults of the relationship, there wasn't a discussion of regret and desire to fix - just "let's end it" on her part. The conversation didn't start out that way and there was no explanation for why it ended that way.

I can't blame the movie on poor acting because actors can only do so much with a bad script.

This is seriously one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Yes, the sentiment is sweet and the actors are potentially good, but the writing was so awful that it was embarrassing and awkward just to watch. I feel that there are so many screenplays out there and ideas that could be turned into something great, but the fact that this one got picked up in this package is a sad testament to the state of TV-movies in general. It was not worth the money and time spent in developing and producing it. Would it really have been so difficult to amend the script? If they had taken a little more time to fix the plot and the script up a bit, then it could have been much much better. Actors, regardless of talent, can only do so much with a piece of writing. It's their script! It's what they go on. This movie did not serve the actors justice.

Also, the teenage daughter, if they were married for 15 years, that would mean she's 14 at the oldest -- WAY too much cleavage and make-up for some one that age. Too much cleavage in general.

Needless to say that I had of course never heard about this 2007 movie titled "An Accidental Christmas" prior to sitting down to watch it, as part of a December marathon of sappy Christmas movies.

I've sat through a lot of sappy Christmas movies some years ago, so I am well aware of the standard formula that the movie's run by. I will say that "An Accidental Christmas" didn't exactly follow that particular blueprint, so writers Jeffrey Schenck and Mark Sanderson weren't exactly going by a formulaic model here. That being said, then I will say that I found the storyline in the movie to be boring and bland. It was a movie without any ups and down, as the narrative just droned on straight ahead at a monotonous pace. It was as if the writers were borrowing a bit generously from "The Parent Trap" movie.

The movie does have some familiar faces on the cast list, such as Cynthia Gibb, Jason Connery, Stuart Pankin and James Hong. I found the acting performances in the movie to be adequate.

I am surprised to see that it is Fred Olen Ray who directed this movie, especially taking into consideration his track record of dubious movies in the past.

There are far better, and far sappier, Christmas movies out there. And "An Accidental Christmas" just didn't really prove all that entertaining. If you enjoy sappy Christmas movies, then this movie really isn't worth the effort, given the fact that there are so many Christmas movies readily available.

My rating of "An Accidental Christmas" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Fifteen years of marriage is enough for attractive designer Cynthia Gibb and eyebrow-plucked attorney David Millbern (as Vicky and Jason Wright). The couple is headed for divorce. Their children, way too mature-looking Cassidy Freeman (as Melissa) and younger "Tiger" Austin Majors (as Will), do not approve of the separation. When informed of divided Christmas plans, the kids conspire to bring the parents together at their California beach house. Complicating matters are Ms. Gibb's blond boss Jason Connery (as Myles) and Mr. Millbern's blonde secretary Cassidy Freed (as Kristine). With assist from his family and regulars, director Fred Olen Ray rolls these off the production line. "An Accidental Christmas" might have benefited from some tweaking at the TV Movie factory, or not...

Best performance and scene is the guy sitting next to Gibb at karate practice.

*** An Accidental Christmas (9/9/07) Fred Olen Ray ~ Cynthia Gibb, David Millbern, Jason Connery, Austin Majors