A Very Mary Christmas

***ON DVD THE FILM IS CALLED A VERY MARY Christmas*** ***ON DVD THE FILM IS CALLED A VERY MARY Christmas*** ***ON DVD THE FILM IS CALLED A VERY MARY Christmas***

In this film A pregnant teen named Mary runs away from her unsupported mother and ends up spending the holidays with an eccentric cast of characters.

The film is not perfect. It has a since of being "tampered with" in post production. What I did enjoy about this film was it was the fact that Linda Gray proves she can handle a role that isn't "Sue Ellen".

The bad news is that scenes that don't work harm this film. The good news is the good scenes work wonders and elevate this film above the average "Christmas Film"

Comfortable as old shoes, Expecting Mary is a feel good movie about family, finding friends in the strangest places, the importance of babies and in general, just surviving the life.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this little gem. For my taste, many movies categorized as comedies nowadays, simply aren't. Given, there are a lot of different styles of comedy.

Expecting Mary is not a double over in your seat, fall down laughing kind of comedy. It's a movie that makes you smile almost all the time you're watching it, with frequent intervals of chuckling and a few genuine laughs out loud. As I said, it's comfortable.

You'll see some familiar stars playing very different kinds of characters than you're used to. I wish Cloris Leachman's part had been bigger. She plays the best, and funniest, un-motherly mother I've ever seen. If you think Della Reese was typecast as all sugar and sweetness in Touched by an Angel, wait till you see her playing against her image as the grumpy owner of the strangest trailer park you've ever seen. The young actress Olesya Rulin that has the star roll playing Mary was new to me. She lives out her part as the pregnant runaway teenager in such a real and heart touching way that you'll hardly believe she's acting. I'll be looking for more from her. I don't want to give it away, but Elliot Gould is a real hoot as the Jewish truck driver.

With respect to all, for me the real star of the film was Linda Gray. She plays Darnell; the slightly mature Vegas show girl that befriends Mary. Darnell chooses to see life as something good, no matter what. She may not be the brightest bulb on the Christmas lights but she lives her life believing for the best; a true optimist in the finest sense. Wait for her last scene in the movie when she is walking the pig. That one made it for me. It's a wonderful way to pass about an hour and a half. You'll make a whole lot of new friends.

This is a very sweet film, well written and directed. Just saw it on TNT and was pleasantly surprised to see such a great cast. The girl who plays the lead is really strong as an actress. Olesya Rulin, she's from the High School Musical movies. She's adorable and vulnerable and interesting to watch. What a great little actress. Della Reese is just hilarious and Cloris Leachman I couldn't get enough of. Wish there were more scenes with her in them. Cybil Shepard was as funny as ever and the gal in the airport terminal was a riot. Story is about a pregnant gal who runs away from her uppity mother (played by Cybil Shepard) to go be with her estranged father (well played by Gene Simmons). She (Olesya Rulin) gets caught up in a weird little town filled with a great cast of quirky characters. Linda Gray plays the woman who becomes a sort of surrogate mother, Lainie Kazan owns the casino that Elliott Gould frequents and dies in. Cloris Leachman and Della Reese live in the same trailer park. Lainie hears that her Casino is in jeopardy of being closed, so the whole town pulls together to help. Linda Gray calls her former agent (Fred Willard) to help them throw a little Christmas shindig to help raise the money. And angry mother (Cybil) shows up in the middle of Lainie Kazan's beautiful rendition of Holy Night, the pregnant girls water breaks and they all head out in a frenzied caravan to get her to the hospital in time. Well, Linda and Cybil bond over the baby and the casino is saved. It's a really sweet, feel good movie.

Without a doubt this film has its' flaws - it is uneven, ranging from near slapstick to near melodrama. There are a few points where the message is delivered in a rather heavy- handed way, but like many things the flaws are minimal compared to the overall product.

The direction is natural, moving the well written story along at a comfortable pace.

Linda Gray does a fantastic job proving what a talented actress she is. Both as a character and an actress she pulls the characters of the film together into a true ensemble.

Each of the featured actors turned in great performances, treating the film the same way they would treat a major Hollywood production. None give a week or halfhearted performance. The characters each play their part in successfully moving the story along.

Stand-outs include Gene Simmons, very believable as the caring, yet not nurturing, father, Lainie Kazan as the yiddish native American, Elliot Gould as the polka loving truck driver, Della Reese as the cantankerous landlord and Cloris Leachman as the pig lady. Olysea Rulin is very sympathetic in the role of Mary.

There is an actress named Kathy Lamkin in the film who is amazing, watch for her.

In short see the movie, you won't regret it.

I had heard nothing about this movie before I went today. I saw the listing on our newspaper's website and figured with a cast like this, how could it lose... This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. A whole lot of good, albeit past their prime actors were wasted. There were a few touching moments, and it was good to see these actors, but the script was just dismaying and mostly,unintentionally horrid. As my dad would have said, somebody most have owed somebody big-time! Sometimes you don't walk out of a movie only because you don't want to have spent money for nothing. Sometimes you don't walk out because you hold onto the hope that maybe it'll get better. And sometimes you think, well, you could stay and waste your money AND your time. Suffice it to say, I did.