Christmas Angel

What a pleasant surprise amidst the onset of Christmas TV movies which appear this time of year without much substance or that are just plain silly. A gem of a story, well acted and filled with truthful moments about the true meaning of Christmas. Great entertainment for the whole family. Kevin Sorbo as well as Teri Polo, Della Reese and young Izabela Vidovic gave wonderful performances. I foresee a bright future for young Miss Vidovic. Hats off to writer Andrea Gyertson Nasfell for a heartwarming script. Two scene standout moments for me occurred first, with Ms. Reese's character, Elsie Waybright and Izabela Vidovic's character, Olivia Meade, as Elsie's character opens up to her young, new and very inquisitive friend Olivia about her daughter. The second scene was when Kevin Sorbo's character shares his story with young Olivia in the church. The thoughtful writing of both scenes and honest performances moved me very much. Well done and thank you as a viewer.

In Louisiana, Melinda (Teri Polo) is a single mother with a VERY precocious daughter, Olivia (Izabela Visovic). At school, Olivia's teacher assigns her students to present an oral report on "my most impossible Christmas wish". Some kids want a million bucks, others a new automobile for the family. For Olivia, it is a romance for her mother, even though the little gal knows her mother likes her single life and beloved LSU football. Meanwhile, someone moves in next door to Melinda, in an old Victorian house, but no one knows who. Also, two possible suitors come to town as well, a new doctor, Nathan (Kevin Sorbo), who often stops for a visit at the mysterious mansion, and a new gym teacher. This is fodder for Olivia, who tries to arrange meetings with the bachelors for her mother and find out what the heck is going on with the neighbors! All too soon, the young girl discovers that an ailing singer (Della Reese) is the woman next door and that Nathan is her physician. The singer also seems "in" on the pursuit of granting impossible Xmas wishes, too, when some of Olivia's classmates requests show up in her mailbox. Could this be an angel in the disguise of former singing sensation? Also, romance doesn't seem to be in the air for Nathan and Melinda after all, when Nathan proves to be the sort that stands folks up. In this sweet little town near the bayou, what else is brewing for the holidays? Here is another wonderful made-for-television film with a sweet and relevant story. The cast is terrific, especially little Visovic, while the setting, costumes, and fine direction offer up a entertaining treat for Christmas time. True fans of family films with romance in the offing will want it year round, too.

The year is 2015, its X-Mas, and your humble reviewer has been slogging through one horrific made-in-Canada "holiday movie" after another because (explained in my other reviews) the lower-cost Loonie, and the taxpayer-subsidized Canadian film industry, have more or less taken over the entire "holiday" genre. Most films in this class now unabashedly feature terrible scripts, minimal budgets, and the same familiar set of Canadian faces (the so-called "character actors", all five of them) in each production.

Against this backdrop I was positively in heaven to stumble on Christmas Angel. A solid script. Great acting, especially the little scene-stealer Izabela Vidovic. Even Kevin Sorbo gives what might be the best performance of his one-note career. And to see Della Reese in front of the camera again is always a pleasure.

Good direction, engaging, nice twists, keeps you interested until the end.

Would recommend.

The girl Olivia Mead (Izabela Vidovic) is raised by her mother Melinda Davis (Teri Polo) alone. Her best friend is the boy Lucas (Tyler Humphrey), who is the son of Daphney (Tamera Mowry-Housley) and Jeb Conroy (Jaiden Kaine) that work with Melinda in a bakery of their own. Near Christmas, Olivia's class has to present each Christmas wish and Olivia and Lucas believe that the abandoned house next door to Melinda's house grants the wishes provided they throw a rock at it. Soon the owner Dr. Nathan Davis (Kevin Sorbo) wants to stop the children from throwing rocks at his house and the snoopy Olivia discovers that he is the landlord of an old lady that lives in the house. Her further investigation shows that the neighbor is Elsie Waybright (Della Reese), a successful jazz singer that interrupted her career and vanished. When a couple of Olivia's schoolmates fulfill their Christmas wishes, the girl believes that Elsie is an angel and she wishes a husband for her lonely mother. Meanwhile Dr. Davis gets close to Melinda, but Olivia prefers her substitute school teacher for her mother while she gets close to Elsie. What will happen until Christmas Eve?

"Christmas Angel" is a beautiful and heartwarming TV movie, with a pleasant history of family, love, faith, sympathy and other values that are at least neglected or forgotten in the present days. The lack of chemistry between the gorgeous Teri Polo and Kevin Sorbo is impressive. The girl Izabela Vidovic steals the show with her performance. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Anjo Mora ao Lado" ("The Angel Lives on the Next Door")

Christmas Angel is one of my favorite modern Christmas movies, one I look forward to watching with my family every year. It's charming, heartwarming, and uses one of the main characteristics of Christmas as the plot: giving.

In the story, a little girl and her friend, Izabela Vidovic and Tyler Humphrey, believe an old, abandoned house in their neighborhood has the power to grant wishes. Before long, everyone in school is shouting their wishes outside the house, hoping they'll be granted by the Christmas Angel. In the meantime, Izabela's mom, Teri Polo, meets the owner of the house, Kevin Sorbo, and sparks fly.

In addition to Andrea Gyertson Nasfell's heartwarming script, the wonderful acting makes Christmas Angel soar high above the other slightly corny Christmas movies. It isn't just another flick you'll see on the Hallmark channel-or in this case, a slightly more religious channel-but instead a movie that will remind you of the importance of family and of the old adage that giving is better than receiving. Della Reese, the title character, is extremely likable and will inspire a lump in your throat on more than one occasion. Teri Polo is also very likable, and her delivery of her lines is so incredibly natural, it'll make you think she truly is her character rather than an actress. You can imagine other actresses in her part, and they would have made the character and script cheesy and bland. She adds so much to the film.

As does little Izabela, who, at only eleven years old, has a tremendous presence. I hope the charming, adorable child enjoys an upward surge to her career; she's someone to keep your eye on as the years roll by. She has a great and natural chemistry with all her adult costars, but I don't know if credit is due to her or to the director, Brian Herzingler. Usually, when everyone in the cast gives good performances, I tend to credit the director, who must have helped foster their talent and chemistry. Everyone in Christmas Angel plays very well off each other, from Teri and Kevin's awkwardness to Izabela and Tyler's camaraderie.

Give Christmas Angel a try this holiday season, and unless you have a strong aversion to films with religious overtones, you'll probably really like it. It's so very sweet!