Christmas Angel

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")

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Now Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB? When one of my reviews gets deleted IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to this review This is the 3rd Time I am posting this review

In this film Olivia Mead has one wish: that her single mom (Teri Polo) would find someone that she can call dad. She and her classmates soon discover that the answer to all their wishes lies inside a mysterious abandoned house.

This film is full of good cheer and believable performances. The late Della Reese gives a stan out performance.

What was nice about this film was is was about "respecting others" and "learning when to help when you can help".

This film does take place at Christmas but its one of those films that is perfect to watch any time of the year. It is very enjoyable and one of those films that makes you feel good about life.

Now that is a film worth seeing in my book!

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!

Happened upon this on UP channel. I am a Teri Polo fan so decided to watch. Enjoyed it very much. Highly recommended! Olivia is adorably obnoxious. Very persistent. Della Reese does another fine job of playing a reclusive benefactor to those in need. I'm a huge Hallmark Channel fan and watch most everything they produce. However, so many of their shows have redundant plots. This movie has a real story and can be emotional at times.