grstmc
Joined Mar 2001
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges5
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews19
grstmc's rating
A lower budget than your average Christmas offering to be sure, and the cast needs a bit more experience, etc. Eh, so what? Nothing wrong with just being good enough. Plenty good enough in this case.
There are two very winning performances from Athena Baumeister (as Rubie), and Alyssa Kennedy (as Olivia), in a familiar tale of redemption. In MONSTER & ME (aka SANTA & ME), Rubie is a typical high school "mean girl", who is untypically struck with a Christmas curse by a black Santa (why not?).
Rubie becomes an "ugly monster", not as bad as it sounds, but certainly less attractive, complete with bad teeth, and moles. And she will have to remain so forever....or until she has received a Christmas present from a friend. Not so easy. In order to get such a present, she first has to be able to make a real genuine friend.
Will she succeed, and in so doing will she learn the errors of her terrible past behavior? What do you think?
Heavy-handed? Perhaps. Predictable? Certainly. But isn't that the way of all these many Christmas-themed stories. Even the worst of them (and this is by no means that, far from it in fact) have the ability to reel you in. Give this cheerful little film a chance. Its message is sincere, and the journey is worthwhile. The final scene in the cafeteria made me smile, and does so every time I remember it. Enjoy.
An unavoidable touch of sadness to the proceedings. This is the last film in the all too brief career of Athena Baumeister, who passed away (at age seventeen) a year after starring in this. The surprisingly engaging MONSTER & ME is a fine farewell tribute to a young talent.
There are two very winning performances from Athena Baumeister (as Rubie), and Alyssa Kennedy (as Olivia), in a familiar tale of redemption. In MONSTER & ME (aka SANTA & ME), Rubie is a typical high school "mean girl", who is untypically struck with a Christmas curse by a black Santa (why not?).
Rubie becomes an "ugly monster", not as bad as it sounds, but certainly less attractive, complete with bad teeth, and moles. And she will have to remain so forever....or until she has received a Christmas present from a friend. Not so easy. In order to get such a present, she first has to be able to make a real genuine friend.
Will she succeed, and in so doing will she learn the errors of her terrible past behavior? What do you think?
Heavy-handed? Perhaps. Predictable? Certainly. But isn't that the way of all these many Christmas-themed stories. Even the worst of them (and this is by no means that, far from it in fact) have the ability to reel you in. Give this cheerful little film a chance. Its message is sincere, and the journey is worthwhile. The final scene in the cafeteria made me smile, and does so every time I remember it. Enjoy.
An unavoidable touch of sadness to the proceedings. This is the last film in the all too brief career of Athena Baumeister, who passed away (at age seventeen) a year after starring in this. The surprisingly engaging MONSTER & ME is a fine farewell tribute to a young talent.
Take Notice: You'll currently find it on YouTube (many thanks, YT) under the title, "Lost TV Gems: Scene of the Crime". Of course, such availability could change, so catch it while you can.
First of all, the cast (as recorded here on this page) is in error. Neither Angela Lansbury nor any Robert Pierce are in this particular story, nor did she actually appear in any episode of the series (as far as I know). However, Lansbury could have done an intro for its debut, since it followed her "Murder She Wrote".
Hosted by the one and only Orson Welles, "Scene of the Crime" (which only lasted eight episodes during 1984-85) consisted of two halves. The first half was usually a murder mystery of some sort, with the gimmick of halting the story before its resolution, and inviting the viewer to select the culprit, and then see if they're correct. The second half was some other type of suspense tale, related in a straightforward manner, without the gimmick.
"The Babysitter" was the non-gimmick second half of the debut episode. Not the pilot, but the very first episode shown, as I recall. In my opinion, this story is the very best of the entire short-lived series. I seen it when I was very young and impressionable, never forgot it, and recently got to finally see it again, after all these years, on afore-mentioned YouTube (once more, my thanks to YT).
On to the story itself. Patricia (Priscilla Weems) is a little girl enjoying her birthday party. Before long, the hired clown (an unrecognizable Robert Donner) takes her aside and gives her a very special and unusual gift. Cut to a scene where Patricia's parents (Anne Lockhart, and not Robert Pierce) are going out for the evening. Their daughter is anxious and withdrawn, apparently suffering from separation anxiety. As usual, oblivious TV parents do not inquire further.
Enter the babysitter, Karen (Isabelle Walker). Seems nice enough and perfectly normal, until the parents leave. Then we learn what's bothering poor Patricia. She lives in absolute fear of her babysitter. A very demented Karen takes sadistic delight in tormenting, and terrorizing the little girl, and just plain scaring her half to death.
Why hasn't she told her parents about Karen? How does the clown's gift come into play? What happens during the particularly spooky, tense scene leading to the shocking finale? Enjoy finding out.
An excellent performance by Walker. She was equally good in "The Gloating Place" episode of the resurrected Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
First of all, the cast (as recorded here on this page) is in error. Neither Angela Lansbury nor any Robert Pierce are in this particular story, nor did she actually appear in any episode of the series (as far as I know). However, Lansbury could have done an intro for its debut, since it followed her "Murder She Wrote".
Hosted by the one and only Orson Welles, "Scene of the Crime" (which only lasted eight episodes during 1984-85) consisted of two halves. The first half was usually a murder mystery of some sort, with the gimmick of halting the story before its resolution, and inviting the viewer to select the culprit, and then see if they're correct. The second half was some other type of suspense tale, related in a straightforward manner, without the gimmick.
"The Babysitter" was the non-gimmick second half of the debut episode. Not the pilot, but the very first episode shown, as I recall. In my opinion, this story is the very best of the entire short-lived series. I seen it when I was very young and impressionable, never forgot it, and recently got to finally see it again, after all these years, on afore-mentioned YouTube (once more, my thanks to YT).
On to the story itself. Patricia (Priscilla Weems) is a little girl enjoying her birthday party. Before long, the hired clown (an unrecognizable Robert Donner) takes her aside and gives her a very special and unusual gift. Cut to a scene where Patricia's parents (Anne Lockhart, and not Robert Pierce) are going out for the evening. Their daughter is anxious and withdrawn, apparently suffering from separation anxiety. As usual, oblivious TV parents do not inquire further.
Enter the babysitter, Karen (Isabelle Walker). Seems nice enough and perfectly normal, until the parents leave. Then we learn what's bothering poor Patricia. She lives in absolute fear of her babysitter. A very demented Karen takes sadistic delight in tormenting, and terrorizing the little girl, and just plain scaring her half to death.
Why hasn't she told her parents about Karen? How does the clown's gift come into play? What happens during the particularly spooky, tense scene leading to the shocking finale? Enjoy finding out.
An excellent performance by Walker. She was equally good in "The Gloating Place" episode of the resurrected Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
This latest Lifetime movie stands out among so many others of a similar theme, thanks to an excellent performance by Danielle Burgess. Her psychopath who moonlights as a cab driver is completely watchable throughout, despite her grim activities. Wielding a baseball bat as her usual weapon of choice (once they've reached their final destination), she takes control of her hapless victims once they've made the mistake of getting into her cab.
Interesting and likeable when she's pretending to be normal, and convincingly scary when she isn't, "Jaye" (her moniker of the moment) takes on the role of a successful businesswoman (complete with a veritable mansion, which she has temporarily acquired, by way of....well, you can guess). She makes the acquaintance of "Tess", an actual successful businesswoman (played by Taylor Spreitler, also a good performance). They click, and are soon on the fast track to becoming BFFs.
Some amusing dialogue and exchanges along the way. In a bar, where Jaye joins Tess and her friends, the subject of those Uber-type cab drivers comes up, and it is Jaye herself who says something like "Why would you entrust yourself to somebody who might be a psychotic killer?" Another person thinks he recognized her driving a cab. Jaye is adamant that it wasn't her, to which the guy replies that she must have an evil twin. Says Jaye, "Why would you assume that she's the evil one, and I'm the good one. How do you know I'm not the evil one.", and proceeds to make him increasingly uncomfortable.
Not without its flaws, lapsing into formula near the end, and I didn't buy the so-called surprise twist, but that first-rate performance by Burgess raises the level of the material, and carries the plot to its conclusion. See it yourself, and see if you agree.
Interesting and likeable when she's pretending to be normal, and convincingly scary when she isn't, "Jaye" (her moniker of the moment) takes on the role of a successful businesswoman (complete with a veritable mansion, which she has temporarily acquired, by way of....well, you can guess). She makes the acquaintance of "Tess", an actual successful businesswoman (played by Taylor Spreitler, also a good performance). They click, and are soon on the fast track to becoming BFFs.
Some amusing dialogue and exchanges along the way. In a bar, where Jaye joins Tess and her friends, the subject of those Uber-type cab drivers comes up, and it is Jaye herself who says something like "Why would you entrust yourself to somebody who might be a psychotic killer?" Another person thinks he recognized her driving a cab. Jaye is adamant that it wasn't her, to which the guy replies that she must have an evil twin. Says Jaye, "Why would you assume that she's the evil one, and I'm the good one. How do you know I'm not the evil one.", and proceeds to make him increasingly uncomfortable.
Not without its flaws, lapsing into formula near the end, and I didn't buy the so-called surprise twist, but that first-rate performance by Burgess raises the level of the material, and carries the plot to its conclusion. See it yourself, and see if you agree.