emaureen

The story opens with the river baptism of short-haired Amish teens wearing white pajamas and goes downhill from there.

It seems as though the writers grabbed bits and pieces from various religions - or bad movies about various religions - and smushed them together. There's a church with fixed pews, men and women sitting together and singing "Onward Christian Soldiers".

And shunning ... this may be imposed by the church against those who violate the promises made when they are baptized. No baptism, no shunning.

I'd love to know where the money came for this trip from Pennsyvania to LA - air fare, very nice accommodations with pool, apparently unlimited spending money.

All in all, a really bad film. To be avoided except as a giggle.

The cast was far better than the material. I couldn't believe that amateur sleuths would be given so much support by the police, particularly since one was closely related to the kidnap victim (okay, she was a private investigator, but still not polite personnel). I also couldn't buy the instant rapport of the two women. A cleaning woman who won the lottery would not be my first choice as fellow investigator.

The mystery itself was okay, always enjoy villains in Santa costumes and the ways that Christmas can be used to commit crimes.

It took me the longest time to recognize Scottie Thompson as having played a doctor / daughter of an arms dealer on NCIS. Hopefully she can find something better.

The drama rose above the clichés because of excellent performances all around, especially by Kristy Swanson. There was enough material, and enough characters (mostly endearing), for a regular TV series spanning a year. This single mom had a TERRIBLE two weeks. My only regret was the inevitability of everything winding up in a hurry.

I got a laugh from the review saying that at 42, Swanson was too old to play the part of someone who should be around 30. For this role, you need someone who might be thirty but who shows the prematurely ageing effects of too much worry and too many sleepless nights. I thought she was perfect. Lots of good characters, so this Hallmark Christmas movie is recommended. However, I'd steer clear of the menu at the diner, far too much gravy.