A BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS

REVIEWED BY RISSI C.

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: mild innuendo

Rated:

All right, I’ll admit it…I love Christmas movies. Every year I’ll dig out my small collection and anxiously await the opening credits. Sound a little odd? Well maybe, but Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love seeing the delicate snowflakes fall from the sky, finding that perfect gift for a special family member or friend, and blasting Christmas music as I play tug of war with the lights on my tree. The best part of the season is the reason for the season; God’s gift to the world; His son. So, with those favorite activities of Christmas in my mind, I’ve decided to review one of my well-loved Christmas tales.

Thirteen-year-old Holly Grant is the only one in her circle of friends that doesn’t have a boyfriend. So, she whispers her wish to Santa and on Christmas morning a small snow globe tells her between now and the end of her twentieth year then shall two hearts meet. Echoing that the twentieth year is a long way off, Holly soon forgets about her Christmas wish going unanswered and twenty years later, Holly (Kelli Williams) is a successful lawyer who works mostly on cases involving foster-care kids. Unable to help a mother of two, Sheila Denning get her kids back for Christmas due to the woman’s high powered attorney, Holly decides to have a scathing letter written to the oh-so-mighty Ryan Hughes for his thoughtless behavior, not realizing that Mr. Hughes is overhearing her conversation. Later Holly learns from Santa Clause (Charles Durning) that Mr. Hughes has gotten Miss Denning’s kids back for her. Going home pleased at the news for Sheila, Holly is awakened Christmas morning by a knock on her door.

Opening it, she finds a man holding a tree proclaiming he’s a “special delivery from Santa”. A little cautious about it, Holly demands to know why he’s on her doorstep and where he really came from.  Saying he’s really from Santa, Douglas Firwood (Patrick Muldoon) and Holly decide to play boyfriend and girlfriend for the day, so her sister-in-law and mother will stop annoying her about her ex. As Holly and Doug get to know one another, both feel a connection neither can deny. But as Holly begins to tell Doug about her trust ‘issues”, he finds himself unable to keep up his ruse of lies about who he really is. He will either lose Holly or gain much more than just a one-day acting job. Another big two thumbs up goes to Hallmark for making another family-friendly film that is adorable. A Boyfriend for Christmas is somewhat of a corny title, and while it does have its unprofessional moments, this is one of the cutest Christmas comedies out there for our modern world.

Every year I’ll read up on the cable channel movies and because I only have local channels, I can only hope the cute sounding films will eventually be released on DVD. Hallmark has made a host of them and for the most part all I’ve seen have been clean, maybe not to my liking story-wise, but nonetheless a good bet for families. This doesn’t have anything spiritual as some of the recent Christmas stories have, but it shows a close knit family, which is something I always appreciate, coming from a close family myself. Unfortunately there are some regrettable themes, but as my family and I always say, what movie has nothing in it?

Doug lies to Holly about his real identity. As we learn right away “Doug” is really Ryan Hughes and much to Holly’s dismay doesn’t tell her. Early on in their relationship, Holly makes it clear she wants complete trust between a man and wife or in the dating relationship. Something that starts to nag on Ryan’s conscious and he can’t seem to shake those thoughts. Conscious is a powerful thing, isn’t it? It’s sad that in so many of the wholesome movies, someone deceives someone else.  While it sometimes is just a “small” deception, it’s still untruthful there’s no way around the truth. If you’ve seen countless romantic comedies in which the leads “break-up” before the final moments of the movie, then no doubt you can guess what Ryan decides to do.

Kelli Williams and Patrick Muldoon were really great together. I also enjoyed Holly’s sister-in-law Karen and Mr. and Mrs. Grant’s characters, they were down to earth and made you feel as if they were real everyday people and not actors walking around without a care about the person they’re playing. Content consists of the lies portrayed and a few innuendoes. Holly asks Ryan about sex, to which there is a brief answer. A man remarks about forgetting his ex’s “bed hair” and it’s suggested that he had commitment issues along with “someone else”. Holly’s girlfriend leaves on vacation with her fiancée and then breaks off with him later on. A couple girls are shown drinking champagne at a New Year’s party while being shown a little tipsy, a few other remarks are made about drinking. A couple spend the night together; they fall asleep cuddled up on the couch (fully clothed).

A Boyfriend for Christmas isn’t perfect, but it’s a nice new Christmas flick to add to your rotation of yearly films. If you like my family only watch them at Christmastime, then you don’t tire of these as quickly. Scenes that are favorites come during a spontaneous family game of football in the snow, an ice skating sequence and the series of scenes when Ryan and Holly join the Grant’s for Christmas. If you can get your hands on this sweet film, I would encourage you to watch it. As long as you don’t expect it to be a “perfect Hollywood” film, you may actually find you’re ready to re-watch it as the final credits roll…don’t forget to have the twinkle lights on and a big buttery bowl of popcorn too!