This is simply a, practically scene by scene, copy of "The Family Man" from 2000. And in that version, it was a MAN that ended up seeing what his life would be like with a family instead of a powerful career. Hallmark has done this with other films and it's pretty standard to swap the genders with the movie they copy.
52 Reviews
Hallmark makes horror movies?
Larry-R12 July 2015
Warning: Spoilers
*** SPOILERS AHEAD ****
As disturbing, dystopian horror movies and black comedies go, I thought this one was pretty good. The main character, a relatively content and successful person, is sent by a creepy "Santa" into an alternate universe (because he says she made a wish without knowing it) where she loses everything she worked her whole life towards, and is thrust into an awkward and macabre "family" where she has two "daughters" and a "husband" with whom she shares nothing in common and has no semblance of familial chemistry or even congruity.
She is forced to try to adapt to this nightmare by changing everything that made her who she is, and becoming what those people demand her to be. When she finally gets to a point where she is barely able to survive in that environment, the creepy "Santa" puts her back into her original life. The circumstances are so disorienting and traumatic for her that she finds herself unable to deal with her original life, she begs "Santa" to put her back in the alternate universe and he says he can't, and then the movie ends. I didn't notice if any credit for story inspiration was given to Franz Kafka.
For me, packaging the movie in the usual Hallmark style production elements made it even more effective as horror, and I will have difficulty sleeping. Fortunately, outside of Lacey Chabert's performance, which as always comes across as sincere and natural, there was not a single note in the movie which rang true, so I will be able to forget the experience of watching it soon. I'm glad the movie premiered in July, because I prefer not to watch horror movies during the actual Christmas season.
As disturbing, dystopian horror movies and black comedies go, I thought this one was pretty good. The main character, a relatively content and successful person, is sent by a creepy "Santa" into an alternate universe (because he says she made a wish without knowing it) where she loses everything she worked her whole life towards, and is thrust into an awkward and macabre "family" where she has two "daughters" and a "husband" with whom she shares nothing in common and has no semblance of familial chemistry or even congruity.
She is forced to try to adapt to this nightmare by changing everything that made her who she is, and becoming what those people demand her to be. When she finally gets to a point where she is barely able to survive in that environment, the creepy "Santa" puts her back into her original life. The circumstances are so disorienting and traumatic for her that she finds herself unable to deal with her original life, she begs "Santa" to put her back in the alternate universe and he says he can't, and then the movie ends. I didn't notice if any credit for story inspiration was given to Franz Kafka.
For me, packaging the movie in the usual Hallmark style production elements made it even more effective as horror, and I will have difficulty sleeping. Fortunately, outside of Lacey Chabert's performance, which as always comes across as sincere and natural, there was not a single note in the movie which rang true, so I will be able to forget the experience of watching it soon. I'm glad the movie premiered in July, because I prefer not to watch horror movies during the actual Christmas season.
A Thoughtful Christmas Tale
atlasmb3 December 2020
This Hallmark holiday romance downplays the romance and concentrates on the choices we make in life. Lacey Chabert does a good job of portraying Hanna Dunbar, a successful television newswoman who is single. A Christmas miracle allows her to see what her life would be like if she made other choices.
Or is it all a dream? Regardless, Hanna has an opportunity to compare two possible life tracks, and she is changed by that experience. What I like most about the story is that when she is placed in her alternate life, the shock of the experience is not glossed over for comedic effect; she actually does seem concerned and distraught. Hanna is a bright woman with agency who comes to understand that her choices have consequences, and that we sometimes make those choices because they seem to naturally follow from the life path we are on.
Or is it all a dream? Regardless, Hanna has an opportunity to compare two possible life tracks, and she is changed by that experience. What I like most about the story is that when she is placed in her alternate life, the shock of the experience is not glossed over for comedic effect; she actually does seem concerned and distraught. Hanna is a bright woman with agency who comes to understand that her choices have consequences, and that we sometimes make those choices because they seem to naturally follow from the life path we are on.
Pleasantly surprising Christmas movie
speedforce13121 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
In the beginning of the film, it didn't not immediately pull me in. It seemed like the film felt cold despite the fact that this is a Christmas movie. I didn't pay full attention to the characters or the world they were in.
The film's main protagonist, Hannah, meets Santa, although he looks like one of those hired Santa's you see out on the street. Following that day, she wakes up to find that she's living in a completely different house, with kids and a husband that she never had.
This is where the film gets interesting. Normally what you would expect is a hilarious realization that something is not quite right. However that's not how it came across for me. Hannah seemed initially frightened and overwhelmed by the whole experience. Gradually, Hannah becomes accustomed to this life as she plays it out.
You definitely realize the difference where other movies would give you a light, zany, and fun vibe at such a crazy scenario (such as Hallmark's own Just In Time For Christmas released this year), but this film actually makes it scary, which is odd, but refreshing.
Of course, this wouldn't be a Hallmark Christmas movie without the recognition of what's most important about Christmas. The movie transitions into a more positive note as Hannah enjoys her alternate life and lives it as if she's always had it.
The film then does a complete 180 and takes it all away. The magic Christmas feeling and atmosphere disappears and the tension and apprehension sets in, bringing us back to the state before Hannah started living the alternate life. Instead of being frightened because she suddenly had this family and different life, she's frightened because she doesn't have it. In traditional Christmas movie fashion, she gets the opportunity to change her life for the better.
Part of the reason I think this film is so good is that it depicts a woman who is so obsessed with her career that literally it is all she has. The magic about movies is that we can explore the 'what if's'. In the alternate reality, Hannah is surrounded by people who love her. Her life is fulfilling and satisfying. She is happy. In her real world, she has no one but her job. She is alone and later realizes she is miserable. Her job is no comparison to the family that she got a brief glimpse of. I think that it speaks to today's audience quite well. It gives us a glimpse into what people enjoyed in the 1950's, and all that we've lost along the way to our present day.
Kudos to the writers, to Hallmark, the cast, crew and Amanda Tapping for a great job as director (I'm a huge fan of SG!)
The film's main protagonist, Hannah, meets Santa, although he looks like one of those hired Santa's you see out on the street. Following that day, she wakes up to find that she's living in a completely different house, with kids and a husband that she never had.
This is where the film gets interesting. Normally what you would expect is a hilarious realization that something is not quite right. However that's not how it came across for me. Hannah seemed initially frightened and overwhelmed by the whole experience. Gradually, Hannah becomes accustomed to this life as she plays it out.
You definitely realize the difference where other movies would give you a light, zany, and fun vibe at such a crazy scenario (such as Hallmark's own Just In Time For Christmas released this year), but this film actually makes it scary, which is odd, but refreshing.
Of course, this wouldn't be a Hallmark Christmas movie without the recognition of what's most important about Christmas. The movie transitions into a more positive note as Hannah enjoys her alternate life and lives it as if she's always had it.
The film then does a complete 180 and takes it all away. The magic Christmas feeling and atmosphere disappears and the tension and apprehension sets in, bringing us back to the state before Hannah started living the alternate life. Instead of being frightened because she suddenly had this family and different life, she's frightened because she doesn't have it. In traditional Christmas movie fashion, she gets the opportunity to change her life for the better.
Part of the reason I think this film is so good is that it depicts a woman who is so obsessed with her career that literally it is all she has. The magic about movies is that we can explore the 'what if's'. In the alternate reality, Hannah is surrounded by people who love her. Her life is fulfilling and satisfying. She is happy. In her real world, she has no one but her job. She is alone and later realizes she is miserable. Her job is no comparison to the family that she got a brief glimpse of. I think that it speaks to today's audience quite well. It gives us a glimpse into what people enjoyed in the 1950's, and all that we've lost along the way to our present day.
Kudos to the writers, to Hallmark, the cast, crew and Amanda Tapping for a great job as director (I'm a huge fan of SG!)
It's ok
joefart-4673724 September 2020
It's probably the best Hallmark film that Lacey Chabert has done. It was obviously cheesy, but it did lack that typical Hallmark feel at parts. I will agree, the chemistry between the leads is lacking, but there's nothing misogynistic about this movie. He was hesitant, but agreed that he would support her and move to the city if that's what she really wanted. She made her own choice to pursue family over a career. It's not a generalization.
Good message from Family Man clone
herrcarter-9216114 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
One of my favorite movies is The Family Man, with Nicholas Cage. Family for Christmas is basically a gender-reversed clone of this classic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. I love the message that both of these films provide, namely, that marriage and family are more important and ultimately more fulfilling than a high-powered career. In the case of Family for Christmas, you also have the message that being a full-time wife and mother can be a more fulfilling alternative to being a career woman. Sadly, our society today either denigrates stay-at-home moms and makes women feel that a career outside the home is more fulfilling, or promotes the fiction that a woman can have both a career and a family and do both equally well. Life is all about choices, and being a stay-at-home mom is a perfectly valid choice, and, very often, the best choice.
This movie was blessed with the inestimable talents of Lacey Chabert. She is always warm, cute, engaging and likable. The character of Hannah could have been quite unlikable in the hands of a lesser actress, but Lacey makes us like her and sympathize with her. Tyron Leitso did an adequate job of portraying her warm, patient, good-guy husband Ben, though he could have been interchanged with any number of other actors. I wish that Lacey and Tyron had had more chemistry. I think the script was largely to blame for that. I really wish that they had shown more of an evolution of Lacey's character Hannah's feelings for Ben, with her coming to realize that she truly does love this guy who she had jilted in her other life.
The movie does a good job portraying Hannah's alternate life and her newfound relationships. You enjoy watching her grow to love those people and that life, and you really feel like that's the life she truly should have, rather than the successful-but-shallow life she chose in her other reality.
There were a couple of things about this movie I didn't like. I thought the 2 kids were kind of bratty when they were lecturing their mom about not being a good mother for such things as buying cookies for their class instead of baking them. They should have shown concern for her abnormal behavior, rather than judgment. I also found it pretty unbelievable when she impromptu takes over live on camera for the incapacitated reporter. I'm no expert, but aren't those reporters lines normally scripted, and don't they normally read them from a teleprompter? Also, the idea that she could just arbitrarily designate her assistant to be the reporter on her news story was ludicrous. Those are two totally different job descriptions, and decisions about who gets the job of being a reporter are made by the TV news management, not one of their reporters.
One more nitpick. Hannah's comment, when she was proposing that their family move into the city because it would be better for the kids and that the schools there were better, was just stupid. Anyone who is actually a parent would much prefer to raise and school their kids in the suburbs than the city, particularly a decaying city like San Francisco. I heard (not sure if this is really true, but it sounds true) that there are more drug addicts in San Francisco than children under 18. Just saying.
Anyway, I liked Family for Christmas, and can most heartily endorse its message. Despite its few rough edges, it was a fun, heartwarming movie.
This movie was blessed with the inestimable talents of Lacey Chabert. She is always warm, cute, engaging and likable. The character of Hannah could have been quite unlikable in the hands of a lesser actress, but Lacey makes us like her and sympathize with her. Tyron Leitso did an adequate job of portraying her warm, patient, good-guy husband Ben, though he could have been interchanged with any number of other actors. I wish that Lacey and Tyron had had more chemistry. I think the script was largely to blame for that. I really wish that they had shown more of an evolution of Lacey's character Hannah's feelings for Ben, with her coming to realize that she truly does love this guy who she had jilted in her other life.
The movie does a good job portraying Hannah's alternate life and her newfound relationships. You enjoy watching her grow to love those people and that life, and you really feel like that's the life she truly should have, rather than the successful-but-shallow life she chose in her other reality.
There were a couple of things about this movie I didn't like. I thought the 2 kids were kind of bratty when they were lecturing their mom about not being a good mother for such things as buying cookies for their class instead of baking them. They should have shown concern for her abnormal behavior, rather than judgment. I also found it pretty unbelievable when she impromptu takes over live on camera for the incapacitated reporter. I'm no expert, but aren't those reporters lines normally scripted, and don't they normally read them from a teleprompter? Also, the idea that she could just arbitrarily designate her assistant to be the reporter on her news story was ludicrous. Those are two totally different job descriptions, and decisions about who gets the job of being a reporter are made by the TV news management, not one of their reporters.
One more nitpick. Hannah's comment, when she was proposing that their family move into the city because it would be better for the kids and that the schools there were better, was just stupid. Anyone who is actually a parent would much prefer to raise and school their kids in the suburbs than the city, particularly a decaying city like San Francisco. I heard (not sure if this is really true, but it sounds true) that there are more drug addicts in San Francisco than children under 18. Just saying.
Anyway, I liked Family for Christmas, and can most heartily endorse its message. Despite its few rough edges, it was a fun, heartwarming movie.
Cute movie but...
smky-4499820 November 2019
A fairly entertaining, mindless movie. But I'm sorry - her husband and kids were horrible. The husband berated her constantly, had no patience or understanding for the fact that she was clearly going through something, and the kids whined and complained the whole time. They got mad at their mom because she didn't pick the fruit out of the cereal for them... really?? So I didn't buy the ending at all - she would never choose to go back there. She would run FAST back to her great single life and growing career!
Well-acted bittersweet Christmas movie
HotToastyRag3 December 2017
Lacey Chabert, Hallmark's second darling of Christmas, stars in the fun, well-acted film Family for Christmas. The beginning will probably make the romantics in the audience reach for their hankies: Lacey and her boyfriend Tyron Leitso are parting ways at the airport because she has a six-month internship in San Francisco. They vow to wait for each other, but then a title card displays the dreaded words "ten years later" and Lacey's a famous news anchor with no romantic attachments. So sad!
Then again, the movie's just started, so dry those tears and get ready for some holiday magic. She starts thinking of her old flame, wondering what would have happened if they'd held on a little tighter all those years ago. The next morning, she wakes up married to him, in a suburban house with two children and a dog! Lacey is so funny in this film, letting audiences know she's out of her element without being annoying or unlikable. She tries to cope with her new life as a housewife, and along the way she starts to fall in love with Tyron all over again. He's a particularly likable love interest, a perfect blend of a romantic lead and a dad and husband. Together, Lacey and Tyron have a comfortable yet exciting chemistry together.
Family for Christmas is one of the better films to come out of the Hallmark channel, because not only is the story accessible rather than silly, but the acting is very good. The characters aren't one-dimensional, so the audience can really get invested in the movie, rather than just concentrate on their popcorn. While the ending is bittersweet, the overall film is very enjoyable. Add it to your yearly line-up of Christmas movies; I did!
Then again, the movie's just started, so dry those tears and get ready for some holiday magic. She starts thinking of her old flame, wondering what would have happened if they'd held on a little tighter all those years ago. The next morning, she wakes up married to him, in a suburban house with two children and a dog! Lacey is so funny in this film, letting audiences know she's out of her element without being annoying or unlikable. She tries to cope with her new life as a housewife, and along the way she starts to fall in love with Tyron all over again. He's a particularly likable love interest, a perfect blend of a romantic lead and a dad and husband. Together, Lacey and Tyron have a comfortable yet exciting chemistry together.
Family for Christmas is one of the better films to come out of the Hallmark channel, because not only is the story accessible rather than silly, but the acting is very good. The characters aren't one-dimensional, so the audience can really get invested in the movie, rather than just concentrate on their popcorn. While the ending is bittersweet, the overall film is very enjoyable. Add it to your yearly line-up of Christmas movies; I did!
Loved it then liked it.. not sure anymore
laurenburridge-0371815 December 2020
I typically love a cheesy Christmas film and the first time I watched it I loved it... I'm a Lacey fan... having watched this again this for about the 4th time I have some issues with its message... it basically tells women they can't be happy unless they have a family and they can't have both a career and a family! I loved the lead man until he basically guilted her in to turning her job down to make sure she stays a stay at home bored mother!!
Stuck in the past
trishaboehler8 November 2021
The worst Hallmark movie I have ever seen. So women are not meant to have careers or have a passion, they need to be in the kitchen as a stay at home mom to be happy.
How about show a supportive husband when she comes home with a job offer rather than tell her she is a horrible mom for considering it.
How about show a supportive husband when she comes home with a job offer rather than tell her she is a horrible mom for considering it.
I liked it
sfacerking20 December 2019
Places an importance on family
mike-6400724 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This movie places an importance on family over career, and apparently that's controversial and offensive nowadays. This movie was a little dull, but overall a great family movie. I was actually surprised that a movie describes 'being a mom' as more important than financial success. As far as everyone calling this sexist, the husband and wife both sacrifice a high end lifestyle for their family. The parents are great with their kids, overall a loving family. (Spoiler) I also liked that she couldn't 'undo' her decisions, but was just given the choice to change her future instead of her past. Honestly I think the show would've been a bit better if she took the job and was able to have a successful career and a family, there are many amazing people who can do both, and it's very admirable. But I don't think it's 'bad' that she only chose her family and gave up the career, since being a good parent is the most important job imo. it just would have been a better story if she had both
Cheesy Sentimental fun
Sergiodave19 November 2020
It could have been good
lauralmarie15 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I seem to say "It could have been good" about so many movies these days, especially Hallmark movies. Before I get started on my rant on all that was wrong with this one I have to say that I think a lot of people who bashed this movie (for different reasons than me) misinterpreted the message intended. It wasn't saying women shouldn't have a career and family, it was about being so immersed in your career that you lose sight of everything else. She didn't even give herself a chance to possibly find love and have a family yet she definitely felt lacking in her current life despite her huge success. In her alternate what-if life where she's been married for awhile with two kids but no career at all, many reviewers criticize her husband for making her feel guilty about wanting to start a career but in reality he came through for her and said they would make it work...he obviously loved her deeply and put her needs above the needs of the family.
The problem I had with this movie is that it didn't make sense, had no realism at all, and I'm not referring to the magic santa part. She was unconsciously wondering what it would have been like had she married her boyfriend who she had left many years before in order to start an internship with the intention of coming back within a year. They never go into what happened, why the relationship ended, instead of him logically moving to be with her since he wanted to be an author, and the job he ended up with could be done anywhere. It doesn't make sense that they would be out of touch for so many years. They didn't portray him as the type of guy who would give up the love of his life so easily. Then her alternate life goes to the opposite extreme. There is no way she would have abandoned her career goals to have two children and be a stay at home mom, that wasn't who she was portrayed to be in the movie. It wouldn't have been all or nothing.
Another thing that bothered me a lot was how they wrote her kids as such brats! They actually sat there expecting her to separate things out of their cereal that they didn't like, really? They have perfectly functioning fingers. They just sat there and glumly looked at her while she did it and didn't even say thank you. They completely had that entitlement attitude. Then when they tell her she has to bring cookies as a snack to some event, they freak out and yell at her because she bought them at a store and were supposed to be home made. That was SO stupid, kids wouldn't care that they were bought at a store. They were trying to make certain points in this movie to show how out of her element she was in her what-if life, but they completely failed.
They spent a lot of time on her neighbor's character and the developing relationship between the two women, then at the end nothing was done indicating they would even meet again so what was the purpose of the focus on the neighbor?
Needless to say the end was ridiculous and just just added further aggravation for me. I wish I could unwatch it, unless I could be the magic santa and do the what-if thing and fix everything that was wrong with it, then it would have been a decent movie.
The problem I had with this movie is that it didn't make sense, had no realism at all, and I'm not referring to the magic santa part. She was unconsciously wondering what it would have been like had she married her boyfriend who she had left many years before in order to start an internship with the intention of coming back within a year. They never go into what happened, why the relationship ended, instead of him logically moving to be with her since he wanted to be an author, and the job he ended up with could be done anywhere. It doesn't make sense that they would be out of touch for so many years. They didn't portray him as the type of guy who would give up the love of his life so easily. Then her alternate life goes to the opposite extreme. There is no way she would have abandoned her career goals to have two children and be a stay at home mom, that wasn't who she was portrayed to be in the movie. It wouldn't have been all or nothing.
Another thing that bothered me a lot was how they wrote her kids as such brats! They actually sat there expecting her to separate things out of their cereal that they didn't like, really? They have perfectly functioning fingers. They just sat there and glumly looked at her while she did it and didn't even say thank you. They completely had that entitlement attitude. Then when they tell her she has to bring cookies as a snack to some event, they freak out and yell at her because she bought them at a store and were supposed to be home made. That was SO stupid, kids wouldn't care that they were bought at a store. They were trying to make certain points in this movie to show how out of her element she was in her what-if life, but they completely failed.
They spent a lot of time on her neighbor's character and the developing relationship between the two women, then at the end nothing was done indicating they would even meet again so what was the purpose of the focus on the neighbor?
Needless to say the end was ridiculous and just just added further aggravation for me. I wish I could unwatch it, unless I could be the magic santa and do the what-if thing and fix everything that was wrong with it, then it would have been a decent movie.
Middle of the road.
adamjohns-4257515 February 2023
Family For Christmas (2015) -
Personally, I wouldn't mind waking up next to Tyron Leitso out of the blue one day. He wouldn't typically be my type, but he had something about him and he did seem like a nice guy in the role of Ben. I'm not sure I would have wanted the bratty little b!tches he and Hanna (Lacey Chabert) had spawned though.
I had actually seen this one before, but I couldn't remember it, which either means that it had very little impact, I was too busy completing a jigsaw puzzle at the time or I've seen too many of these films and they've all blended together. Or perhaps it was a combination of all three?
I did like the concept of showing Hanna how things might have gone if she hadn't left for the city when she did. I'm sure we would all love to see how things might have gone in our lives due to one different step, our "What If" journeys.
It's always nice to have a bit of magic in a seasonal film, but I did think that it took perhaps a bit too long to get in to and for her to settle in to the alternate reality.
Lacey has always been nice enough in her roles and never been so far gone as an executive hard ass character that she couldn't be saved.
I also liked that the ending didn't go as I thought that it might.
It was a nice festive film that was obviously good enough that I could watch it twice, as if it was brand new both times.
It won't be hitting the top of my list, because it had nothing outstanding about it, but I wouldn't be upset if I somehow managed to record it again next year having forgotten it all over again.
5.5/10.
Personally, I wouldn't mind waking up next to Tyron Leitso out of the blue one day. He wouldn't typically be my type, but he had something about him and he did seem like a nice guy in the role of Ben. I'm not sure I would have wanted the bratty little b!tches he and Hanna (Lacey Chabert) had spawned though.
I had actually seen this one before, but I couldn't remember it, which either means that it had very little impact, I was too busy completing a jigsaw puzzle at the time or I've seen too many of these films and they've all blended together. Or perhaps it was a combination of all three?
I did like the concept of showing Hanna how things might have gone if she hadn't left for the city when she did. I'm sure we would all love to see how things might have gone in our lives due to one different step, our "What If" journeys.
It's always nice to have a bit of magic in a seasonal film, but I did think that it took perhaps a bit too long to get in to and for her to settle in to the alternate reality.
Lacey has always been nice enough in her roles and never been so far gone as an executive hard ass character that she couldn't be saved.
I also liked that the ending didn't go as I thought that it might.
It was a nice festive film that was obviously good enough that I could watch it twice, as if it was brand new both times.
It won't be hitting the top of my list, because it had nothing outstanding about it, but I wouldn't be upset if I somehow managed to record it again next year having forgotten it all over again.
5.5/10.
Family for Christmas
allmoviesfan23 December 2022
Lacey Chabert is a pretty reliable Hallmark Christmas star, and 'Family for Christmas' was a nice departure from the usual Hallmark Christmas fare. No small town returns for Christmas here, instead you get a pretty good story about a busy TV reporter who doesn't have time for Christmas waking up in an alternate universe where she is married to the guy she left to take a TV internship in San Francisco and a mother to two young girls, all thanks to the intervention of a wise (is there any other kind?) Santa Claus. Chabert is a good actress and portrays her character's fish out of water role very well as she tries to figure out what her life in the suburbs looks like. A nice story of the road not travelled for Christmas.
Looks very familiar...
marke5480513 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Change the names and a few other details and basically what you have here is a remake of The Family Man with Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni.
"A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife."
I wish I had more to say as part of a meaningful review, but I don't. And per IMDb's requirements, I need to have a solid 10 lines of text, before they will accept my review. Which, I think is a bit ridiculous considering they only offer a "one-liner" for the movies they hold in their database. Ahh. life in the good ol' USA.
"A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife."
I wish I had more to say as part of a meaningful review, but I don't. And per IMDb's requirements, I need to have a solid 10 lines of text, before they will accept my review. Which, I think is a bit ridiculous considering they only offer a "one-liner" for the movies they hold in their database. Ahh. life in the good ol' USA.
Family for Christmas
studioAT10 December 2020
I think people have been overly harsh to this film, missing the message completely.
I thought this was a different sort of Hallmark film, and all the better for it.
It helps that it boasts Lacey Chabert in the lead, who can make even the sappiest of material palatable.
With some nice messages and moments this kept us entertained.
Lighten up people!
I thought this was a different sort of Hallmark film, and all the better for it.
It helps that it boasts Lacey Chabert in the lead, who can make even the sappiest of material palatable.
With some nice messages and moments this kept us entertained.
Lighten up people!
Hallmark Continues to Pander to Stay-at-Home Moms
aholland-1253324 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Another Hallmark film pandering to women who stay-at-home, have children, and forgo a career.
This leading lady realizes a life of car pooling & baking cookies is better than her high profile, profitable career in the big city. It's the sleek metropolitan life versus quaint suburbia once again, as Hallmark regurgitates it's sexist ideas in Christmas colors.
Why not make a movie where a woman is changing diapers, arguing with kids about video games, and grounding her teenager from using the car and then she wishes away her family and children? Lest we forget that a woman can never live a life of peace and fulfillment without a husband and kids, right Hallmark?
This poor female lead was separating the flakes and raisins out of her two daughter's cereal bowls each morning and everyone in the family, including the husband, expected her to do it and acted like it was normal....and THAT was the preferred life for her!
Very disappointing.
This leading lady realizes a life of car pooling & baking cookies is better than her high profile, profitable career in the big city. It's the sleek metropolitan life versus quaint suburbia once again, as Hallmark regurgitates it's sexist ideas in Christmas colors.
Why not make a movie where a woman is changing diapers, arguing with kids about video games, and grounding her teenager from using the car and then she wishes away her family and children? Lest we forget that a woman can never live a life of peace and fulfillment without a husband and kids, right Hallmark?
This poor female lead was separating the flakes and raisins out of her two daughter's cereal bowls each morning and everyone in the family, including the husband, expected her to do it and acted like it was normal....and THAT was the preferred life for her!
Very disappointing.
"It is never about changing the past, it is about changing the future."
Victor-J-196429 October 2017
The movie begins with Hannah Dunbar (Lacey Chabert) faced with a decision between her career or her sweetheart Ben Matthews (Tyron Leitso). The movie fast forwards 10 years and she is an award winning news reporter. Out of the blue she gets a friend request through social media from Ben. With a chance encounter with Santa he asks her to wish for something that she wants, and then she wakes up she is married to Ben, with two children, a dog and living in the suburbs. It is a delightful movie that has Hannah trying to figure out which life is most important.
Victor J
Victor J
Another movie that shows women are only happy if they are married
Christmas-Reviewer31 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM. NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE.
Family for Christmas is a 2015 American-Canadian holiday romantic comedy directed by Amanda Tapping and starring Lacey Chabert and Tyron Leitso. Written by Bryar Freed, the film is about a successful single career woman who, after meeting a man playing Santa Claus during her office Christmas party, wakes up the following morning to find herself married to her college sweetheart and two kids. The television film first aired on July 11, 2015 on the Hallmark Channel.
This is whole film is just sends a mixed message to women. It shows that a woman will only be truly happy if she is married with children. In real life not every woman is meant to be a parent.
Also mot all women want to have children. And not all women that have children are happy being a mother.
In this film has a successful television news reporter has her life change overnight by waking and finding that she is no longer a success reporter but married with children living in the suburbs.
Movies like this send a terrible message that women can not have a career and a family. This film shows this woman could of had a career but her husbands doesn't want her too. At the end she leaves her job to make her husband happy! PLEASE. This films should be burned.
Family for Christmas is a 2015 American-Canadian holiday romantic comedy directed by Amanda Tapping and starring Lacey Chabert and Tyron Leitso. Written by Bryar Freed, the film is about a successful single career woman who, after meeting a man playing Santa Claus during her office Christmas party, wakes up the following morning to find herself married to her college sweetheart and two kids. The television film first aired on July 11, 2015 on the Hallmark Channel.
This is whole film is just sends a mixed message to women. It shows that a woman will only be truly happy if she is married with children. In real life not every woman is meant to be a parent.
Also mot all women want to have children. And not all women that have children are happy being a mother.
In this film has a successful television news reporter has her life change overnight by waking and finding that she is no longer a success reporter but married with children living in the suburbs.
Movies like this send a terrible message that women can not have a career and a family. This film shows this woman could of had a career but her husbands doesn't want her too. At the end she leaves her job to make her husband happy! PLEASE. This films should be burned.
The men were comatose
MickyG33328 November 2022
5.4 stars.
Barely enough to watch. Chabert is great in this, and while she can carry a movie all by herself, it's not advisable to do so. The male lead (Leitso) had as much personality as a rock. Chabert was funny at times, and the daughters were cute and funny too. The male reporter she was dating was actually more interesting than the male lead (not saying much).
It was a surreal sort of movie throughout, and while it's kinda the point, it's too much so. Problem is that it never became tangible or real, as if the whole story is a nightmare. Neither universe is preferable in my opinion. The female friend/neighbor was interesting, and animated. Santa Claus was lackluster and creepy.
Emphasizing again - Chabert literally carries 95% of this movie. Good thing she is talented.
I wouldn't watch this again. It's one of the least favorites.
Barely enough to watch. Chabert is great in this, and while she can carry a movie all by herself, it's not advisable to do so. The male lead (Leitso) had as much personality as a rock. Chabert was funny at times, and the daughters were cute and funny too. The male reporter she was dating was actually more interesting than the male lead (not saying much).
It was a surreal sort of movie throughout, and while it's kinda the point, it's too much so. Problem is that it never became tangible or real, as if the whole story is a nightmare. Neither universe is preferable in my opinion. The female friend/neighbor was interesting, and animated. Santa Claus was lackluster and creepy.
Emphasizing again - Chabert literally carries 95% of this movie. Good thing she is talented.
I wouldn't watch this again. It's one of the least favorites.
An Alternate Christmas Life
jacob-916-21998222 November 2015
Each of us find ourselves unexpectedly facing an alternate life different than our current life and that's what this Hallmark Channel Original Christmas Movie is about.
After talking to a Salvation Army Santa (or is he?), a successful TV news anchorwoman (played by the wonderful Lacey Chabert) finds herself in an alternate life where she is married to her former lover and have daughters of their own.
The film's story did had some minor flaws, but the acting from all the actors and everything else about the film is excellent.
It was a smart move for Hallmark to release this film during their annual Christmas in July movie marathon this year. We all need a break from Summer madness from time to time.
After talking to a Salvation Army Santa (or is he?), a successful TV news anchorwoman (played by the wonderful Lacey Chabert) finds herself in an alternate life where she is married to her former lover and have daughters of their own.
The film's story did had some minor flaws, but the acting from all the actors and everything else about the film is excellent.
It was a smart move for Hallmark to release this film during their annual Christmas in July movie marathon this year. We all need a break from Summer madness from time to time.
Sexist, Patriarchal BS
sdali-9327414 December 2015
This movie was beyond disappointing and I usually love Hallmark movies; but the patriarchal messaging behind the movie was just insulting.
Basically the movie is about a successful TV news reporter who gets a chance to see what life with the her boyfriend could have been if she hadn't taken a job offer in San Fran. So she wakes up with a husband and two kids and she's a stay at home mom. I am not saying there is anything wrong with this life but she seems basically miserable the whole time and out of place and then she gets an opportunity to get a job, a job she loves mind you, and her husband basically guilts her into turning it down.
The whole movies just feels forced as if they are pushing being a stay at home mom and nothing more and being at home to cook dinner, god forbid you order a pizza, for you family and take your kids to school, and baking cookies all day. If that's you thing, go ahead, but if that's what you don't want to do and be, you can work and be a good mom. But the movie basically crushes her and insinuates she doesn't care about her family when an opportunity for a job that she loves and is passionate about comes along. It's 2015. Get with the times.
All in all, I was disappointed and insulted watching this.
Basically the movie is about a successful TV news reporter who gets a chance to see what life with the her boyfriend could have been if she hadn't taken a job offer in San Fran. So she wakes up with a husband and two kids and she's a stay at home mom. I am not saying there is anything wrong with this life but she seems basically miserable the whole time and out of place and then she gets an opportunity to get a job, a job she loves mind you, and her husband basically guilts her into turning it down.
The whole movies just feels forced as if they are pushing being a stay at home mom and nothing more and being at home to cook dinner, god forbid you order a pizza, for you family and take your kids to school, and baking cookies all day. If that's you thing, go ahead, but if that's what you don't want to do and be, you can work and be a good mom. But the movie basically crushes her and insinuates she doesn't care about her family when an opportunity for a job that she loves and is passionate about comes along. It's 2015. Get with the times.
All in all, I was disappointed and insulted watching this.
What if you had gone left instead of right
rdkizziah12 November 2017
Have you ever wondered, "What if.....?" This movie addresses the possibility of making choices in life. Hanna is a successful news reporter with a bright career ahead. What would have happened if she had made other choices at the beginning of her career? This is one of my favorite Christmas movies, with a bittersweet ending.
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