I am that bah humbug guy when it comes to watching most Christmas movies made after 1990. Something about them seems forced, especially since the characters are not likeable and their agenda is questionable. However in the case of this TV movie, I was immediately warmed over especially by the presence of Tinashe as the little girl looking forward to her father coming home for Christmas from Vietnam and the tragic circumstances that prevent that. Melody Garrett is truly touching as the mother who must break the bad news. I wish there had been more of her in the post flashback sequences.
Tinashe goes from heartbroken little girl to be cynical TV shopping network producer Whoopi Goldberg whose anger over the memory of that Christmas season has left her saying bah humbug to everything. But she becomes the desired replacement by the aging Santa (Nigel Hawthorne) who wants to retire. What he sees in the hard-boiled Whoopie is as invisible as his reindeer at first, but a sweet script has you liking her in spite of all that. Will Santa's magic turn this Ebbie Scrooge into the queen of ho ho ho?
Broadway favorites Victor Garber and Brian Stokes Mitchell are hysterically funny as Goldberg's over-the-top business cohorts, and Hawthorne is very poignant as Saint Nick whose two centuries are up. This is a delightful surprise that takes the cynical modern era of materialism and adds magic to it (finally!), giving me holiday hope that there are more hidden gems out there to bring me back to the Christmas spirit and not always have to go back to the old Christmas standards from the 1930's and 40's. Goldberg is always a delight, and it's nice to see her character turn around. There are so many funny moments in this that I don't even want to spoil them for the viewer.
Tinashe goes from heartbroken little girl to be cynical TV shopping network producer Whoopi Goldberg whose anger over the memory of that Christmas season has left her saying bah humbug to everything. But she becomes the desired replacement by the aging Santa (Nigel Hawthorne) who wants to retire. What he sees in the hard-boiled Whoopie is as invisible as his reindeer at first, but a sweet script has you liking her in spite of all that. Will Santa's magic turn this Ebbie Scrooge into the queen of ho ho ho?
Broadway favorites Victor Garber and Brian Stokes Mitchell are hysterically funny as Goldberg's over-the-top business cohorts, and Hawthorne is very poignant as Saint Nick whose two centuries are up. This is a delightful surprise that takes the cynical modern era of materialism and adds magic to it (finally!), giving me holiday hope that there are more hidden gems out there to bring me back to the Christmas spirit and not always have to go back to the old Christmas standards from the 1930's and 40's. Goldberg is always a delight, and it's nice to see her character turn around. There are so many funny moments in this that I don't even want to spoil them for the viewer.