Christmas in Paradise (2007 TV Movie) User Reviews

Pay Attention

[Christmas-Reviewer · 7/10 · 10 August 2016]

Two families disembark on a cruise to San Juan in celebration of Christmas. That is the film in a nutshell. One family consist of a Dana Marino and her 2 sons. This is their Christmas without the dad. HE past away earlier in the year.

A second family consist of a Dan Casey and his 2 daughters. His wife abandoned the family.

Dan and Casey meet and hit it off right away then complications arise when Dan's wife abruptly out of the blue shows up.

What was nice about this film was the fact you need to pay attention to the little details in this film. Do not fold laundry or do other household chores when this film is on. Just watch it and enjoy it. There is a few surprises that you will miss if you are trying to multi task. Just sit down watch and enjoy. You will thank me later!

Honestly like... don't

[fiolchristina · 1/10 · 26 December 2019]

I was honestly just so confused the entire time. I wasted the night of Christmas Day directing and dreading my time watching this movie. From the awkward camera angles and odd shots to the seemingly random and awkward dialogue, not to mention the storyline was kinda everywhere and nothing is ever actually resolved by the end. You hate to see it

Pleasant holiday offering

[caa821 · 8/10 · 16 December 2007]

There may be SPOILERS following in the context of this site's parameters for same; however, I don't feel any of the following will spoil the story for new viewers, and most of these details become apparent before they occur; suspense is not an intended aspect here.

This is a pleasant holiday film, with a different "Christmas locale" than usually found. The location in Puerto Rico is pleasant, but it's hardly a travelogue, in view of the limited island scenery contained - much less than one would assume in reading the ads for the presentation.

The two leads are engaging and attractive, and the four children {in a sort-of reduced-in-number "Brady Bunch" (2 each vs, 3)} all are well-cast and provide believable performances and interactions among their characters. Even the flippant, acerbic older daughter doesn't portray this in an "over-the-top" manner, as would be expected in this type of "Lifetime" film - but plays her part realistically, and believably softens when appropriate within the plot.

The two single parents (she suddenly widowed, he having been deserted by a selfish, spoiled, affluent wife), thrown together with their charges charges, is a theme which has been done in a number of filmed variations, whether a holiday flick or not.

However, while this type of story, whether "Lifetime" or otherwise - and especially in the case of the former - usually has more contrivances than you can count, which often detract from the proceedings, I found this one to be a bit the opposite.

While the ending was happy (and wholly-expected), and there was an absence of heavy romance between the leads, interrupted by the "villainess ex-wife," weeping and wailing all concerned, with resolution in the last scene -- I wished for at least some more spark, as well as some more romantic interaction between the divorced father and the widowed mother.

These "Lifetime" flicks, and their genre - whether romantic like this one, or depicting characters menaced in some manner (usually a psychotic neighbor), have a tendency to have a climax which often comprises only a couple of minutes of the two hours. This is one where it would have been an improvement had it been longer.

Still, it was a pleasant offering, worth perhaps 6 or 7*, but provide 8, based upon engaging actors and performances.

Finally, an added positive facet is this seems to be the first "Lifetime" in memory shot in some place outside Canada.

Annoying cinematography

[jkrizm6760 · 2/10 · 29 October 2022]

The plot is fine enough. The kids play stereotyped roles: the acerbic teen, the do-gooder, the extreme introvert, and the social butterfly. The acting is pretty decent. The parents are seasoned, respectable actors... All things considered, the movie is fine - it's a lifetime Christmas movie, what can you expect? But the cinematography is awful. There are way too many split-screen transitions. It's like the person putting this together just discovered this type of transition and thinks it works for everything and then someone came in and talked them down from using it to switch between EVERY shot to just 90% of them.

Very Good Movie

[sgwh · 10/10 · 17 December 2007]

It is so refreshing to see a movie that has realistic characters and a plot that is so pleasant. Well written, great cast and a beautiful setting.

It reminded me of a "Brady Bunch" scenario in some ways. Both the single parents in the movie were very close to their children and cared that they had a child that was hurting. They were both trying desperately to reach out to their children and bring them to an understanding and acceptance of the situation they were in, one because of death and the second a divorce.

The "villian" ex-wife did not get her way in this movie as in so many movies we see today.

I wish all writers would give us the kind of movies that Lifetime is showing this month.

I never get tired of this movie

[klh8657 · 10/10 · 4 April 2009]

I LOVE LOVE this movie. It's a nice family movie. There is not a lot of violence, cursing, sex. That makes for an excellent family movie. We need more movies like this one. The movie has class and shows that people can be happy again even after the hardest hit emotions. It may be centered around Christmas but I would watch it anytime. And watching Collin Ferguson also makes it SO WORTH IT!! Very nice on the eyes!!

I have watched this movie every time it comes on TV and I will continue to do that until they FINALLY sell it to the public. I know that a lot of people share my want to have this movie available for purchase. I do not understand why it is not being offered.

A Little Bit of Movie Paradise

[gehewe · 8/10 · 1 January 2018]

This movie is a little gem. Three nice little boy-girl pairings between adults, 17 yr olds and 12 yr olds makes it interesting on different levels. Not really a dull moment in this movie. Good drama and emotion throughout. The best scene is a spanish/english duet of Silent Night- really beautiful. The setting is Puerto Rico where Spanish is spoken.

I have really become a Colin Ferguson fan and he is his typical great. The female parent was also real good. The movie attempted to make something magical about the 3 Kings, but it really didn't succeed. There was enough good drama in the story to make it worthwhile.

A Christmas to Remember

[lavatch · 8/10 · 7 January 2020]

Perhaps the best part of this soaper was the music. Two single-parent families travel on a cruise ship to spend Christmas in Puerto Rico. Once they disembark and arrive on the island, there is constant live music to the degree that "A Christmas to Remember" could almost be termed a musical. The jazzy, Puerto Rican rhythms make for good listening as the melodrama unfolds. And front and center for delivering the music is a trio of bearded singer-musicians impersonating the "Three Kings."

There is a heartwarming quality to the bonding of the two families. The teenagers, Blair and Chris, slowly warm up to each other. The two younger kids, Nell and Michael, bring out the best in each other. In the most heartwarming scene in the film, little Nell spontaneously begins to sing "Silent Night" in a duet with a Puerto Rican woman singing in Spanish; the scene turns into a cross-cultural pair of dueling divas! With scenes like this one, it is inevitable that the romantic sparks begin to fly between the parents, Dana and Dan.

But the budding romance is disrupted with the unexpected arrival of Michael's first wife, Maddy, who shows up thinking that she is going to walk back into their lives. A year earlier, Maddy suddenly left Dan and the kids to live in Europe. In the most revealing scene about Maddy, the Christmas gifts that she presents to them are all pieces of paper. There is the picture of the real horse she has purchased for little Nell. She gives Blair a photo of a sports car she has purchased for her. And, for Dan, she gives him a contract for his business that she has swung through using her high-powered connections.

Maddy's gifts are contrasted by the thoughtful little gifts exchanged among the other family members. The most touching of all is Dan's gift to Dana of a Christmas tree ornament of the Three Kings. This token will recall the special time that Dan and Dana had in Puerto Rico when they were regaled by the three singers. In this regard, the screenplay was especially well-written, and the light mood was effectively sustained by the performers. This was truly a Christmas to remember!