A very pleasant little Hallmark Channel TV movie as Christine Taylor, a new-media journalist -- she blogs for a website -- goes to the town of Mistletoe to cover their Christmas festival and their renowned Santa Claus, who has been doing this yearly bit for half a century.
It's all about the healing power of good will, and the direction and performances are very good. Unhappily, the script is a bit below par as plot points are advanced by talking, including Miss Taylor's voice-over of her blog -- I'm a great believer that when you're looking at a movie, they should show you things happening, not tell you -- but William Morgan Sheppard makes as good a Santa as I've seen since Edmund Gwenn.
It's all about the healing power of good will, and the direction and performances are very good. Unhappily, the script is a bit below par as plot points are advanced by talking, including Miss Taylor's voice-over of her blog -- I'm a great believer that when you're looking at a movie, they should show you things happening, not tell you -- but William Morgan Sheppard makes as good a Santa as I've seen since Edmund Gwenn.