Christmas Magic (2011 TV Movie) User Reviews

Different

[indiacarless-32-441865 · 6/10 · 18 December 2011]

This movie is different from the other holiday movies I've seen this year. A few minutes into the film I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue watching. I didn't see how I could like the ending, however I chose to see it through to the end. The movie leads you to believe one possible ending but surprises you with another one.

Lindy Booth brings real depth to her character, which is very likable. The other actors also did a good job of making the story believable. There are some problems with the film such as make-up, the hospital set, lip syncing and how Carrie jumped into her task so easily. Also the end of the film is a little rushed. You have to realize that this is an Hallmark Channel TV movie. It's a less expensive movie than major network TV movies and has maybe one or two recognizable stars. It's meant to be for all members of the family and give a warm fuzzy holiday feeling.

wonderful story line.

[dogzfan1234 · 8/10 · 11 November 2013]

I am not normally a fan of angel movies, it's nothing against them. Unlike most of the angel movies, this one ends happily. The ending is a twist in a great way. it had multiple twists. they were well written, I have seen a thousand movies and did not see these coming. the connection between the little girl and the angel is really touching. when we first meet Carrie she is married to her work, and did not celebrate Christmas. When she gets into a car accident and dies. She is told that she must complete a assignment, in order to get into heaven. Scott has lost his wife on Christmas and no longer celebrates. he owns a restraint and also has a little girl. This story line seems to be predictable and on some level it is, but at the same time while watching and hoping that these two will end up together you have to conceder that she is a angel and cannot date a living person. so how will the story end?

The only magic is Lindy Booth

[Jackbv123 · 8/10 · 12 August 2017]

Another Christmas angel story. Actually this is a bit of an older one.

The plot is pretty predictable, although they throw us off just a bit by having Scott meet and suddenly seem to get romantically involved with Lynette, Carrie's biggest rival. This was very poorly done and didn't play at all. There is no way Scott would go on a date with another woman Christmas Eve. Perhaps the writers thought he was striking back at Carrie's rejection, but the way it played was totally false. But then they needed a way to tell Scott that Carrie was in the hospital.

Unfortunately Paul McGillion should not attempt to sing in public. And not just once but three times. The song could have been a very sweet climax to the movie, but fell flat because of the singing.

But lovely and energetic Lindy Booth made this a movie worth watching. Lindy does optimistic so well. She just lights up the screen. It was a little strange seeing her go from heartless business barracuda to sympathetic and sweet in the blink of an eye. But Lindy can be just plain sweet and it's hard to stop watching her in a role like this one.

The ending was awkwardly done, but still struck heartstrings.

Heartwarming Christmas Angel Story

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 7/10 · 22 December 2016]

This year, 2016, I'm getting in the spirit, as I do every year, by watching Christmas films. This year, however, the terrestrial channels seem to have gone overboard and my viewing schedule has doubled, and then some.

So far this is my favourite Angel / Ghost Story of the festive season.

The acting is average, at best, though Lindy Booth and Derek McGrath give the best performances and add the heartwarming element to the tale. I even like the sometime brusqueness of Paul McGillion's character, after all, the tragedy he's been through I can understand it.

The storyline is average and the ending is way too saccharine, far- fetched, and over romanticised for my liking. It harks back to Prince Charming awakening Snow White... but it isn't done so well as the animated film, either in script or direction. If you're going to do something this cheesy, then at least do it right.

It's not a film I'd rush to see again anytime soon, though I did enjoy it. If you've not seen this movie, give it a try... remember you can change the channel or stop and delete the recording at any time...

Reasonable Christmas movie

[davidleslie1001 · 6/10 · 30 November 2012]

It's a TV movie, so don't expect too much, and unfortunately it looks like it was edited around advert breaks, so it cuts away at strange times. Okay, it's contrived, but then so is a story where a man gets visited by 4 ghosts all in the same night and then wakes to find that the prize Christmas turkey is still for sale, which gets delivered, cooked and eaten all in one day. The ending does go a bit quickly, which is a shame, as they could have extended that whilst speeding up some of the middle bits of the film, which did drag a bit. I enjoyed the movie, but will i watch it again? We will have to see this time next year.

Heartwarming Christmas Story for the Family

[jnoller · 10/10 · 24 December 2012]

I completely disagree with the reviewer that gave this movie a poor rating. In a day where all we see on TV is violence, death, and sex- this is a refreshing and heartwarming Christmas story for the entire family. Lindy Booth gives a great performance as a woman who is a planner and assists businesses and individuals who need advertisement or just advise how to succeed- however living such a busy and hollow materialistic life has left her loveless, cynical, and alone. Her relationship with her father is non-existent, and she is in desperate need of a wakeup call before it's too late! She meets a kindly older gentleman while filling up her automobile at a local gas station who will change her life in ways she never expected. This is a must see movie for Christmas!!

Harmless Christmas Fun until he goes full Ross from Friends!

[ronmanager · 7/10 · 6 December 2022]

A very cheesy and harmless seasonal tale this may be. But the male lead is a strange choice as he's batting WAY above his average with his 'dates' in this film. They also have him wearing weird scruffy clothes throughout too. I assumed the actor must have financed the film or something and cast himself!

The lead actress is good as is the daughter but the rest are a little wooden especially the over familiar gas station grandad who comes across as a stalker at the start - little did we know what he was really up to...

Then they topped it all when the chef breaks out his synth and starts very badly lip syncing to an awful love song what he wrote. Quite funny actually though it's not supposed to be.

Switch your brain off and enjoy it though because it's Christmas ain't it?

Amazing!

[storygal141 · 9/10 · 30 December 2011]

A Hallmark classic if I ever did see one. The movie "Christmas Magic" starring Paul McGillion and Lindy Booth is a heartwarming Christmas tale made all the better considering that they're both Canadian. ^_^

"Christmas Magic" is about Kerry, a event planner who has no time for anything or anyone else. She is warned by a friendly bus driver to watch the road and not talk on her cell phone and when she doesn't she ends up as an angel who needs to earn her wings by completing an assignment by Christmas Eve.

The assignment is to help Scott Walker, a widowed father who is struggling with a restaurant and the weight of his wife's death five years previously. Kerry just waltzes into his life, charms his staff, endears herself to his daughter who can see that she's an angel, and ends up completely turning his business around by introducing him to 'Dimitri' an up and coming artist.

Throughout it all, sparks begin to fly between Kerry and Scott however their fledging relationship is threatened by Kerry's distance (due to the fact that she's an angel) and Scott's semi-interest in another woman (Lynett, a rival of Kerry's) however thanks to Lynett bragging about her apparent win over Kerry, Scott realizes that his daughter was right about Kerry being an angel and with moments to spare on Christmas Eve, he finds out that Kerry has only been in a coma and through a song, Scott is able to bring her back to him.

All in all, this movie is fantastic and I've watched it three times in the past three days.

No Magic Here

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 7 December 2013]

Cheesy TV Christmas flick. Starts out OK but runs out of steam fast. The story is about a career-driven woman (Lindy Booth, adorable as usual) who seemingly dies and is brought back as an angel. Her first task is to help a single father (Paul McGillion) turn his restaurant business around by Christmas.

If the movie had stayed in the Highway to Heaven mold it started out as, it might have been slightly better. However, they decided to go the romance route. I saw no chemistry between the young attractive Lindy Booth and the older paunchy Paul McGillion, who apparently is also a mouth-breather. It was kind of gross actually. I'm sure I'm sounding shallow here. I could buy her with an overweight older actor if maybe it was someone like Kevin James, who is likable and has a fun personality. But McGillion is about as personable as frozen fishsticks.

Another unimpressive part of the cast was Paul's annoying friend, played by Teresa Pavlinek. I was surprised to discover this was not her first acting job as she was quite terrible. One bright note on the casting was Derek McGrath, an actor I had not seen in many years but have pleasant memories of from many television series in the 1980s, most notably that of "Andy Andy" on Cheers. McGrath plays the angel who guides Lindy throughout the movie and, besides Lindy, he's the only actor with any real presence or charm about him.

Look, it's a made-for-TV Christmas movie. There's a ceiling on how good this could possibly be. I'm sure my ceiling is lower than most others who might check this sort of material out. Judging by some other reviews here, I know that some will enjoy the movie far more than I did. But the romance between two people with zero chemistry and a rather predictable cornball story with a cheat ending just made this movie a chore to sit through for me.

Enjoyed this movie very much

[Geeman1 · 9/10 · 29 December 2012]

A nice twist on a Christmas story line. Main character does not realize her life is unfulfilled. Lindy Booth does a nice job of carrying the emotions of the season. This has become an annual watch for myself and my family! The Christmas angel played by bus driving Dererk McGrath is well done and subtle...never over the top. I found the background music soothing and understated. I hate movies where the music does not fit the movie and causes the scenes to be cluttered and rough to watch. Kiara Glasco as the daughter is terrific as well. The actors all do fine starting out slow and building relationships. Again I have to give credit to Lindy Booth...she does not try to hard to show emotion but allows her genuine spirit to shine.

I love Christmas movies, but......

[wraith_fan_1 · 1/10 · 16 November 2012]

This one is beyond bad. Every year, I look forward to Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas. I love their movies. However, this one was pretty awful. The lead actress (Booth) was unlikable and completely unbelieving in her role. The male lead was equally as bad. I felt like the whole relationship between the two of them was forced and contrived. I felt no on-screen chemistry.

And the singing, oh my gosh. Terrible lip-synching and corny songs. I was embarrassed for everyone involved. The ending was the worst though. With it being revealed Kerry is in a coma, Scott and his daughter go there. She is lying in a hospital bed that appears to sit in the middle of the nurses station. The only apparatus that she has on is a breathing mask (no breathing tube, IV, or chest monitors)while supposedly being on life support. The whole time people are talking around her, she has a frown on her face. You don't frown or make any facial expressions in a coma. The whole scene was very poorly done. I don't think I've ever watched such a bad Hallmark Christmas movie before. This one takes the cake.

Christmas movie

[mabsrgs · 9/10 · 20 December 2011]

A soothing, relaxing and predictable movie. Something light for the evening. One should understand that as a Hallmark Channel movie,themes and endings are light. I watched this movie because I wanted to be in the Xmas spirit. Acting was OK but what does one expect for a TV made movie. This is not really drama or romance. Nor is it science fiction. But I guess it can be categorized that way too. I guess one has to realize that TV movies are not going to be Emmy Award winning performances. But story line wise - one does not mind watching this. Not one of my favorites but the actor and actress deliver a stellar performance. No reason why one cannot just sit back, relax and enjoy the story line.

This film is good

[Christmas-Reviewer · 9/10 · 14 August 2017]

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. 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 FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.

One of the rare Hallmark films that had more promise than most of them but then but it almost becomes cringe worthy when the lead male star breakouts into a song.

In this film in order to gain entry to heaven, a woman (Lindy Booth) must help a man (Paul McGillion) and his young daughter.

Carrie Bishop (Lindy Booth) is a successful event planner living in New York City. Her life changes when she is involved in a car accident and wakes up in Central Park, where she is met by an older man, Henry (Derek McGrath), a spirit guide who is there to instruct her how to get to Heaven. He explains to her that in order to move on, she must complete one task: help widower Scott Walker (Paul McGillion), the owner of a struggling restaurant.

In order to complete her mission, Carrie spends time at the restaurant and becomes friends with Scott's daughter Abby. Carrie puts her event-planning skills to good use and helps to promote the restaurant. But there is a catch: Carrie only has until midnight on Christmas Eve (in two weeks) to succeed in helping Scott turn the failing restaurant into a successful, thriving business. And there are rules, including that Carrie is forbidden to contact anyone from her previous life and that ultimately she cannot meddle in Scott's life (he must make his choices by free will, without her influence). These rules prove to be more & difficult to follow, especially when she begins falls for Scott.

Refreshing NOT!

[woodygoodnight · 1/10 · 12 November 2017]

This is a blatant rip off of Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. They just threw a kid and Christmas into the mix. All of the folks calling it refreshing must not have seen that. I'm surprised they haven't sued.

If someone is on life support, they have a ventilator, IV's, heart monitors etc. The mask they had on her wasn't even for O2.

Ick!

One of my favorite Hm.Christmas movies!

[adoptshelterpetstoday · 10/10 · 1 December 2014]

...because it was UNlike some other Hm. Christmas movies that should be shelved permanently! Christmas Magic: 1. none of the characters were irritating. 2. The subject wasn't boring. 3. The plot was nice, decent, flowing...and 4. stayed focused on Christmas, 5. consistent also with Christmas décor. 6. Despite "Carrie," "Scott," and his daughter being in sorrowful situations, there was still a tone of optimism and lightness throughout. 7. Although a fantasy type of movie, it really didn't come across as being corny................................. It was just a very enjoyable movie with enjoyable characters, that I have enjoyed seeing several times.......so I didn't find it necessary or important to care about mistakes..................................On the slight down-side: I didn't care for Scott's attitude...that came out of nowhere...when he defended Carrie's business rival. It was an undeserving, senseless insult to Carrie at that point, after all she did for him and his daughter.

Bad B-rate Made for TV Cheese Movie

[unknowntothee · 2/10 · 13 December 2011]

It doesn't get much worse than this. Bad acting, really bad. Bad direction and editing, really bad. A tired plot that feels contrived and devoid of any Christmas magic (ironically). The cast lacks chemistry. They looked like actors forced to make a Christmas movie together and weren't given much direction. A side note to the filmmakers, if you're going to use a blue screen, at least make sure the lighting makes it look somewhat realistic. I gave it 2 stars rather than 1 because I'm sure some young children could still enjoy it (if they don't fall asleep from it's slow and unnecessarily long pace). If you've seen ALL the other Christmas specials and are really craving for something more, then - and only then - can you put this movie on (to fall asleep to). I couldn't watch it in one sitting. And if the ending doesn't make you cringe and regret the time you spent watching it, the bad singing and lip syncing of songs will. Merry Christmas!

Loved this movie

[norskmn48 · 10/10 · 11 November 2020]

I was not sure about this movie when i started to watch it 8 yrs ago, now it is with a group of other feel good movies like " Dear Santa and a Princess for christmas just to name a few that i watch every year before Christmas to give me a good feeling.

I want...

[mbiv777 · 8/10 · 16 November 2022]

...Lindy Booth to be my angel.

I've always liked this movie. Unfortunately, it has fallen out of the Hallmark rotation in 2022. There are a lot worse movies they're still showing.

Christmas Magic begins with Lindy as an arrogant, unscrupulous business-woman ignoring a warning about black ice, only to discover she has woken up an angel. She is given a mission to lift the spirits of a down on his luck single father.

For a Hallmark movie, this is well-written and the cast is excellent.

I'll be honest, I could just watch Lindy Booth's legs for two hours, but she gives a terrific performance in this movie.

I wish it was still readily available, but if you ever get a chance to watch it, I heartily recommend it.

With a heavy heart as I am NO Grinch.

[ouzman-1 · 1/10 · 29 November 2022]

This is a fit stuffed full of nothing. It is almost laughable. I can't imagine any actor being pleased with the end result of awfulness but I guess the one actor who is trying to play his role is the angel -sent to bring some order to the chaos of a tragedy? (Take a bow Derek McGrath).

The whole thing is undeveloped and so assuming. One cannot buy into this it seems so hopeless as a film albeit a one made for TV? What were they doing producing directing and acting out this turkey?

Sometimes a film is so bad I give it a ten, but this runs short of even that.

It appears that someone wanted to make an Xmas movie that threw in everything. It's dull and even with an unexpected twist (well done they) so terribly, terribly dull.

Enjoyable movie

[jewhitmer25 · 8/10 · 20 August 2021]

This was a pretty good movie. Predictable as usual in a Hallmark movie. No surprises.

My only real complaint was "the song" Paul McGillion is no singer. Also the overlong intro to song was redundant and painful to endure, I cringed every time he approached a piano or keyboard.

As for the acting Lindy Booth as Carrie and Paul McGillion were good together, and they are marvelous actors. Kudos to the entire cast, great acting everybody.

The movie kept me interested but they did rush the end. She wakes up from a coma and she's up and decorating a tree the next day. But, again, Hallmark movie, where the impossible is possible.

My advice - watch this movie, it's worth it.

4 stars for storyline

[linda-plant2 · 4/10 · 31 December 2019]

But it was hard to believe that the attractive Lindy Booth would fall for the older and rather plump Paul McGillion with his huge eyebrows ! Sorry, but couldn't see it. He may have 'upped' his game as his impressive cv (resume) of film parts indicates. Also are we really to believe that at the end (and as predictable) she wakes from a coma and is hanging ornaments on a tree the next day ?????

Bad lead and story

[ukheather · 4/10 · 10 December 2023]

I love Hallmark movies and watch tons of them

The male lead is terrible. Really bad. The female isn't great, but nothing like the male. He really lets it down

The story is very silly but I won't spoil it, but it is ridiculous.

She should be concerned with other things!

Something major happens and she is smiles with no concern for the future... it's just so silly.

Plus there is a twist that makes no sense as the fate was stated earlier in the film, but changes later for this twist that makes zero sense!

The 10/10 ratings are definitely not real! Must be fake.

It's not a 1 but it's nowhere near a 10!