Blessings of Christmas (2023) User Reviews

Giving to others is a blessing

[Jackbv123 · 7/10 · 14 November 2023]

This is one of the better movies on the new Great American Family network and it is because of reliable stars. You may hate Lori Loughlin because of her scandal, but she carries off a certain vibe that works in this movie.

Mandy is selling the building which housed a kind of soup kitchen. Adam wants to wrap up his purchase quickly but agrees to give Mandy one last Christmas. (I never really understood his motive. I guess it was attraction to Mandy, but after 10 minutes?) Otto is a mysterious stranger.

Loughlin and Tupper have good chemistry but the relationship between Mandy and Adam never sizzles. Otto provides the mystery that gets revealed as the movie progresses, although never overtly.

A nice thing about the story is that Mandy is a hero, but far from perfect. She struggles a little to pull everything off. Perhaps it is appealing because she is a kind of hero that anyone could be. Or everyone.

This is a family friendly movie. I'm not sure how much it will appeal to children.

Worth the watch

[the_doofy · 7/10 · 27 December 2023]

The movie revolves around helping the poor and or those who are down on their luck during christmas.

One thing that is done differently in this movie is that quite a bit of time is spent showing how this is done. You can see personally where donations are coming from. How exactly the process occurs with volunteer work, picking up stuff, food and present preparation and distribution.

Movies hardly ever actually show stuff, for instance whenever one of these movies revolve around a farm , they never show how exactly the farm runs or how they do what they do. Its always maybe a 60 second cameo on farm workings, Maybe two 60 sec cameos max As far as the whole lori thing goes, she did her time and her husband is still in, my grandmother, who bred like a rabbit to my grandfather (7 kids), told me she did not fall in love with her husband until she was in her 50s, so Lori has missed out on her true bonding love years with her husband, who is still in. On a scale of 1-10 for felonies, Lori is a 1. So lets move on. I was glad she came back with GAF instead of Hallmark. My wife and I just let our Hall mark membership run out after seeing a couple Hallmark movies with guys exchanging tongue saliva.

This movie was well acted. The message was nice. The script was tight.

To all about criminal judgment

[dosoguy · 8/10 · 31 December 2023]

I think this was a charming Christmas movie. As far as the crime that Loughlin and others committed there are thousands of other parents AND students who have used less than legal or moral devices to get an advantage in the admissions system! Was it wrong? Yes. Does it subtract from this movie? No. As far as other judgments of the movie... Out of the 100's of Christmas movies how many were cinematic masterpieces? Very few. Not the reason people watch them. If you don't like sappy feel good movies that are all 90% the same don't watch. Chances are you're not going to see "Its a Wonderful Life" caliber movies. Either enjoy them for what they are or don't watch! In fact 99% of modern movies in theaters are bombs!

Another Winner

[PeterMovie61 · 16 November 2023]

Another winner from Great American Family. 2023 may be the year they caught Hallmark and even surpassed them for the top feel-good Christmas movies. The cast was well chosen and unlike in years past, the supporting cast was strong and played solid roles. Their performances enhanced the leads as Great American Family shook off the cast of boy meets girl and embraced older characters. They showed fulfillment in life. The music was good except for the Las Vegas lounge style version of "God Rest Ye Merrt Gentlemen" used towards the end. Scenery was Christmas like and a warm tender story worked well.

A SACK OF COAL

[ukoutlaw-92465 · 6/10 · 24 November 2023]

I had to FORCE myself to watch this movie.

Why? Because I'm still really angry at Lori Loughlin and her family. Rich people taking advantage of things designed to help poorer people, getting caught, not really paying for their crime, AND BARELY apologizing. Unfortunately, that seems to be the current "American Way".

But since I do try to watch ALL the Christmas movies, here we go:

As another reviewer mentioned, the script was pretty good, but the "mystery" was easily figured out within 5 minutes. Okay, standard Christmas fare, pardon the reference.

As for the acting, LL sleepwalked through the whole movie. Was she always this bad? I used to watch her occasionally in "Garage Sale Mysteries", but quit watching a while back, thinking the show itself was too boring? Maybe it WAS her (lack of) acting? Hard to say now, post-scandal.

The rest of the cast were great, featuring James Tupper and the always-great Jesse Hutch, having to carry LL like the sack of coal she appears to be.

6 stars for the movie and supporting cast, minus 100 stars for LL's lack of performance.

A Christmas Hug!

[skillfulcota · 10/10 · 19 November 2023]

This movie has a A+++++cast....several of the cast members are excellent actors and actresses! The main character inherits property and as often is the case, the buyer is ready and overly passionate about getting moved in. The twists and turns, stimulated my viewer mindset, keeping me engaged throughout the movie. I love warmhearted Christmas movies that promote the true meaning of Christmas and this one does just that. Many people suffer hard times, and Christmas often emphasizes those losses and struggles. This movie is a gentle reminder of what is important in life and how not to act when faced with the hardships of others. Great Job Great American Family for keeping it real. Thank you Cast for your sacrifice for being on a Movie that is sensible and has value!

Cute and easy to watch.

[zsuzsij · 4/10 · 8 December 2023]

I enjoyed the movie. Did anyone else catch in the very beginning when her assistant wants her to take her on the trip Lucy's reply" I have a husband and kids" to which assistant replies "we can send post cards" yet in Milwaukee she is alone and can fall in love with someone else?

In any case it is a cute movie speaking to the spirit of Christmas. It is low key but effective. Easy to figure out the plot but definitely warms the heart.

I don't think it utilized the acting skills of the cast, but they worked well together. Some things like fixing the black ice patch would have been a good catch instead of it hanging around throughout the movie. I think Otto explained the reason the decorations were up year round is because Christmas was Susie's favorite holiday. I keep my Santa Clauses out all year as well as my nativity scene so I can imagine a foodbank keeping the decorations up all year as a reminder of why they are there in the first place.

Forgiveness

[luv3n8 · 9/10 · 2 January 2024]

I'm amazed at the Christians who haven't forgiven Lori. They should. Especially since we all sin everyday. I thought her humility shown through in this movie.

The movie was very good. It made me cry. It is what Christmas should be about!!! Some people are so busy criticizing movies that they missed the meaning of the movie. It will make you think about how we should be doing more for the less fortunate.

I absolutely loved Otto. The premise of an Angel was so exciting! I loved the scriptures in the movie. Otto's character was a breath of fresh air! The acting was superb. I also liked his wardrobe!

Good Script, Bad Acting, Questionable Actress

[patricepederson · 3/10 · 17 November 2023]

I had every reason to love this movie. I am a huge proponent of Christian content for Christmas movies. I loved Touched by an Angel, was a Full House fan as a kid, even bigger Fuller House fan, and also ***loved*** When Calls the Heart. So this should have been a top movie for me this season.

Not so. It took me at least 20 sittings to get through it. I just couldn't get into it. Part of the reason is that I kept distracting myself, googling things like "Did Lori Laughlin apologize" (and not really being satisfied by what I found). Then I started nitpicking. Her acting was *really* bad. She acted like a mousey, deer-in-the-headlights wimp the whole time. I'm not buying that for a celebrity chef/TV star.

So then I wonder if her acting was always bad and I never noticed because I loved the shows? Or if I am bring overly critical now because I feel weird about her? And then I start noticing little stuff that is normal in any made for TV movie-a space abandoned for three months that is somehow already decorated for Christmas, the stupid ice that any business worried about liability would have taken care of immediately, a tiny turkey that wouldn't feed half of my family let alone an entire community, etc. And then I know I am being overly critical. But the problem is that this movie has overcome my suspension of disbelief.

Bottom line, I didn't enjoy it. I was in my head the whole time. The script was good, and done by any generic actress it would have been a favorite. But I can't help but wonder. I don't think I have ever seen Lori Laughlin do anything explicitly Christian before. So is she playing on my sensitivity to forgiveness to get back into her career? Am I being used?

When I watch these movies, I don't want to have to think about the meta. I want to relax into 90 minutes of predictable brain candy. But I can't *not* think about the meta with Lori Laughlin right now.

GAC did it again

[amarnold-52453 · 10/10 · 5 February 2024]

People need to get over themselves. Of all the things to be upset about people are choosing to be still upset about Lori Loughlin. Border wide open, Americans are funding 2 wars but what are people being upset about?: Lori Loughlin. 🤣🤣🤣Are you kidding me? Anyway, this movie was wonderful. Wonderful plot, wonderful script, & wonderful acting. I don't remember seeing James Tupper in anything but he is a good actor and had great chemistry with Lori. Jesse Hutch is one of my favorite "Hallmark" actors. I have not seen a bad movie of his yet. I think this one is his best yet. The reporter, Karen Holness, is so underrated and I think it is past time for her to be a lead in a movie. Well done GAC.

Could have been so much better

[deskisamess · 3/10 · 1 December 2023]

The premise was great. Inherited space, second thoughts about selling, nice guy wants to buy it. Most of the casting was solid, except...for Lori Laughlin. Wow is she terrible. Personal opinion about her aside, I haven't seen her in much since her Full House days. I never realized just how bad she was. I won't watch anything with her again, it's just too painful.

The ending "big meal" for many people was ridiculous. That turkey looked to be maybe 20 pounds, not nearly enough to feed so many people. The tables were all fancy, cloth napkins, wine, and just turkey, because I saw no other foods. The plates they sat in front of them had a lump of something and a couple of green beans. Where were the rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, noodles...pie or cookies?

Wasn't this supposed to be a meal for people needing help? What charity food kitchen serves wine? And who sits a huge Christmas tree right in the middle of the road?

Loved Jesse H, as always.

Didn't realize this was starring a criminal

[jmr-46490 · 1/10 · 22 December 2023]

Why would anyone want to watch a criminal who thinks cheating is the best way to get ahead?

I didn't realize the criminal Lori Laughlin was in this movie.

Shut it off as soon as I realized. I'm not interested in watching criminals who think they can buy their way into college, while the rest of us have to use merit.

I have to add more characters, evidently. Lori Laughlin is a criminal who thinks she's better than you. You and your family have to work hard to get into college - but the criminal Lori Laughlin thinks she deserves better and her kids don't need to work hard, so she cheats and pays people off.