A Wish for Christmas (2016) Lacey Chabert, Paul Greene, Andrea Brooks, Colleen Wheeler Movie Review

A Wish for Christmas (2016)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Lacey Chabert and Paul Greene in A Wish for Christmas (2016)

A Piece of Christmas Spirit

Christmas is coming and Sara Shaw (Lacey Chabert - The Sweetest Christmas), a web designer, has come up with a pitch about keeping the spirit of Christmas 365 days of the year. Trouble is that not only is Sara a bit of a push over with others putting upon her but she initially doesn't even speak up when the head of the marketing department steals her idea and ends up getting rewarded when he passes it off as his own. But as she goes to leave the Christmas party she has an encounter with a mysterious Santa who grants her wish to be more confident and courageous, well for 48 hours at least. As Sarah finds herself speaking her mind she must learn how to use her new gift especially when she ends up on a business trip with company owner Peter (Paul Greene - Christmas in Angel Falls) which takes them back to where his Christmas loving parents live.

I don't know the history of the "Hallmark Channel" but I wouldn't be surprised if at the time of creation it involved the production of a Christmas movie, it is as if the two were made for each other or at least in the commercial sense of Christmas. And so with that said "A Wish for Christmas" is a pretty stereotypical Hallmark Christmas movie as in the sense we have a beautiful young woman, her boss and of course some romance beckons in the most picturesque of Christmas locations where snow covers the ground and Christmas trees with garlands decked in lights adorn the front of buildings. I could go on because I love this sort of festive fun and "A Wish for Christmas" delivers it in bucket loads with the character of Sara being the embodiment of loving the Christmas holidays.

Lacey Chabert in A Wish for Christmas (2016)

Now of course "A Wish for Christmas" is all about Sara and Peter getting to know each other and of course romance whilst we also get the fun of watching Sara use her special gift of speaking her mind to sort out any issues they have along the way. But without giving too much away the business trip to Seattle leads to Peter reluctantly returning home for the first time in 2 years because he had a falling out with his father. I won't say what happens but as you can guess there is some wholesome, heart felt stuff going on during this side of the movie.

Now I mentioned that Hallmark and Christmas seemed made for each other and Lacey Chabert was born to star in these types of movies with her winning smile, glossy hair and bucket loads of charm, bringing it all to "A Wish for Christmas". But the pairing with Paul Greene works well in a sense that he plays the part of Peter with just enough charm and humour to make him likeable. But mostly there is a sense of coy flirtation between them which brings a lovely warmth to the movie, okay I say warmth and others will say sentimental schmaltz but pass me the hot chocolate because I love this stuff.

What this all boils down to is that "A Wish for Christmas" is an above average Hallmark Christmas movie despite sticking to the tried and tested ideas which make up their movies. And for me it has been pretty much the ideal way to kick of my Christmas movie watching this year as it serves up the spirit of Christmas I like.

Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies


LATEST REVIEWS