Christmas at Maxwell's (2006) Andrew May, Jack Hourigan, Helen Welch, Maggie Blazunas Movie Review

Christmas at Maxwell's (2006)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Jack Hourigan and Andrew May in Christmas at Maxwell's (2006)

Miracle at Maxwell's

Things for Andrew (Andrew May) and Suzie Austin (Jack Hourigan) have become tough ever since Suzie became ill and they just got tougher when Suzie's doctor says her condition has deteriorated. To get away they head to their family summer house but all Andrew is confronted by is people who haven't seen them in years and want to know how Suzie is. But maybe this Christmas will be one to remember and change not only the Austin family but the local community for ever.

"Christmas at Maxwell's" was one of those movies I had to see purely because last Christmas the TV schedule for one of the lesser channels always had it on but when I went to watch it they had always swapped it for another movie. So when I got the opportunity to watch "Christmas at Maxwell's" I had to and sadly I can't say the wait was worth it as I was left a little bemused by it all.

So where to start well in truth the problem with "Christmas at Maxwell's" is a combination of things. It starts with a storyline which doesn't seem to be going anywhere but also going all over the place as it switches between the present and the past as to how Andrew and Suzie got together whilst also introducing other characters and issues. The thing is that it becomes too floaty and when that is combined with the low budget look it seems to lack focus as one scene blends into another with no real distinction separating them. Throw in some low budget acting and basically "Christmas at Maxwell's" ends up messy.

But here is a flipside to all this as "Christmas at Maxwell's" has got a good heart, it has meaning and soul and when you can look past the numerous faults you can begin to see a good and different Christmas movie lurking in the background. Although at the same time I will say it is a Christmas movie very much for adults with subjects you don't often see in Christmas movies.

What this all boils down to is that "Christmas at Maxwell's" didn't do it for me and whilst beneath the issues there is a good movie with real heart the issues end up dominating the movie far too much.

Tags: Christmas Movies


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