Moonlight & Mistletoe (2008)

After seeing "Moonlight and Mistletoe," I wondered why Hollywood or TV hadn't come up with the idea for such a plot long before 2008. Kudos to Hallmark for having an original and interesting plot. It seems like a natural, and the setting of this TV film in Chester, Vermont, apparently gave the community a tourism shot for the next several years. While the story is a good one, this movie unfortunately suffers in a number of areas. The screenplay seems to skip a beat here and there. Some of the situations are overly hokey or a little hard to believe. The most obvious is Nick's accident and injury. His runaway horse-drawn sleigh crashes into a tree? The film is billed as a drama, romance, family movie – no mention of comedy. So, we're to believe that a horse that had been pulling Santa's sleigh for more than 20 years all of a sudden went wild (in its old age) and ran its sleigh head-on into a tree? A somewhat lesser, but still very obvious far-fetched scene is toward the end when Holly all of a sudden is in love with Peter. Until that scene she was so-so, even a little attracted to Ben. But when Ben turns out to be a bad guy, Holly suddenly falls for Peter. It's a bit much. Perhaps the writers and/or director could have had this build up a little earlier – and not have it appear right on the heels of Ben's fall from grace. Finally, the acting. Most of the cast were passable to good only. Tom Arnold as Nick was just enough overboard in his enthusiasm (I know, it's a part of his normal persona), that he came across as being oblivious to his dire circumstances. And, while Candace Bure portrayed the hectic Holly as a businesswoman, I think it was overdone to the point that we in the audience can't buy her sudden return to earth with her nostalgia for the past. If her fast-paced, hectic busy-ness had been reduced just a bit, the return to normalcy would have seemed more natural and believable. The exaggeration of those two performances detracted considerably from the story. This film isn't bad, but it misses its potential for a number of these shortcomings. Most people may enjoy it once, but aside from some pictures of toys, I doubt that the fast action of Holly and her dad will keep young ones interested.

Candace Cameron Bure is Holly a business woman who is wrapped up in her own world. She begrudgingly returns home to help her injured father. She's at first condescending and unsympathetic towards her father, Nick played by Tom Arnold, along with treating Peter, her fathers helper, like he's beneath her. She's soon smitten over a like businessman whom she meets through an old high school friend. Knowing nothing about the guy, she's drawn into a deal she believes will help save her father's failing business. For a businesswoman, she's naive in letting his good looks and her attraction to him overshadow her good sense. Without reading the contract herself, she just takes the businessman's word for it and introduces him to her father suggesting he will save his business. The opposite is true however in that the contract may actually force her father to lose his business. It's then up to her and Peter to undo the damage done.Being a hallmark movie, there is a love interest, misunderstandings and of course a happy ending. A family friendly movie.

I thought it was a clean movie and I sat down with my kids to watch it. We enjoyed it very much. Candace still looks as beautiful as ever and my 13 year old has a crush on her. I didn't have to cover the kids ears or eyes during the movie. Thank you. I thought the story line was overall a 10 very sensitive and adorable. The sweetness of the romance moved me. I wish we had a Santa town like that it would be fun. Traditions are fun specially when it brings the family together. Hardships are displayed here as another way to get them working together for the same cause. The villain did a great job too. There is such a reality to that. So many schemers waiting out there to take your money.Great movie.

I'm afraid I find the performances in this drama about a man who runs a 365-day-a-year Santa Claus Village that is about to go under (Tom Arnold) and his daughter who moved away (Candace Cameron Bure) rather poor. Tom Arnold is clueless and nasal until the plot calls for a bit of warmth and Miss Bure, while very pretty, is shrill.The other actors are good, but their roles seem to be matters of revealing the secrets that made them come to Santaville for some warm fuzzy moments. In fact, that seems to be the entire set-up of this movie: conflict, then warm fuzzy moment, and the performances make it all seem very calculated.Even the camera work supports this: consider, if you will, the scene where Tom Arnold and Candace Cameron Bure finally bond. The are sitting at the dining room table, going over his mementos of his dead wife. Instead of shooting it in an extended two-shot, which would have been more difficult to achieve and hence more expensive, but more effective, it is shot in a series of close-up reaction shots: basically, instead of two people together, it winds up two people apart. Using a yellow light for atmosphere does not make up for missed opportunities in the service of a small budget, alas.