Silver Bells (2005)

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. 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. I AM VERY FARE ABOUT THESE FILMS.This is a nice little Christmas film that was part of the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" production banner. In this film a single father runs a Christmas Tree Farm with his 2 teenage children. Once a year they go to New York City and sell the trees. Upon the latest Christmas the man gets into a physical fight with his son. The son who is only 16 years old but he is a gifted photographer. After runs away he become homeless but is surviving by getting work at a newspaper. He is the unknown photographer taking pictures in the "LOOK UP CAMPAIGN".The picture works well. The film has a message that was well worth exploring. This film however is not for people with no attention span. Men under 40 will hate this. Children will be bored.

I really didn't like this production. The title sets up a metaphor which signals the "big message". There are two problems with the "big message". First, it's delivered with hammer-like subtlety -- okay, Hallmark is not particularly good with subtlety, but still, why use a metaphor if you're going to hit us over the head with its meaning? The metaphor itself becomes little more than a scavenger hunt to find the (literal) silver bells. Second, the metaphor really doesn't match the plot. The central conflict between father and son is not well developed and doesn't make sense. The inevitable explosion seems completely out of character. I get it, son rebels against Dad's career choice for him, an age-old dilemma. But what happens here is out of character and overwrought. And what does any of this have to do with "silver bells"? The message of the metaphor would not solve the father/son conflict. Add to these issues the fact that there is absolutely no chemistry between Anne Heche and Tate Donovan. Chemistry is critical to the Hallmark formula! In fact, the relationship here is not even at the center of the story, which is a mistake, because Hallmark is all about that relationship. I would just as soon have skipped this one -- and it has to be pretty bad for me to say that!

Danny and Bridget Byrne, who lost their mother several years ago, are being raised by their father Christy, who runs a Christmas tree farm in Nova Scotia. Danny takes pictures for his high school yearbook and he has a deadline, but his father thinks the farm is more important because, after all, it pays the bills, and Danny is to take over someday.After the harvest, the family delivers trees to New York City and sets up a stand to sell them. As usual, they stay with nice old Mrs. Quinn. As usual, widowed 'museum lady' Catherine O'Meara won't buy a tree. Danny visits her workplace with samples of his photography, and Catherine is impressed.When the time comes for the family to return home, Danny is missing. A year later, he has been replaced on the farm, and Bridget and Christy return once again to New York City to sell more trees. Rip, one of New York's finest, still does not have good news for Christy, who has returned to the city several times hoping to find his son. The 'silver bells' of the movie's title refer to a photograph that is part of the museum's 'look up' promotion. The Post is asking people to guess the location of the bells, and if no one does by Christmas, the paper will print the answer. Catherine's boss, a real estate developer, likes the idea, but his son thinks it's a waste of time.You don't have to be Allison Dubois to figure out the rest. Though there is one unexpected development that could complicate things.This is a pleasant family movie overall, but nothing really outstanding. It's at least as good as other Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations. I would say it is well-acted with the usual formula feel-good writing, though I like the formula. The only thing that might be considered offensive: a dispute between Danny and his father gets physical, which I found unnecessary.Anne Heche is pleasant enough and attractive with long hair, though I might have been happier with a different actress.It's a good film if you like this sort of thing. Which I do.

Hallmark presented their typical Holiday story that involved a young teenage boy who was very confused and trying to find himself in this big world. He lost his mother and his father did his very best to guide his son, however, there was a conflict between the father and son and he simply took off to the Big Apple and disappeared while the father was selling his Christmas Trees in Manhattan. Ann Heche appears in the film and helps the young runaway establish himself with at least a place to sleep and earn a few bucks. As I was watching this TV film, I began to wonder about the Silver Bells and found this story typical for the Holiday Season, too Sweet for me.