Overrated and overhyped

Absolutely brilliant

A lot of fun.

The first must-see film of the year.

The actors really seemed to be working hard at maintaining their characters. Sadly enough, the only one who did a good job in filling his role was the master thief.I for one just love it when scripts call for little children to climb up into Santa's lap and spout propaganda, and who wouldn't love their four-year-old to go to a mall where they can find out if Santa wears boxers... shorts... what else might be there? Just some things everybody wants in their Christmas story and at their mall, right? The end came soon enough and the writers did their best to smooth everything over. I am glad to have watched in the sense that I have no desire to watch it again.

Kate (Shannon Doherty) lives in the Big Apple, far away from her hometown, Comfort, which she labels as "dullsville incarnate". Not only that, Kate has an unusual job as a cat burglar, for a quiet life beside the road is not for her. Yet, when her sister and brother-in-law get marooned on their island vacation, they call upon Kate, as a last resort, to look after their two kids, pre-teen Annie and teenager Parker. Kate is most reluctant to do so, until she learns that a recent theft gone bad has resulted in her face being splashed all over the papers in Manhattan. When she lands back in Comfort, Kate commands the children to just "go their own ways and she will go hers". But, before she even realizes it, she is taxiing the kids to school and events and meeting up with her former boyfriend-turned-sheriff, Hank (Ty Olsson). Even though Kate's heart begins to change its direction more warmly toward the town's serenity and values, there is still the sticky problem of the APB out for her! Will the handcuffing cops interrupt Kate just as she is kissing Hank? This fun little made-for-TV movie is perfect for fans of romantic comedy. Although it is also suitable for family viewing, the kids may be a bit confused over Kate's chosen profession and on the consequences of her actions. Doherty, Olsson, and company do a fine job as the folks of Comfort and the costuming, scenery, production values, script and direction are quite nice. If you need a bit of a "breather" between bouts of shopping and making cookies for the holidays, brew a pot of tea and flip this flick into the movie machine. It is just the diversion you need to put the spirit back into the holiday for you and your loved ones.

It's a strange movie in the sense that it could make me suspend disbelief and hold my attention but afterwards I felt annoyed.Pros: Female leads are fairly strong, for Hollywood standard.There's a kid who had integrity and is heeded as an individual not by standard age and gender. It gave lots of things to talk about afterwards. It keep dramatic tension. It has a classic story arc of hero's journey and redemption. Elements feed back through to make sense such as the lead two being described as always having had a fight and make up fiery relationship. People are self-accepting and the community is affirming of one another.Cons: Holy Gender Norms, Batman. Boys must be horrified and disgusted that he has received a female toy. And let's denigrate housewife clothes; women to be sexy must have long hair down and show cleavage for basic self-image maintenance.A role for an overweight man? Comic foils only need apply. And no queer couples, even in the background. Race. Lordie. Who did the casting choices? The career criminal is black and is the only one who goes into a squad car in handcuffs. He can steal without remorse, reflexively even without noticing. The white middle class America girl does same crime and yet no time because she has a cop friend willing to work the system for her, even erasing a past record. Somehow even being a skilled acrobat and long time criminal, she is the victim of life and herself. And gets her butt saved by a man, with her cooperation.Good girls who do everything "right" in life are two blondes. Both arguably ditzy.

This movie is yet another in the ever proliferating series of Christmas stories where a jaded cynic (a la Scrooge or the Grinch) is dumping on other people in some way, and with the predictable change near the end.Shannon Doherty is as obnoxious as ever, but actually plays pretty well in this film, as a professional larcenist who recently committed a major jewel theft with a cohort. She hides out in her home town, and gets involved with everyone she used to know, yet, in the midst of her reunions (including a rekindled romance), she plots to steal stuff from folks in the town on Christmas Eve. Contrived? Of course it is, and it's certainly not funny as it aspires to be. The other thief shows up, her boyfriend is a cop, and you can see where all this is going. Although it's predictable, the cast seem to be putting their hearts into the effort.The obvious ending rolls by after a series of implausible events, and irrationally weird outcomes. Some sentiment, and some humor, but many other Christmas movies have already done all this, and much better.