This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Based on Truman Capote's autobiographical short story, a young boy, T.J. Lowther, spends Christmas with his father in New Orleans. He and his dad, Henry Winkler, don't get along, and they haven't seen each other in a long time. Repairing the bonds of father-son-hood isn't going to be easy, even over the holiday season.While the majority of the film is about father-son bond, there are some secondary plot points. Henry tries romancing Swoosie Kurtz, but since he's a conman, he's not exactly trustworthy. And Swoosie's aunt, Katharine Hepburn, adds a bit of class to the movie and helps everyone get a little more out of life. If you absolutely love Kate, you might be a bit conflicted about seeing this movie. It was her final film, so if you'll be upset seeing her looking old and frail, you might want to stick to On Golden Pond instead. But if that won't bother you, and you like a bit of sappy family drama at Christmastime—who doesn't?—you can rent One Christmas. Don't expect too much from it, though; I prefer watching Little Women during the holidays instead.

Minor reverie based on Truman Capote's short story about a trip he made as a youngster to meet the father who to that point was a stranger to him. What he finds is hardly the stuff of fairy tales. His father is a shyster living a flashy front but hollow beneath. On top of that he's a selfish, thoughtless, sometimes cruel man who has no idea how to relate to his lost needy little boy.The biggest deficit the film has is Henry Winkler in the lead. He's just not believable as a film-flam man who has the women of the town falling at his feet and pushing money in his pockets. He doesn't give a bad performance but he doesn't fit the part in the least. Then there's T.J. Lowther who plays the young protagonist, he has big mournful eyes and a quiet manner but he doesn't register enough on screen to keep the viewer interested in his plight.Fortunately the cast does include Swoosie Kurtz who makes anything she's in better as she does here and in a small role Julie Harris who does a great deal with her few minutes on screen. She's actually more memorable in her tiny bit that either father or son throughout the entire movie. The film has a lovely spic and span look, too clean to actually be real places but nice to look at nonetheless. This Hallmark holiday special marks the end of Katharine Hepburn's career. Playing Swoosie's rich aunt she is required to do little more than to grumble and grouse until loosening up a bit towards the end. By this time her palsy was severe enough to be ever present and impeded any real characterization but her star power is still there no matter how frail she is. It's certainly a more dignified exit from the stage than many of her contemporaries were able to manage. A respectable rendering of Capote's story, nothing magical but worth catching once to see a legend take her final bow.

Truman Capote's story rises above some mediocre acting. I love his writing so I watched this. I didn't enjoy it as much as his Thanksgiving story, but it had its moments.I felt Winkler was badly cast. He seems like a New Yorker among Southerners, not sure if this was on purpose. Katherine Hepburn is fine despite her failing health.The boy was not a brat, as some reviewers have said. He is a troubled boy who Misses his mother and wants to know where she is. Sadly, his father does not tell him the truth, and this causes him to wish to be back with his aunt. Julie Harris is wonderful as his aunt. All in all, it's worth watching if you can overlook some of the performances.

The only reason I give this 6 stars is because of Katharine Hepburn. This just happened to be her final film role and I still can't figure out why she'd choose this as an end to her glorious career. She is the only reason I saw this movie and after viewing it, I can't say there was anything I enjoyed about this film other than her presence, even though her scenes took up less than 10 minutes of screen time. She is visibly frail in this movie, with her head shaking so severely, I though it was going to fall off any second. There were some good performances by Swoosie Kurtz and Henry Winkler but everything else about this movie "stinks". I just didn't connect with any of the characters due to their underdevelopment and the movie doesn't feel like it takes place in the 1930's, but then again I suppose the budget of this TV movie wouldn't allow that. Like I said before, I'd only recommend this to Hepburn fans, but anyone else shouldn't bother.