A Masterpiece!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I thought this movie was OK, nothing more nor less. It's probably a good movie to watch if you want to get in to the Christmas spirit, or something.Tony Danza stars as a crook who gets in to trouble after a heist attempt on the local mall. He manages to escape and ends up getting a job as Santa Clause in a Christmas tree yard. He plans to rob the city but is in a moral conflict.I don't think I will be watching this movie again anytime soon because it wasn't that interesting. The one thing that was good about this movie was Tony Danza.

While "Stealing Christmas" might easily have been just another cliched warm and fuzzy holiday tale, exceptional performances by Lea Thompson and Tony Danza raise the dramatic level and clear the way for a revelation of the underlying moral conflict. Betrayal of trust is the one transgression that has no redeeming value; Lea Thompson is the angel who turns Tony Danza's cynical heart away from the brink of betrayal, and touches his heart in a way that makes it impossible to betray the trust that has been placed in him by the simple hearted town folk--and the trust of Lea herself.In an era of movies that myopically portray love exclusively in the form of passionate, nude bedroom scenes, "Stealing Christmas" provides a refreshing view of love between two people primarily as mutual respect, admiration, and most of all, acceptance of each others' faults.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A wisecracking thug, Tony Danza, finds himself running from the law after a botched mall heist. He's able to escape using a Santa suit, and boards the first bus out of the city. 50 miles away in the tiny town of Evergreen, a case of mistaken identity lands him a job playing Santa at Lea Thompson's Christmas Tree yard. Enter a wealth of typical small-town personalities: The independent Christmas Tree yard owner who doesn't take any crap. A rebellious daughter named Noel. The flirtatious waitress. The dutiful cop. The jealous boyfriend-wannabe who suspects Danza is more than he appears. And Betty White in the same role she's played in every film post-Golden Girls.As you might expect, Danza soon realizes that he can take advantage of the town's goodwill and naivety. He recruits a demolitions expert, and plans to rob the town blind when the bank vault is full on Christmas Eve. That target date gives him enough time to grow closer to the townsfolk. And the sincerity of his new friends, and perhaps a little bit of Christmas spirit, begins to melt that cold exterior.Will Tony Danza go through with the heist? Will Tony Danza fall in love? Will Tony Danza ever shake his Who's the Boss character? There's only one way to find out. Catch this formula effort the next time it's on USA. If you aren't expecting much more than your typical Yule Tide Movie of the Week, you should be satisfied.

Tony Danza, one of the most underrated actors in the business today, does a fine job portraying a bad guy who has the potential to be good, given the right circumstances. He finds that opportunity while on the lam from a failed department store breakin, ending up in a small town and meeting a widowed Lea Thompson and her cute daughter and taking a job as the village Santa Claus for 3 weeks. Solid supporting cast and plausible story line make for an excellent USA network film, seemingly shot in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast. Betty White is, well, a very good Betty White. Film isn't hokey, even if Danza does get off a line about the Lea Thompson character: "She's the boss." Come to think of it, there are times when she resembles Judith Light. All in all, good holiday fare.