One Magic Christmas (1985)

Admirable film.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

I love Harry Dean Stanton and Mary Steenburgen so I thought I'd watch this movie with my sister. Bad plan! This is by far worst Christmas movie I have ever seen, if not the worst movie I have ever seen. From the beginning a series of nightmarish events unfold and the overall mood is just dark and plain creepy. I agree with other reviewers that HDS comes off as some sort of pedophile in his long black coat, watching children from afar, and sharing secrets with them that they can't tell anyone else. I kept watching and hoping that it would get better but it only got worse and the acting was dreadful. The term train wreck comes to mind. I'm just glad there were no children watching it with us because they would have all been in tears, and I would not know how to explain my way out of this dreadful movie.

One Magic Christmas is a world away from the safe, schmaltzy family fluff Disney is responsible for today. It's actually quite a bleak, downbeat and miserable film for the most part, with realistic and mundane photography and a drab production design. All of this actually serves the film well, I must point out.A young Mary Steenburgen (who has always been cast beyond her years thanks to her deep facial folds) plays a mum who is very emotionally subdued, she walks around in a daze, enjoying little of life. At Xmas her kids and husband are excited but she only worries about money and is brought down even further by people treating her badly.An angel shows up and encourages her young daughter to help find 'the true meaning of Xmas' (a theme which is quite common in Xmas movies). The film then plays out as a cross between It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. It's effective, but it's not for everybody. I only saw it once before when I was 12, and I was depressed by it, but it's a welcome change of pace to the usual festive fare.

I'm really picky about my Christmas movies and this has to be right up there in my top five with Rudolph, Charlie Brown, It's A Wonderful Life, and White Christmas.I still have the same VHS copy my mom recorded in the 1980s off the Disney Channel. We watch it several times every year, so often that I have the entire movie (including every fuzzy sound dropout and warble and 1980s commercial) memorized- and believe me, I'm not the type of person to do that! Not your typical saccharine Disney movie, it's real life and gets fairly serious/dark at times (although I never noticed that as a seven-year-old kid, interestingly). I see no reason not to let children watch it, with a caring adult around to talk to about the more complex themes. I'd rather have my kids watch this than the inane cartoons out these days. The music is subtle and appropriate, the photography is gorgeous and sticks in your head long after viewing. The acting is top-notch, heartfelt, and true. I can't imagine Christmas without it.

Despite being dark, this Christmas movie is a pleasant alternative to the usual fare that is warm and charming but fails to challenge us.It looks like the people who will be most disappointed by this film are those who tune in expecting to see stereotypical Disney fluff.Best viewed by older children who can handle the idea of tragedy sandwiched around non-idyllic home life. If your kids are still under 7 or 8 years old, probably best not to risk any emotional fallout.If you'd rather not have to think and be availed of emotions other than happiness, don't show this one to your kids. If you prefer something different and thought provoking, it's more than worth a watch.