Christmas in Connecticut (1992)

Masterful Movie

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The original 1945 blockbuster megahit starred Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan who sings, Cuddles Szakall and Sydney Greenstreet. It melds the classic thirties screwball to the added pizazz of the world war two era in which big names not necessarily experienced in the genre topped the cast list. Other than a farmhouse without what we know around here to be a generic period kitchen seating at least twenty its depiction of the personal camaraderie, period charm and busy often sophisticated life of New York's wealthier and more sophisticated semirural exurbs seems on target for even the millennium. The comic relief scenes of mixed up babies, a crooner melting a hard boiled potential partner and a runaway horse and cow add period charm which is still dynamite seventy years later. This 1992 remake certainly has star power as Arnold Schwarzenegger directs Dyan Cannon, Tony Curtis and Kris Kristofferson each of whom shine on camera. The period charm, genuine tranquility and upscale sophistication of this wealthy semirural exurban Connecticut setting is not correctly filmed because the recently built house lacking period charm seems in the middle of nowhere, the long time neighbors in no way supporting or socializing with each other. The large house in which much of the film is set seems rented in what we around here might consider as the not far from the city burbs. The sexually tinged shots and lowbrow physical comedy building a logical storyboard is anything BUT classic screwball which jumps in no believable order from physical comedy to period charm to budding romance with a purposely tacked on ending which in no way ties up the threads of the plot. Well enough constructed to sit through but not to watch again.

"Christmas in Connecticut" is a made-for-TV remake of a feature film from 1945, which I must admit I've never seen. Elizabeth Blane is a famous television chef, whose public persona is that of the perfect All-American housewife. She lives in a large house in a rural part of Connecticut with her husband John. She has a daughter, Mary, a son-in-law and two grandchildren, Kevin and Melissa. At least, that is the story put out by her publicity machine and her manager Alex. In reality Elizabeth is, and always has been, single without any children and lives in a penthouse in New York. To make matters worse she cannot cook and has no idea about housekeeping. All the dishes featured on her show are actually cooked by her assistant Josie. (Elizabeth also claims to be too young to be a grandmother, but as Dyan Cannon was actually 55 when the film was made, that claim should be taken with a pinch of salt).One year, Alex has a great idea for a Christmas special. Jefferson Jones, a forest ranger from Colorado, has become a national hero after saving the life of a young boy during a blizzard. Unfortunately his home was burnt down shortly afterwards, and as he was rumoured (wrongly) to be a great fan of Elizabeth's TV show, Alex invites him to spend Christmas with Elizabeth and her "family". This, of course, involves a certain amount of deception. He finds an old farmhouse to stand in as her home, casts himself in the role of John and Josie as Mary and persuades various acquaintances to represent the rest of the family.This is one of those films which could have been much funnier than it actually is. The basic idea is a good one, and "Christmas in Connecticut" could have been a devastating satire on the dishonest way in which the mass media manipulate the truth, something along the lines of "Network" or "The Truman Show". The final result, however, is nowhere near as good as either of those great films. I don't think it matters that the film's central concept is an improbable one. In 1945 it might have been possible to deceive the public as to a celebrity's domestic circumstances and culinary abilities. By 1992, however, the inexorable rise of the paparazzi and of the scandal-raking tabloids would have made this sort of deception virtually impossible. Satirical comedy, however, has always been a genre which has enjoyed a licence to stretch the bounds of the probable, and even the bounds of the possible; "The Truman Show", for example, is based around a central concept even more improbable than this one.There are, however, three reasons why this film does not work as well as it could have done. The first is that the film is both a satire and a romantic comedy; Elizabeth and Jefferson find themselves falling in love, even though he at first wrongly believes her to be a married woman. The heroine of a rom-com must always be sympathetic enough to retain the audience's affections, which means that the script never satirises Elizabeth as mercilessly as it could have done.The second reason has to do with the first word in the film's title. Any film with a Christmas theme is virtually guaranteed endless repeats on television every December. Yuletide, however, is the season of goodwill to all men, even to dishonest and manipulative television stars and executives, so Christmas movies must always contain a strong feelgood factor. Nobody wants to watch anything depressing while recovering from an overdose of turkey and mince pies, so over the holiday season sentimentality is in, mordant satire out. The third reason can be summed up by those words "TV movie". Hollywood can sometimes (as with "Network") produce a brilliant satire on the television industry; television producers tackling the same theme tend to pull their punches for fear of biting the hand that feeds them.On the credit side, the acting is generally good, with Cannon making an attractively lively heroine, Kris Kristofferson a genial if bemused Jefferson and the late Tony Curtis showing that he was at much at home in comedy as he was in serious drama. Arnold Schwarzenegger's direction, however, is rather heavy-handed; this is to date his only film, and he was probably wise to diversify his career by going into politics rather than into film directing. Overall, "Christmas in Connecticut" is not such a bad film. It just could have been so much better. 6/10

OK, My second favorite Christmas movie...my 1st being the Orig With Barbara Stanwick. But this re-make is nicely done. The Marta Stewart-esquire Character is perfectly lame in the kitchen and her assistant does all the actual cooking. The Chemistry between Cannon and Kristofferson is nice andTony Curtis is hilarious as the producer/pseudo-husband who is worried about ratings and network politics; the side stories are light and provide comic relief every few scenes.This truly wonderful, heartwarming and funny movie is sure to become one of your holiday favorites too.

The TV version isnt great but it isnt that terrible, i mean its a cute little movie that pokes fun at overdone TV characters and yes at times it gets a little crazy. Watch it and then decide. The original is good yes but its old. This one makes more sense.