And amazingly, his name is entirely missing from the IMDb credits for the movie! He's not the only focal point. But JAMES VAN DER BEEK has the principal role in this story about a widower who needs a housekeeper who can deal with his two rambunctious boys--and stumbles across romance with plucky ERIN KARPLUK.
Both are hurt from their previous romantic encounters and have to find true love through forgiveness and the machinations of a fairy-tale figure who becomes his housekeeper, nimbly played by DORIS ROBERTS.
The Christmas program part of the story is the weakest sequence in the whole made-for-TV movie. But because the cast is refreshingly natural (the two boys are excellent), and because James Van Der Beek is exceptionally sincere as the boy's young father (especially in his scenes with Erin), the predictable tale stays afloat because of the charming way it's told.
Recommended viewing around the holidays--even if there is an air of deja vu about the whole thing.
Both are hurt from their previous romantic encounters and have to find true love through forgiveness and the machinations of a fairy-tale figure who becomes his housekeeper, nimbly played by DORIS ROBERTS.
The Christmas program part of the story is the weakest sequence in the whole made-for-TV movie. But because the cast is refreshingly natural (the two boys are excellent), and because James Van Der Beek is exceptionally sincere as the boy's young father (especially in his scenes with Erin), the predictable tale stays afloat because of the charming way it's told.
Recommended viewing around the holidays--even if there is an air of deja vu about the whole thing.