It is near Christmastime, and a young widower has six-year-old rambunctious twin boys who drive all the other nannies away with their antics-but Mrs. Merkle appears suddenly and is able to make them behave better. Not by waving a magic wand, but by simple psychology. But she does not deal only with the children.
The widower himself is still grieving for his wife, and as a result won't tell his twins about her, nor will he play his piano any more. Mrs. Merkle subtly arranges to get a woman owning a travel agency to meet him, help with a local school pageant and meet her estranged sister.
The story works because Mrs. Merkle, as mentioned before, does not use magic, but is able to subtly push people to do things using suggestion and psychology-though she somehow knows information that nobody evidently tells her. Perhaps she uses magic after all? It doesn't really matter. The movie may be routine, clichéd, and predictable, but it succeeds thanks to good performances by the actors and a storyline that is just long and simple enough. Not deeply meaningful, but good family entertainment.
The widower himself is still grieving for his wife, and as a result won't tell his twins about her, nor will he play his piano any more. Mrs. Merkle subtly arranges to get a woman owning a travel agency to meet him, help with a local school pageant and meet her estranged sister.
The story works because Mrs. Merkle, as mentioned before, does not use magic, but is able to subtly push people to do things using suggestion and psychology-though she somehow knows information that nobody evidently tells her. Perhaps she uses magic after all? It doesn't really matter. The movie may be routine, clichéd, and predictable, but it succeeds thanks to good performances by the actors and a storyline that is just long and simple enough. Not deeply meaningful, but good family entertainment.