Please be aware if you have small kids that this middling background noise worthy TV movie asserts the ridiculous notion that there is absolutely no such thing as Santa Claus.
Besides that, it's fairly typical for its genre.
10 Reviews
Too much
Jackbv12322 November 2019
This movie relies heavily on physical comedy, especially people fighting over the contest. It also uses a lot of exaggeration, sarcasm, and innuendo. It's satirical in part. This kind of movie must be judged differently than romance or drama, especially the acting.
I'm not a fan of this type of movie, but I stuck to it to see if it was as bad, or as good, as some of the other reviewers. I think this movie is somewhere in between. It was more annoying at times than funny, but it did have a certain kind of humor. Especially annoying is the constant tender music as background to the arguing and fighting. It was like fingernails raking and old fashioned blackboard.
Even the antagonism between the leads, leading to romantic tension, was a little too exaggerated. But there is some romance.
BTW: the obvious fire hazard of the open candles right on top of the hay was so ridiculous it was funny.
In short, I think that so many things were overdone, too much. The constant negativity took away from the humor. Besides that, the dad's Alzheimer's was exploited.
I'm not a fan of this type of movie, but I stuck to it to see if it was as bad, or as good, as some of the other reviewers. I think this movie is somewhere in between. It was more annoying at times than funny, but it did have a certain kind of humor. Especially annoying is the constant tender music as background to the arguing and fighting. It was like fingernails raking and old fashioned blackboard.
Even the antagonism between the leads, leading to romantic tension, was a little too exaggerated. But there is some romance.
BTW: the obvious fire hazard of the open candles right on top of the hay was so ridiculous it was funny.
In short, I think that so many things were overdone, too much. The constant negativity took away from the humor. Besides that, the dad's Alzheimer's was exploited.
Kind of insensitive...
OddlesOfNoodles25 November 2020
The storyline was fine for a Christmas movie but I didn't like how Dianne spoke about Lou's dad. If you know someone with Alzheimer's you probably won't like it either. Dianne doesn't even apologize for her comments!!! Ugh no thanks!
Rubbish!!
johnson-13520 December 2008
If the boring plot and bad acting isn't bad enough. The poor camera work is. It is always visible that the camera man is walking and at one point even trips up. The story is boring and dull and there is no exciting twists or turns throughout the film. It is advertised as a family comedy but i did not once laugh. The music played in the background whilst the characters are speaking does not match at all which gets annoying. The actors are poor and do not work well with the story. This is by far the worst film to watch on Christmas with the family, you will be bored and wish you had watched something else, like Santa Claus. I hope you have found this advise useful and that you choose to use it.
A lovely gentle, funny heartwarming Christmas movie!
nicolaj-rippon17 December 2007
OK, we don't have an Oscar-winner here, we don't even have a strikingly original plot, but what we do have is a funny and heartily enjoyable Christmas film. It's visually pleasing with the usual Chicago-at-Christmas pretty street scenes and the acting is bang on. If you've ever watched a Christmas movie before, or for that matter any rom-com then you're going to see the plot turns coming a mile off - but does that matter? Not one jot! You're not going to get stark warnings about future catastrophes, or high-octane action scenes either, but if you want that, you're unlikely to be looking in this direction! What "Christmas on Chestnut Street" does provide, and in buckets too, is a charming story, genuinely likable characters you actually care about, and a gently sentimental message about the true meaning of the holiday season. And what more do you want from your Christmas movie than that?
Christmas on Chestnut Street
Jazzie-too8 December 2007
Can't believe that out of 50,000 so few have voted on this 2006 TV movie. A year later and it did not have enough votes to post a rating. It is SO enjoyable. It may not be a 10, but it's certainly a worthwhile movie to enrich the spirit of the season. With so much else going on in the world, this is a nice way to be reminded of how things can be. If we could only get this spirit to spread and bring out more of the good in people. And remind us how good that feels and how easy it is to do. Even when things don't agree with you, or you don't like something, it reminds us how easy it can be to forgive or to forget, or to just be less hostile and less 'quick to judge'. And I especially liked how the story included the dad with Alzheimer's. Very thoughtful. So, come on and give it some love back. Enjoy it and vote.
A GREAT Christmas MOVIE
jennywhite070126 December 2007
I loved the movie and want to know where it can be purchased. I recommend it to everyone. It was a great family movie.What Christmas spirit. Kids should be as respectful and good to their parents as Lou was. A lot of real life to the story A good romance. Good Christmas decor. Good choice in actors. Great story. Good feeling about the story I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SEQUEL TO THIS MOVIE A very cutre story with a lot of real life happenings Some funny parts and sad parts. I liked the son a lot,He was right for the part I thought the parents were very true to life,great actors I would have liked to se the movie play several times nover.
Cute movie
luvdlcame27 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, it was kind of over the top crazy at the beginning. A lot of Christmas movies have partly your stereotypical crazy shoppers (last minuters and got to get that"special gift"), greedy department stores, competitive front yard decorations, etc. And then there's the one's that want nothing more than to be surrounded by the things that actually mean something to them, even if it's not dazzling. This movie is a little bit of both. It's a little bit ditzie and crazy at the beginning and middle..but in the end it comes through nicely. I like that it isn't only those that celebrate Christmas that get in on the competition..but I don't want to spoil it too much.
SURPRISINGLY SWEET CHRISTMAS STORY!
guitargurl-7773626 December 2021
I honestly really loved this movie, and I am disappointed to see so many awful reviews! Although there are parts that display poor camera work and acting, as a whole, I thought the story was very well done and the message was quite touching! This movie has a bit of a Hallmark feel to it, but overall it was a great family film! There are bits of comedy and romance, and the ending made a great point about the true reason for the season, the birth of Jesus! I will definitely be watching this movie for many Christmases to come! I'm so thankful I stumbled across this one! You should definitely give it a chance, and I hope it blesses your heart just as it blessed mine!
Fun Christmas Flick
gregberne1111 December 2019
This is a fun (and funny) Christmas TV movie. There are not a ton of comedy Christmas films out there (tons of rom-coms but those Hallmark type movies are way more drama than comedy in my opinion) but this was a pretty good one. I'm surprised there is not more love out there for this little TV movie, it's charming!
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