MR. CHRISTMAS

MR. CHRISTMAS is a heartwarming movie about a young family during December 1941. Joel and Julie don’t have enough money to buy the bicycle that their daughter is longing to have under the tree for Christmas.

Meanwhile, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, and America becomes involved in WWII. The economy suffers, and Joel struggles to make ends meet as the world seems to be falling around him. His usual annual Christmas bonus doesn’t come because the company is having hard times.

As Christmas Eve arrives, Joel is despondent that he is not able to afford to give his daughter what she truly wants. He and his wife have worked hard to give them homemade gifts but he knows that Christmas Day will disappoint her.

Joel goes out at the last minute on Christmas Eve to see if he can buy a bicycle on credit, but the store turns him down. Walking home, he sees a Nativity scene outside a church and hears Luke 2 being read aloud from inside the church. Frustrated, Joel takes a rock to throw at the manger when a dog nearby barks, stopping him. Joel cries and heads home, the dog following him. But, Joel shoos the dog away.

On Christmas Day, the daughter is disappointed but figures that Santa must have not gotten her letter. Just as Joel is drowning in guilt and shame, outside the door is a miracle gift – but it’s not a new bicycle but rather a surprise gift!

MR. CHRISTMAS has much warmth and the story moves along briskly. While it is a sentimental story, it doesn’t give way too often to cliché. The key performances are solid, though some of the supporting characters are a little wooden. That said, the movie is moving, probably especially to fathers who may have financial struggles themselves.

MR. CHRISTMAS is a good, moral story, though there are no overt statements about Jesus and Christmas. In fact, the story centers on Santa Claus and what he will bring the young children. Joel encounters the Nativity scene at the church and it is suggested that the miracle gift the next day is due to that. There is also a mix of favorite Christmas carols throughout, which do proclaim that Jesus is the point of Christmas.

This is a “feel good” movie that shows a positive story.