What makes this movie work so well is the three lead performers. It is about a successful television personality,
Gale Storm aka Ms. Christmas, who is on her final televised Christmas tour before her retirement. Amanda is her successor and Travis is her undercover aide/nurse. Erica Durance as Amanda and Brennan Elliott as Travis cement their reputations as two of the best of Hallmark's actors here, giving performances that are sincere, natural, and heartfelt.. Their eventual attraction to each other is quite believable.
It is nice to see Hallmark present a film that highlights an
"older" character as much as it does here - that doesn't happen very often. And Barbara Niven as Gale is just
wonderful. Her character, as written, could have been played with a lot of histrionics and over-the-top emotions.
But, Niven, always one of Hallmark's best supporting actresses, plays Gale with intelligence, humility, and sincerity. So much so that her performance is very real and believable.
Basically, it's about three people who, through no making of their own, become a family for each other at a critical time. And these three - Niven, Durance, and Elliott, pull it off perfectly with the writer's good and fairly unique script as their guide.
At the same time, there is much here to put you in the Christmas spirit, and in that regard, it succeeds as well.
The only drawback is that sometimes some of the indoor sets are a little cheesy, but these three performers make sure that is not a distraction.
For trivia buffs : By naming Niven's character Gale Storm, the writer, intentionally or not, delivers a nice tribute to the real Gale Storm, a television pioneer who had a couple of successful TV series in the early 1950's. Much like Niven's performance here, she was always a delightful and sincere personality.
One last thing : How many films have you seen where the character is in a hospital bed for treatment and she is wearing full make-up ? It happens regularly, but not here.
Nivens is so professional and realistic, that she strips it off for her hospital scenes - which only adds to the authenticity of her performance.
This could end up being one of Hallmark's best Christmas entries for the 2023 season.
