One Magic Christmas (1985)

Instant Favorite.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Warning....This review contains major spoilers.Ginny is grouchy, and doesn't like the idea of Christmas. Her husband lost his job and there's no money for presents for the kids.SPOILERS - WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD! Soooo. An "Angel" comes down and ta-da!! They kill off her husband by having him shot to death by a bank robber. Then they drown her kids by having the bank thief get into the dead husband's car and drive the car into a lake.That'll teach Ginny a lesson! After the traumatic events we all see on the screen, with our kids no less, we get Santa Claus to the rescue. What Santa and an "Angel" have to do with each other is never explained since one comes from the heavens and the other is just a present giver.After the audience including young children go through this gut wrenching chain of events, they turn around with one of the most schmaltzy, syrupy twists to make it better. Through the miracle of Santa.So all ends well for Ginny and family. They learn the TRUE meaning of Christmas.....Thanks to Santa Claus who can bring back the dead. There's presents for all.As someone else wrote......How on earth did Disney wrangle a "G" rating with all this violence and especially drowning of children. What twisted soul at Disney thought of this additional part is beyond me.I guess that in today's world, no one blinks an eye when a real parent kills off his or her own children. So this form of "entertainment" is now acceptable. Gee, I wish Santa could them back. Perhaps if I wrote him a letter........

This movie from Disney is a bit upsetting and not appropriate at all with a Rated G rating. It should PG or PG-13, as this 89 minutes Christmas movie has a robbery, kidnapping, car crash, extreme child endangerment, and a murder. It's no way, should be Rated G. It's actually quite a dreary, downbeat and sad film for the most part, with realistic and mundane look of life. Nothing in the film directed by Phillip Borsos stands out as lively. The clothing is dreary. The locations are cold, and dark. The characters, plot, and nearly everything in production design looks bleak. While, the movie did have a good cast, the story didn't had that golly feeling needed to make this watchable. One Magic Christmas is starts out grim, already as it's about a mother Ginny Grainger (Mary Steenburgen), whom husband, Jack (Gary Basaraba) is out of work, and the family is near being homeless as they are force to move out of the company house before the end of the year. Jack has a big dream of opening a bike shop of his own, but it would eat up their savings, which Ginny sees as a foolish move. I hate how the movie makes Ginny look like Scrooge, because she loses sight of the true meaning of Christmas. Great symbolism like when all the Christmas lights begin turning off all around her, as to show that the last of the Christmas spirit has been drained from her after a fight with Jack, but it was a bit cruel. I'm sorry, but if you can't make ends meet, you have to cut down. She is already working as a cashier in the grocery store. She also raising their children; Abbie (Elisabeth Harnois), Caleb (Arthur Hill) and Cal (Robbie Magwood); so she is no way a Grinch like character. So the responsible mom is the bad guy here, while the happy- go-lucky, spendthrift Dad, so full of good cheer, is the hero. What? Christmas get worst for them, as a series of near accidents seem to follow. First off, Abbie nearly get run over by a car while sending a letter to Santa at her mailbox, but a guardian angel name Gideon (Harry Dean Stanton) save her. The next day, Christmas Eve, Ginny get fired from her job due to her trying to take care of her children, and also against her wishes, Jack goes to the bank to take some money out of their savings to do some Christmas shopping for the kids. A bank robber enters the bank and accidentally shot Jack during the heist. He then flees the bank and hops into the family's car with Abbie and Cal still inside. Ginny realizes that the gunman just stole the car with the children in it, chases after him, only to find out that the car has swerve off the bridge into a river below with her children. I know about Murphy's Law, but this movie makes it look like it's like God is trying to go Job on her like a Final Destination style with its silly everything that can go wrong, could, gimmick. It was a bit too much for dramatic effect. After learning of the death of both her husband and children, Ginny returns home to an empty house, spirit broken, and weeps. Are you sure, producers that this is a Christmas movie?! Anyways, Ginny find out that Gideon save the children before the crash, but couldn't save the Dad. The reasons why, he couldn't save him is BS, in my opinion. Gideon tells the children, that only Santa Claus (Jan Rubes) can bring him back alive which end up being a lie, too. The only way to save Jack is for Abbie's mother to have her spirit of Christmas back in which the kids try with a Christmas letter. Will Ginny get her Christmas spirit back or will Jack be gone forever? Watch the movie for the rest. The ending is a cop out, anyways. Remember children, if somebody dies, it's because your parent doesn't believe in the Christmas spirit; it wasn't the thing that killed them! Plus, if you ever want them back from the dead, just ask Santa is raised them from the grave like zombies. He already use zombies to work his workshop rather than elves, anyways. The bank robber left his son at the bus station; he never mentioned again, will he get his father back if he believed in Santa? NO! What a horrible message. The movie should be telling children how to overcome tragedy; because in real life, you can't change past events. This would make a better message then the one, we get in this film. The acting in the film is pretty alright. Mary Steenburgen is very emotionally subdued throughout the film. Her character walks around in a daze, enjoying little of life. She is a great actress. Harry Dean Stanton is a fine actor but his character looked like a child killer than an angel. It didn't help that he was in a long trench coat, and dark hat spying on them on top of trees. He look and act like a craze stalker. Sadly, Guardian angel Gideon shares many characteristics with child molesters and pretty much a bad role model. One thing about the movie is its pacing. It's boring at times. Overall: The message means well, but the plot is too dark for a Christmas movie. Ugh, Stay away from this one, if you have young children. It's worth viewing with a more mature audience.

Read on and take note - you could save 88 minutes of your life (was that all!).Unremittingly bleak, this film sets out to produce (I'm guessing) a modern small town American Christmas fable in the Capra style. If fails....completely and absolutely fails. I've been trying to think of one good thing about it and can't. Let me mention some of the highlights ...People don't die, they get to spend eternity as immigrant workers in Santa's factory. Angels are actually ex-cowboys who sit in trees. Santa can bring people back from the dead (if you send him a nice letter). And the plot.. I won't spoil it for you but there has to be some light in films if only to contrast with the darkness but there isn't any. Even the photography is bleak - snow shown at the end of a freeze, everywhere looking cold, damp and miserable. As you might guess, the film has a happy (schmaltzy) ending. What a relief !

This was the WORST Christmas movie I ever saw. I took my two small children to see this. It was the darkest, most dismal plot- family has no money, mom loses her job, father gets killed in the bank, bank robber steals family car with both kids in the back and after high speed chase, drives off the bridge and drowns them in the river. Mom is left all alone. No wonder her Christmas spririt is gone. Christmas angels do not rescue children that have drowned, and Santa does not bring back dead fathers! I thought this was the WORST message to send children. Better to tell them that there is NO Santa than show them a movie like this!!