"On the 2nd Day of Christmas" starts like the Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist": a pickpocket has enlisted a small child in the profession of stealing! As appalling as this scenario sounds, the film then progressed to a rather charming and romantic Christmas story.
The film's modest success is due primarily to the chemistry between the lead performers Mark Ruffalo and Mary Stuart Masterson. Ruffalo's character Bert, who works security in a department store, is given the assignment of guarding the pickpocket Patsy (Masterson) over the Christmas holidays until she may be turned over to the police. Of course, the romantic sparks begin to fly between Bert and Patsy!
To support the principal relationship of Bert and Patsy, there could have been better character developments in the large family of Bert. Arlene Meadows turned in good work as the mother, but the other family members seemed one-dimensional. When Bert and Patsy visit his family members on Christmas, we learn that the entire clan consists of police officers! During the Christmas meal, the banter could have been more lively and the characters more colorful.
Still, there were some touching and tender moments in this film due to the two likable leads. Only one question sticks in my craw: Was it really necessary to make Patsy's character a modern-day Dickensian pickpocket? If Bert had been the department store's security guard and Patsy had been employed as a salesperson, this story would have played out just as effectively as a heartwarming holiday film.
The film's modest success is due primarily to the chemistry between the lead performers Mark Ruffalo and Mary Stuart Masterson. Ruffalo's character Bert, who works security in a department store, is given the assignment of guarding the pickpocket Patsy (Masterson) over the Christmas holidays until she may be turned over to the police. Of course, the romantic sparks begin to fly between Bert and Patsy!
To support the principal relationship of Bert and Patsy, there could have been better character developments in the large family of Bert. Arlene Meadows turned in good work as the mother, but the other family members seemed one-dimensional. When Bert and Patsy visit his family members on Christmas, we learn that the entire clan consists of police officers! During the Christmas meal, the banter could have been more lively and the characters more colorful.
Still, there were some touching and tender moments in this film due to the two likable leads. Only one question sticks in my craw: Was it really necessary to make Patsy's character a modern-day Dickensian pickpocket? If Bert had been the department store's security guard and Patsy had been employed as a salesperson, this story would have played out just as effectively as a heartwarming holiday film.