Last year, Patti LaBelle appeared in the last half hour of the Hallmark Christmas movie, "Christmas Everlasting," and really hammed it up in her couple of scenes. She didn't sing. Well, this year Hallmark gave her more to do as Aunt Dora in this movie - the worst that Hallmark has to offer. The script appears to have been written by a child and the acting all around is stilted and unconvincing. Totally amateurish in every respect - with LaBelle allowed to sing in the end to, I guess, provide a big pay off for sitting through this turkey - or should I say, ham. LaBelles's singing voice is still impressive and strong, but the acting (by her and everyone else involved) is just one big ham - with all the trimmings. A shame really - maybe all these actors (Robinson and LaBelle included) just needed a better script to work with.
Review of A Family Christmas Gift
