User Reviews

I'm not a fan of the Hallmark channel which is like the viewers guide to a-typical romance novels and sappy themes. These Hallmark movies are over accentuated especially during the Christmas/holiday season. The typical plots always show overly mannequin type actors with mundane issues and of course it always works out in the end. Makes you want to hurl in your favorite private spot. Yet the Hallmark and Lifetime channels have no shortage of these love themes and I'm sure there's more on the way. Yet despite the antiseptic vanilla genre those aforementioned cable channels have,they take on huge viewing audiences with my spouse included. To each his or her own. I always enjoyed the work of Ernest Borgnine. The kind of actor that draws your attention when entering a scene. Gruff, robust with those Machiavellian eyebrows and that gap between his front teeth, Ernie had a wide scale in his approach to acting. Could be a harsh a thorny bush or a soft as a lambs coat. In this story there are no Sir Galahad men or blonde lifeless actress's finding each other. Here we have retired actor Bert O'Reilly (Borgnine) who lives alone wearing his favorite tattered sweater. Meets his old buddies from show business for Breakfast the likes of Katherine Helmond as Roxy, Jamie Farr as Adam, Richard Libertini as Karl and Quinn Redeker as Jack. Bert also plays chess at the park with his agent Karl and is wrestling in his head to sell his house and move into the actor's retirement home. Bert's life is quite simple at this point until he receives an upsetting phone call from a nearby hospital telling him that his estranged Daughter Marie (Tracy Nelson) was involved in car accident and is in intensive care with severe brain injuries. When Bert arrives at the hospital he learns from a social worker that he has a 10 year old Granddaughter Becca played by Juliette Goglia who doesn't take well towards Bert. The reason is the late Grandmother Bert's ex--Wife who for a time lived with Becca told horrible things to both Becca and her Mom Marie. Bert went in to see his injured Daughter but by Doctor's orders Marie was kept in a coma so her brain injuries would heal faster. Now Bert was summoned as the legal Guardian to Becca for now because there is no mention or whereabouts of Becca's Father. Bert drives over to the Roger's Family were Becca has been staying being her Mom is a traveling camera salesperson and is on the road quite frequently. Bert meets with Mrs. Roger alone in the driveway and she asks Bert bold uncalled for questions as to why he wasn't there for his family etc. Bert tells her to mind her own business. Takes Becca and off the two misfits go to Bert's home. Upon there arrival Bert prepare microwavable Chicken tetrozini as Becca curls up in her new room crying. Mom in hospital and a new situation living with a strange old man She doesn't know. As the days go by Becca and Bert Battle bathroom time and ugly sweaters. Becca enters a new school she likes. Spends some days with Roxie and plays chess with Grandpa and Karl as Becca learns slowly the good side of her estranged Grandpa and also learns that her late Grandma was fabricating horrible stories about Bert. Becca wants to audition for a Christmas pageant as a singer and there's no shortage of coaches here as Roxie handles the music and Adam handles the chirography. Juliette Goglia shows her talents with singing and cartwheels as our story takes off. The casting was excellent with Farr and Helmond as extra sweet bananas. Richard Libertini was the voice of reason in this movie straightening out answers that must have been addressed years ago. Ernie's lovable charm handles the rest of this movie which makes this a recipe for a fine gourmet dish for the holidays. Did not have the feel of those Hallmark clad productions which made for a wonderful heartwarming story.

It's obvious that the character of pre-teen Juliette Goglia is going to eventually come to accept grandpa Ernest Borgnine, but it's going to be after lots of bratty temper tantrums, nosy inquiries and revelations about how his ex-wife (now deceased) bashed him to his daughter (in a coma after a bad car accident) who in turn bashed him to the granddaughter. These details are eye rolling and trite (as the man's always to blame regardless of both sides of the story or what the truth is), and you can see why Borgine had to get away.

He's a veteran character actor now involved with musical comedy star Katharine Helmond (who admits to having known the ex-wife) who helps melt the little girl's heart and get her to stop talking in snotty sneers. Borgnine only finds out that he even has a granddaughter when a social worker shows up at the hospital after he's notified about his estranged daughter. At least Goglia gets to better know the truth, hysterically telling her friends that he only became a bad guy in the movies was because he was too ugly to be a song and dance man.

Borgnine's pretty much the main reason to tune in, although Helmond is terrific in a role that Shirley MacLaine could have played in her sleep (especially with the wig Helmond is wearing), and Jamie Farr and Quinn Redeker are great as his old pals. It's set in L. A. at Christmas so there's that sentimental manipulation as well. Too bad the family element is pushed too much because it indicates the sad truth that sometimes the best Christmas gift is to be estranged from them.

I came from a broken family, which left us with very little to hang on to, so when I saw this movie I was totally amazed at how it treats the subject with great heart, understanding, and compassion. Ernest Borgnine does an excellent job as Grandpa. I was so used to seeing him in some really nasty roles, and yet some very friendly roles, as well. Here, he accepts his Grandpa role with dignity and a lot of patience. The other characters, in the movie, make everything tie in together, with their cooperative spirits. They each contribute to the connections, that place. This makes a great Christmas family movie that everyone can watch without fear of sex, violence, etc. I gave it a 10. I wish it could have been more!

Introduction: I recently watched this film on the Hallmark Channel. I like a lot of the film, but I eventually stopped watching it after the film became too unpleasant for me to watch due to the numerous counts of obscenities.

The Story: An elderly man, a former Hollywood minor actor, ends up getting temporal custody of his granddaughter after his estranged daughter gets into a major accident whilst traveling for work and is now in the hospital. The granddad and granddaughter have a rocky relationship at first, but they grow closer and become fond of each other as time goes on. Their relationship is helped by their love for song and dance. ***(SPOILER ALERT)*** The reason why the relationship is so rocky is because the daughter has grown up hearing stories of how rotten her granddad is from her mother and grandmother. The grandmother was young when she married the granddad, but she left the granddad for another man in order to have a better opportunity in hitting the big time. That man ended up kicking the grandmother and her daughter out. The grandmother tried to go back to the granddad, but he wouldn't have it after what happened. The grandmother was so angry that she held a grudge against the granddad for the rest of her life. Her daughter grew up with the result and so did her daughter - the granddaughter. The granddaughter and daughter slowly come to find out the truth of the matter, however.

Conclusion: There are some good moments in the film. I like the acting done by the cast and I like the song and dance moments in the film. I particularly like the growing relationship between the granddad and granddaughter, and the reuniting of the daughter with her dad. However, I didn't watch the end of the film because there are numerous - and completely unnecessary - uses of bad language. During one particular scene there was a string of them, and I decided that was it and deleted the film from my DVD-R. Another thing that I don't care for is the way the granddaughter acts disrespectful sometimes. It's understandable given the way she's grown up and the disappointments she's had with her mother, but it's still not good and it's not an excuse to behave that way. The granddad nor anyone else seems to correct her on it. So, all in all, I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone primarily because of the bad language. But, because there are a lot of good moments in the film, I gave it a higher rating than I normally would have.