User Reviews

The best line in the entire movie is when Barry comes into Ted's toy shop and sees Lucy (hottie Vivica Fox) for the first time. Barry asks Ted, "Wow, who was that?" And Ted replies without missing a beat, "She will crush you, man." An absolutely wonderful line. And, frankly, the little moments between Barry and Lucy (albeit, few and far between) are the best in the film. As far as the rest of the movie goes, it is pretty predictable fare: cute girl Annie meets two incredibly good- looking guys (pulled from the super-model list), one who is obviously right for her and one who is obviously way wrong. Will true love win out? With the help of adorable Mia (Lucy's daughter), there is no doubt. Worth a watch one time.

Annie Claus (Maria Thayer) is Santas's daughter and she lives with her parents at the North Pole. Now a beautiful young woman, she loves the Christmas organization but wonders whether a life below the Arctic might be nice, too. Therefore, her parents suggest that she whirl a globe, pick a city, and make new friends for a short time. Then, she must decide what her future holds. As luck would have it, Annie's finger lands on Los Angeles and that venue does sound exciting. Pretty soon, Annie is renting a room at the Candy Cane Inn, run by beautiful lady Lucy (Vivica A. Fox) and her daughter, Mia. Lucy and Annie take to each other straight away, although Lucy makes it clear she's not interested in romance anymore. However, Annie IS. Very quickly, she meets a good looking businessman named Dean (Ryan Bittle). He seems perfect, for he is handsome, successful, and works with orphans in his spare time. What Annie doesn't know is that he is a phony, a two-bit actor hired by a traitor elf to keep Annie in the States, should a wedding be the result. Being as sunny-natured as they come, Annie can't see through his outward appearance. Yet, Annie meets another gentleman who is the genuine article, albeit down on his luck. Toy store owner Ted (Sam Page) has to drum up more business or shut down. As Annie stumbles into his place, she immediately makes friends with Ted and volunteers her time and expert toy knowledge to help him stay afloat. Ted is grateful and smitten with Annie, too. But, Annie can't see anyone but scoundrel Dean. In brief, will Ted's store be saved and who will win Annie's heart of hearts? This lovely Christmas film is vastly enjoyable. Thayer's Annie is certainly one of the most optimistic cheer-distributors ever, as her darling red-haired looks and sweet nature are charming. Just watching her makes any person want to change into someone better in the future. Page and Bittle are perfect contrasts for each other while Fox and the rest of the cast do a fine job. Even though there isn't snow, the setting is attractive and vibrant while the costumes, hairstyles, photography, script and direction are mighty nice. Yes, there is a bit of incredulity, especially where Ted's shop is concerned, for its "junky" nature at the beginning would have doomed him long before Christmas. Even so, families searching for a Christmas film that fills the holiday's true meaning should find a way to bring this one to their house, in their town, anywhere, anytime.

Good cast, Sam Page and Maria Thayer work well together. Good chemistry.

Plot, Santa's daughter comes to town to make a decision, remain at the North Pole and continue as Santa or stay in the world and allow Santa's head elf take over. But evil elf has an evil plan, trick innocent, naïve Annie into falling in love with a conman, leaving evil elf to inherit the Santa job.

But good triumphs over evil and true love will conquer all, this is a Hallmark film after all.

My advice: Good family film, will not disillusion young viewers or shatter anyone's faith in Santa. Watch it together.

This Christmas movie was cute, fun and sparkling. Sure, it's not perfect. It's a TV movie, for heaven's sake. But you'd have to be a real Grinch not to be charmed by it.

I'm a sucker for fantasy movies such as this. I'm sure this premise has been done before and since (movies like "Elf" and "Noelle" come to mind). But it still feels somewhat fresh and original. You have our imminently likable heroine Annie, the daughter of Santa Claus, experiencing her requisite month out in the real world before deciding whether or not to commit fully to life in the North Pole, similar to what the Amish do. Of course, everyone she meets in the grungy, real world of Los Angeles is touched by her infectious enthusiasm and her simple, naive Christmas spirit. Throw in nice guy toy shop owner Ted as an obvious potential love interest and slimeball fake love interest Dean, plus sweet motel owner Lucy and her adorable daughter Mia, and you have all the makings of a satisfying, breezy, feel-good Chrismas tale and love story.

Maria Thayer was absolute perfection as Annie. She was cute, spunky and endlessly upbeat and positive. She perfectly embodied the wide-eyed innocence of someone who had never experienced the real world, as well as someone who was far wiser, in her own way, than those hardened, urban souls around her. Thayer reminds me a lot of Alicia Witt, who has been far more successful in Hallmark-esque rom-coms such as this. I'm sad that her career apparently didn't take off more than it did, because she definitely has a lot more to offer than the roles given her would suggest.

The supporting characters were good too. Sam Page as Ted was great, portraying the cynical, grouchy owner of a failing toy store, while still coming across as handsome, likable and relatable. Ryan Bittle as the poser Dean was sufficiently smarmy and sleazy for us to really dislike him. Nay Nay Kirby as Mia was cute as a button, as all kids in such movies must be.

Okay, the script was a little rough around the edges in spots. I felt like the romance between Annie and Ted was rather underdeveloped. I wish they had had him show more emotion about his failed marriage, which seems to be the genesis of his curmudgeonly attitude. It needed to be made more explicit. A few heart-to-heart talks between Ted and Annie about such past issues would have done wonders to establish an emotional connection between the two of them. What this story required was a clear delineation between the fake, manipulated romance between Annie and Dean and the real, heartfelt connection between her and Ted, and sadly, the screenwriters dropped the ball on that one. The whole transition of Amy, the mean girl in the Christmas pageant, from bully to nice girl, also wasn't handled well. It seemed too abrupt and unbelievable. I would've preferred that Mia petition Annie to let Amy have her own solo in the production, which is what she really wanted.

Minor flaws aside, I think this movie is as enjoyable a Christmas movie as I've seen in quite a while. The production values may not be quite as high as for some other Christmas fantasy movies, such as "The Santa Clause", or "The Christmas Chronicles", but I'll step out on a limb and say that this movie deserves a place along side them as a perennial Christmas favorite.