By Geno McGahee
A Christmas wish happens in a lot of holiday movies. You see it most of the time with children hoping that their parents get back together or that their one living parent finds a new love to replace the recently dead parent. Considering that the holidays are about family, this is a good storyline to follow for these productions. In ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS, we have two kids, making that Christmas wish to reunite their parents after a split up.
Ethan Embry plays Ethan O’Fallon. Embry has had many other roles…many better than this one. As good as Embry can be, this role didn’t fit at all. He had this fake New York accent that came and went and he never got his footing. Embry would co-star in DUTCH the same year and showed how good he can be in the right role and with the right material. He didn’t have much to work with here.
Teaming up with Ethan, is younger sister, Hallie, played by a very young Thora Birch. Birch would go on for her notable performance in the popular movie AMERICAN BEAUTY. Hallie has the plan to ask Santa to reconnect her family. She goes to the mall and meets up with Santa (Leslie Nielsen) with her request. It’s unlikely to happen, but a Christmas wish is a powerful thing.
Catherine (Harley Jane Kozak), Ethan and Hallie’s mother, is dating Tony (Kevin Nealon) and he isn’t going over well with the kids. Unfortunately, there are plans for a wedding and that will stop the reunion of Catherine and her ex, Michael (Jamey Sheridan). The kids get together and start sabotaging the new relationship, screwing over Tony and forcing their parents to talk. Michael shows interest and Catherine begins to warm up. When Tony returns and insults the children, Catherine sends him packing and the wish comes true.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is incredibly dull with unlikable characters and a predictable plot. Everyone in the cast made a great effort to make this work, but there wasn’t anything to work with. This is just a case of a bad screenplay and dull execution. All I want for Christmas is to never see this film again.
Rating: 2/10
