"Radio Christmas" is a Lifetime movie released in 2019 for its Christmas marathon. This one is pretty good even if it's totally predictable.
A radio DJ's building in Philly conveniently becomes unavailable for her use. Her employer reassigns her to the "small town" of Bethlehem. Having never visited Pennsylvania outside of the airport, I was aware of the town. Wikipedia reports that it is the seventh largest house in Pennsylvania. Why pick such a large town? Why not make the film take place in a smaller place such as DuBois?
The DJ is played by Keshia Pulliam as Kara. Kara meets a hunky single dad DJ by the name of Scott (Michael Xavier). Scott is a passionate, small town guy who loves his local town. He is apparently also form Philly but keeps that under wraps. Kara informs Scott that she has heard of a "Secret Santa" who donates thousands of dollars to various local projects.
It's not hard to figure out who the Secret Santa is. Regardless of that, the film has good energy and a well written love story. The leads have a gentleness to them and their romance doesn't feel forced. Scott is especially busy taking care of his daughter whom he doesn't understand. Andie (Nakai Takawira), as the daughter is a good movie kid. She is able to be curious without being cute. I often feel that these kinds of movies use children as a cheap source of sentimentality. Kara interacts with Andie who clearly would like to have a mother figure and for her father to have a spouse figure.
The Secret Santa is revealed by a podcast recording Kara accidentally makes. There is a twist ending you may not see coming. The revelation forces a conversation between Scott and his father who didn't approve of Scott's charitable donations. Men can be headstrong and generally don't communicate well. The forcing out of the emotion is welcome for their family and is a good positive message overall. I say let this one pass in spite of its strange setting.
A radio DJ's building in Philly conveniently becomes unavailable for her use. Her employer reassigns her to the "small town" of Bethlehem. Having never visited Pennsylvania outside of the airport, I was aware of the town. Wikipedia reports that it is the seventh largest house in Pennsylvania. Why pick such a large town? Why not make the film take place in a smaller place such as DuBois?
The DJ is played by Keshia Pulliam as Kara. Kara meets a hunky single dad DJ by the name of Scott (Michael Xavier). Scott is a passionate, small town guy who loves his local town. He is apparently also form Philly but keeps that under wraps. Kara informs Scott that she has heard of a "Secret Santa" who donates thousands of dollars to various local projects.
It's not hard to figure out who the Secret Santa is. Regardless of that, the film has good energy and a well written love story. The leads have a gentleness to them and their romance doesn't feel forced. Scott is especially busy taking care of his daughter whom he doesn't understand. Andie (Nakai Takawira), as the daughter is a good movie kid. She is able to be curious without being cute. I often feel that these kinds of movies use children as a cheap source of sentimentality. Kara interacts with Andie who clearly would like to have a mother figure and for her father to have a spouse figure.
The Secret Santa is revealed by a podcast recording Kara accidentally makes. There is a twist ending you may not see coming. The revelation forces a conversation between Scott and his father who didn't approve of Scott's charitable donations. Men can be headstrong and generally don't communicate well. The forcing out of the emotion is welcome for their family and is a good positive message overall. I say let this one pass in spite of its strange setting.