I enjoyed this movie even though it was an obvious ripoff of an earlier Hallmark movie "Christmas Magic" made in 2011. I expected something special and original in a Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie.
Point by point 1. Both lead women are workaholics in their chosen fields.
2. Both women are in comas following an accident 3. Both women are assigned to help someone before Christmas.
4. Both women had a guardian angel advising them 5. Both guardian angels had their own former lives on earth 6. Both women are warned not to fall in love.
7. Both women fell in love with their subject.
8. Both women must not contact anyone from their former life.
9. Both men formerly had music careers.
10. Both men are in the restaurant business 11. Both men are grieving the loss of a loved one.
12. Both men are raising a child alone.
13. Both little girls recognize that the woman is an angel.
14. Both women are given the chance to return to their former life.. 15. Both women awake from a weeks long coma and hop out of bed and are home the next day.
16. Both couples get a happy ever after. (But that is common in HM movies.)
Minor differences in the story but basically the same movie. There is no way the script writer or at the very least Hallmark itself did not have prior knowledge of "Christmas Magic". Was this an intentional reworking of a previous movie or source material or was this plagiarism?
Now, about this movie. The cast was great, I loved Kristan Davis and Eric McCormack together. It was nice to see older actors and not just the 20 somethings falling in love. Also, Shirley MacLaine was wonderful. It was a feel good movie. However my enjoyment was lessened by knowing exactly what was going to happen next, since I had already watched "Christmas Magic".
My advice - it's well worth watching, but you'll just enjoy it more if you have not already seen "Christmas Magic".
Point by point 1. Both lead women are workaholics in their chosen fields.
2. Both women are in comas following an accident 3. Both women are assigned to help someone before Christmas.
4. Both women had a guardian angel advising them 5. Both guardian angels had their own former lives on earth 6. Both women are warned not to fall in love.
7. Both women fell in love with their subject.
8. Both women must not contact anyone from their former life.
9. Both men formerly had music careers.
10. Both men are in the restaurant business 11. Both men are grieving the loss of a loved one.
12. Both men are raising a child alone.
13. Both little girls recognize that the woman is an angel.
14. Both women are given the chance to return to their former life.. 15. Both women awake from a weeks long coma and hop out of bed and are home the next day.
16. Both couples get a happy ever after. (But that is common in HM movies.)
Minor differences in the story but basically the same movie. There is no way the script writer or at the very least Hallmark itself did not have prior knowledge of "Christmas Magic". Was this an intentional reworking of a previous movie or source material or was this plagiarism?
Now, about this movie. The cast was great, I loved Kristan Davis and Eric McCormack together. It was nice to see older actors and not just the 20 somethings falling in love. Also, Shirley MacLaine was wonderful. It was a feel good movie. However my enjoyment was lessened by knowing exactly what was going to happen next, since I had already watched "Christmas Magic".
My advice - it's well worth watching, but you'll just enjoy it more if you have not already seen "Christmas Magic".