Home by Christmas (2006) starring Linda Hamilton, Rob Stewart, Brenda Crichlow, Garwin Sanford directed by Gail Harvey Movie Review

Home by Christmas (2006)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Linda Hamilton in Home by Christmas (2006)

Hamilton Will be Back

Julie Bedford (Linda Hamilton) was happy, she loved her husband of 21 years and they were reasonably well off. But then she learns the truth that her husband, the father of her daughter has been cheating on her with a younger gym instructor and it seems everyone else knew about it. To make matters worse he decides he wants a divorce and in order to get things over with Julie accepts a low divorce settlement. Unable to rent anywhere nice Julie and her daughter move into a dive of an apartment which only lasts so long before her daughter returns home to live with her dad and his girlfriend. Things get worse when she is mugged, her bank account is cleaned out and she ends up sleeping rough in her car. But with self belief, a need to survive and some friendly help Julie starts to turn things around

If your ideal Christmas movie is a fun even romantic escape from reality then you might want to avoid "Home by Christmas" as whilst it has some humour it isn't an escape from reality. In fact "Home by Christmas" is the complete opposite as it attempts to show how people can slide into desperation when life doesn't go to plan with one problem compounding another until things are in a real mess. Yet at the same time it also tries to show some positivity as there is also a way out of the situation with some acts of kindness, self belief and so on.

Now this sort of movie which brings to people's attention how easy it is to become homeless and desperate is something I believe strongly in having gone through some similar experiences myself but unfortunately "Home by Christmas" just didn't quite do it for me and it felt awkward as if it had been rushed out both when it comes to the screenplay but also the production. The end result is a movie which seems mixed up as at times it tries to show how by ignoring problems and not facing up to your situation can lead to things getting messy but then it chucks in some romantic comedy alongside it which makes it as I said awkward and less realistic.

But in what for me is a rollercoaster ride of a movie there is Linda Hamilton who has a real talent when it comes to TV movies. Hamilton has this ability to do the fun stuff in the movie but also sell the darker, more dramatic aspects without resorting to phoney over the top melodramatics. It means that whilst the character of Julie is not the most fleshed out she generates sympathy right from the word go.

What this all boils down to is that "Home by Christmas" ends up a mixed bag of a movie for me as whilst I applaud movies which try to highlight how easy it is to become homeless the combination with the lighter more comedic aspects don't quite work for me as if it is one sort of movie trying to be something more commercial.

Tags: Christmas Movies, TV Christmas Movies


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