Wish For Christmas (2016) Joey Lawrence, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Anna Fricks, Bill Engvall, Alexandra Boylan, Jeff Schroeder, Ryan Boudreau, Bethany Peterson, Ivy Croteau Movie Review

Wish For Christmas (2016)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Anna Fricks in Wish For Christmas (2016)

Be Careful What You Wish For this Christmas

Teenager, Anna MacLaren (Anna Fricks) has had enough of her parents, Luke (Joey Lawrence - The Dog Who Saved the Holidays) and Elizabeth's (Leigh-Allyn Baker - Little Savages) strong Christian faith especially as they expect her to always attend church and be generous to others. It is why she is looking for some time away from her family at the school's Christmas ball, except the ball gets moved to Christmas Eve and as it is a family tradition to attend church on Christmas Eve she knows her plans will be spoiled. It leads to Anna wishing that her parents didn't believe in God and to her surprise when she wakes up her wish has come true and suddenly she has the freedom she desires, along with her parents being cool. But there are consequences to her wish as her parent's change affects others in the community who are shocked at the sudden change in Luke and Elizabeth leading to Anna doing some soul searching.

Is it "be careful what you wish for" or "the grass is not always greener on the other side" or maybe it is a combination of the two. What I am on about is what "Wish For Christmas" is all about as Anna's wish comes true and she discovers how different things can be and not always for the best when her parent's suddenly turn their back on their faith. And whilst in many ways it is familiar it is also entertaining as whilst Anna initially benefits from her parent's change in attitude she discovers how the change affects others such as Anna's boyfriend and father who are about to be evicted and could do with Luke's guidance.

Leigh-Allyn Baker and Joey Lawrence in Wish For Christmas (2016)

But of course "Wish For Christmas" has a religious side as the MacLarens have a strong belief in God and the teachings of the bible. And of course this side won't be for everyone despite the fact for the most the Christianity side of the movie is played slightly over the top to fit in with the humorous, light entertainment side of "Wish For Christmas". That is not to say it doesn't have some shall we say semi deep religious moments but compared to some movies which have faith as part of their storyline this one isn't seriously preachy.

What "Wish For Christmas" has is also some familiar faces with Joey Lawrence and Leigh-Allyn Baker as the MacLarens and they do an enjoyable job of playing their parts but in an almost tongue in cheek, over the top manner. But it is Anna Fricks who is the star of the movie and she delivers a solid but familiar sort of performance of a teen who goes from hating her life to understanding that there is more to life than having things your way.

What this all boils down to is that "Wish for Christmas" won't be for everyone but should appeal to those who like to see Christmas movies with a bit of Christ in them. Even if movies about faith, kindness, charity and other virtues are not what you tend to go for this one isn't bad as just entertainment.

Tags: Christmas Movies


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