What Other People Think
Elizabeth (Melissa Sagemiller) thinks she is a go getting advertising executive when the truth is that many of her clients don't think that highly of her and say that she lacks people skills as she clearly doesn't listen to people. It is why her boss Charles (Tom Arnold) hires Robert (Brad Rowe) to help with the big contracts which infuriates Elizabeth who promises she will be better than Robert. Typically whilst being self obsessed she forgets she is meant to be taking her nephew to see Santa down at the amusement park. When they get there Santa has gone but magically an elf appears who after seeing to her nephew asks Elizabeth what she wants and she joking says the ability to hear people's thoughts. And that is what she gets with a gaudy looking brooch which is initially shocking but then she realises she can use to her advantage.
An elf and a few sparkly lights do not a Christmas movie make which is one of the biggest gripes I have when it comes to "All I Want for Christmas", or at least this movie which uses that popular name because this movie is not what I call Christmassy. In truth I am kind of use to this, movies which are set at Christmas but barely use the period as part of the story, just as an attractive looking backdrop to a typical romantic storyline
Aside from it being not as Christmassy as I would like there is of course that elephant in the room and whilst 13 years may have passed I am pretty sure that most people who watch "All I Want for Christmas" will remember that little Mel Gibson movie "What Women Want". Well all that "All I Want for Christmas" is a variation on this as we have Elizabeth getting to hear what others think through a gaudy looking brooch. Yes it is entertaining but it is also incredibly predictable which when tied in to it not being overly Christmassy results in a forgettable movie.
But "All I Want for Christmas" is a modern "Christmas" movie and like with many of these movies the focus seems to be more on the look than the story and so the cast is full of attractive people who look good in front of handsomely dressed Christmas trees. But looking good is not enough to make their characters memorable.
What this all boils down to is that "All I Want for Christmas" is mildly entertaining but not only is it a copy cat movie but one which despite being set at Christmas is not overly Christmassy.
Tags: Christmas Movies
