With Christmas just a few days away it's time for our Movie of the Day series to return, and today I'm recommending a little known holiday film from the 1980's, starring Mary Steenburgen as a grumpy mom who hates Christmas. This one centers on a working class family in a small town who experiences a bout of bad luck (really bad luck as you'll see in the movie), and a Christmas angel has to come down and help the mother to relearn the spirit of Christmas. Sounds hokey of course, but it's actually pretty serious and very solemn (you'd never believe this was a Disney movie, the way the material is played). It may border on dour actually, but the details and magic of Santa's North Pole and workshop in this are pretty cool, and the heartwarming ending and good acting makes up for the depressing nature of some of the earlier scenes. It's an underrated little movie for the season- you should check it out.
1985 Disney Promo:
