Review for "The Christmas Hope"

I remember the first time that my wife Shannon had told me about a TV movie that made her cry every time she watched it. It was called "The Christmas Shoes". Knowing that my wife and I's movie/TV show favorites were similar, I was almost afraid to watch it. I thought that if she cried, out of support for her, I would cry too. :) Well, I finally sat down one night and watched it with her and to my amazement, it was a great movie. More embarassing, I did get teary-eyed! :( There were not too many TV movies that I really enjoyed up until that point, but the story behind the movie was so touching. I remember just after watching it, thinking "Is this movie on DVD?" Much to my surprise it wasn't... yet.

I later did some research on-line and found an email for the film's producer, Beth Grossbard and it was then (in late 2005) that I found out that the sequel, "The Christmas Blessing" was already in the works and would premiere that fall. When I received a screener copy of the film, I was anxious to see where the characters were in the next story. We were again impressed with this story, taking place some years later. When "The Christmas Shoes" came out on DVD the following year, my wife of course was excited. Not only did I pick the DVD up but we had the opportunity to meet the author, Donna VanLiere along with Eddie Carswell and Billy Goodwin (both of the CCM group Newsong) on the Christmas Hope tour in late 2006. While there I learned the story of how the first and subsequent films came to be.

So let's jump ahead to 2009. Beth Grossbard had contacted me again, this time letting me know that the third and final film of the series was going to premiere on Lifetime on December 13, 2009. The excitement of seeing the first two films came back and we were ready to see how the story would come to a close.

"The Christmas Hope" takes place, in my best guess, another ten years beyond the story of "Blessing". This time however, the story focuses on a few new characters; Patricia Addison (portrayed by Madeline Stowe) who works as a social worker, her husband Mark (portrayed by James Remar) and a little girl, Emily (Portrayed by Tori Barban) whose life comes to a screeching hault amidst a tragic accident. While Patricia and Mark are battling each other in marriage, Patricia struggles throughout the film to fully come to grips of the loss of her son, Sean, who was killed in a car accident a few years before. On top of her mental anguish, Patricia agrees to take Emily in until a suitable foster parent can be found. While Mark grows emotionally attached to Emily, Patricia feels that her husband is trying to replace their own child Sean, with the little girl.

It's through the pain and loss where the story comes into full swing and reveals the destiny that these characters share. While the Nathan Andrews character (Portrayed by Ian Ziering) isn't the center point of the third film, I thought it was very cool how the story intertwined these strangers' stories together into a touching and emotional climax.

Is the film good? Yes. Will it make the toughest of men watching shed a tear? Maybe. I was very impressed with this last installment of the "Christmas..." series and I think that both fans of the first two films and the books by VanLiere will enjoy watching this one as well!

Be sure to tune into the Lifetime Movie Network (check your local listings) on Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 8PM (EST) to see for yourself.