The Christmas Wish - 22nd November 2011

Here we are again, dipping into our fantastic, festive, film fun!

This week we chance our arm, with another made for TV film from 1998;

The Christmas Wish

I could complete this review, by stating just 3 words;

Watch. This. Film!

However, I will give you some insight into this truly magical story.

Will Martin (Neil Patrick Harris), is a young man who moves from New York, back to his home town to manage the family real estate business after the death of his grandfather.
Will had grown up with his grandparents because his parents were killed in a tragic car accident when he was very young. Therefore his grandparents were the most important people in his life, and Will knew that they were very close to each other throughout their married life. As he said, they were so close they were almost like one person.

After his grandfather's death, his grandmother Ruth (played superbly by the wonderful Debbie Reynolds) starts to read her husband's journals that he wrote in volumes, one for every year of their married life. In the journals it mentions that he goes to see a woman named Lillian every Christmas Eve.
It was a secret that he kept from Ruth and she and Will fear the worst.

This is where the Christmas Wish comes in, Ruth wants to know the answer to the mystery; who is Lillian?

Will is determined to find out the truth and why his grandfather would keep this a secret from the family.
In his quest, Will discovers many things, including humility, humanity, love and forgiveness. It has everything a Christmas movie should have.

The key element of this film, is the story (adapted from the book by Richard Siddoway). The story is believable, it has you wanting to know more, it keeps you enthralled, entertained and reminded of what Christmas is all about and it does this right up until the last moment. At the end, you will discover the answer to the mystery, and when you do, get those tissues ready, for I defy even the hardest of hearts not to be softened by the truth behind the mystery.

Sadly, as this is a made for TV American film, it's not available on DVD in this country. We found it on True Movies 1 (Sky 321, Virgin 424, Freesat 302). If you can get True Movies, please look out for it.