Prime Time: A Christmas Melody (2015)

Lacey Chabert is as much a part of my Christmas preparations nowadays as multiple half-used rolls of wrapping paper and a building sense of frustration every time I lose the end of the sellotape (no, I don't have a tape dispenser, we're not all living in some kind of organised state of bliss). Mariah Carey is also now very much part of the Christmas celebrations. And that goes double ever since I heard a large group of drunken men leave the Christmas Market in Hyde Park while they sang "All I Want For Christmas Is You" at the top of their lungs. So when I found a Christmas TV movie starring both Chabert and Carey I knew that I had to see it. And then I found out that Mariah Carey also directed the thing. Well . . . cover me in brandy and call me pudding.

The story is fairly simple, as these things so often are. Chabert plays Kristin Parson, a young woman who can design and make clothes, and who we first see sadly closing the doors of her little boutique clothing store for the last time. She has to head home again, with her daughter Emily (Fina Strazza) by her side. Emily has to adjust to a new life, and new school, while Kristin figures out what to do next. There's a lovely Aunt (Kathy Najimy), a music teacher who used to be a school friend (Danny, played by Brennan Elliott), and a woman who does her utmost to keep everyone in their place, as long as that place is just below her own social standing (Melissa, played by Carey). Oh, and there's a janitor named Thomas (Kevin Chamberlin) who seems to have a bit of magic about him, especially after we saw the same actor playing a homeless man given some money by Kristin.

This is a slightly odd Christmas movie, in that most of the things we know and love about them are present and correct, yet it lacks a certain something. Perhaps director Carey hoped to use the format to do something a bit different, or perhaps writer Jennifer Notas Shapiro (who did a good job with both The 12 Gifts Of Christmas and The Flight Before Christmas) lost focus while working on this one.

It's hard to pin-point exactly why it doesn't work, but a few contributing factors are: Chabert playing someone who is even more bland and passive than usual, Carey wanting to play a "mean girl" without ever leaning far enough into it, and a carelessness with the material that makes it all feel a bit more stilted than usual, especially during the product placement moment that is even more egregious than most you will see in these movies.

Strazza does perfectly fine in her role, despite her struggle never feeling enough like something to really be invested in, while Chabert and Elliott work well together, all smiles as they bond together while remembering sweet high school memories. Carey is alright, but should have been meaner (as mentioned), Najimy is as fun as she so often is, and Chamberlin does very well as the sort of person who can give children odd messages with a twinkle in their eye in a way that these movies maintain is completely charming and innocent, instead of worrying and creepy.

3/10

The movie can be bought here.

All I Want For Christmas Is You (2017)

Where to begin, where to begin? When this animated film started I thought that I was going to hate it. It was a bit too cutesy, it wasn't the best animation, and I struggle to identify with the plight of a young girl who just wants a puppy for Christmas. And I was just waiting for the moment that would allow Mariah Carey to belt out her song.

Oh, didn't you know that this was tied in with Mariah Carey? Oh yes. There's apparently a book that this is based on (although the film is written by Temple Mathews, who has managed to turn the short story into a standard feature-length film), and Mariah provides voiceover narration, as well as MAYBE a rendition of her seasonal hit.

But I digress. Let me get back to hating this film. Except I stopped hating it, and I stopped hating it quite early on. There was still a part of me that resented the idea of a film being spun out from a small book (that I was previously unaware of) that was spun out from a hit Christmas song, and the animation wasn't exactly superb, but I started to enjoy this simple tale, and I had to concede that if I was a much younger viewer then I would probably love this.

Young Mariah (voiced by Breanna Yde) wants a puppy, as I have already mentioned. Unfortunately, her father is very allergic to dogs. That doesn't stop young Mariah having her heart set on picking up a dog named Princess, a dog that she thinks is meant to be hers. As a temporary remedy for her possible heartache, Mariah is given a puppy, Jack, who turns out to be quite a handful. He always seems to do the wrong thing at the wrong time, driving Mariah further and further up the wall with his puppy antics.

Directed by Guy Vasilovich, All I Want For Christmas Is You is a star vehicle that allows you to forget about that same star as you are drawn into the delightful story that unfolds. There are some other supporting characters, with the only other standout being a mischievous grandpa (voiced by Henry Winker), but this is all about a little girl and her puppy. Yes, you know the song is coming, and you know that it won't be the only song in the film, but that starts to matter less and less as the film actually, and surprisingly, earns a decent amount of goodwill from viewers.

You're unlikely to enjoy this much if you hate Mariah Carey (I have always quite liked her) as she provides enough narration to infuriate anyone familiar enough with her voice, and I am not going to pretend that this was designed to appeal to anyone other than children, or anyone having to watch the whole thing while sitting beside children, but this won me over. Which means that I even listened to the whole song over the end credits. And it's a great Christmas tune, one that I end up dancing and singing along to almost every time I hear it.

In fact . . . here it is.

6/10

All I Want For Christmas Is You can be purchased here in the UK.
American Mariah fans can buy it here.