- 1991movierewind
Episode #42: All I Want for Christmas
Listen to Episode 42 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - All I Want for Christmas tells the story of siblings Ethan and Hallie whose parents have been divorced for about a year. Their dad is obsessively working at his new diner and their mom is trying to move on with a new boyfriend. In order to bring their family back together, Hallie goes to the mall to ask Santa to reunite their parents.
Screenplay by Thom Eberhardt and Richard Kramer; Directed by Robert Lieberman, and released on November 8, 1991.
FILM DISCUSSION
It takes a little while for us to get a sense of the characters. Early on the dad is presented as a totally selfish jerk
Hallie talks like an elitist grown-up and both are off-putting at first until more time passes.
It's honestly surprising that the movie centers around upper-class New Yorkers when trying to connect to a nation-wide audience, but it still works.
What kid doesn't remember having to deal with their cotillion, after all?
The general theme is that Hallie asks Santa to reunite their divorced parents for Christmas. Don't let the box art fool you, they do not set a trap for Santa.
This isn't "Home Alone" but there is an elaborate plan. It simply involves a lot of different steps and planning way ahead, which is interesting in its own way.
Of course there's a side story about the budding love of Ethan and Stephanie and she plays a key part in the scheme to get the parents in the same room.
The movie focuses a bit more on the emotional side rather than the comedic side and will probably resonate with children who've experienced their parents' divorce.
A lot gets crammed into this shorter movie and it would have been great to flesh things out a bit more.
But they probably wanted to focus on the kids stuff rather than explaining what went down between the parents
Awards Talk: The only nominations for this film are from the Young Artists awards. Both Ethan Embry and Thora Birch were nominated but did not take the trophy. Still, the nominations were well deserved as just about all the child acting was fantastic.
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week we don't have any true crime segment to talk about so we jump right into music.
We're changing things up a little bit this week. Here are your Billboard Bottom 5 Songs for the week of November 9, 1991
100 - Time, Love and Tenderness - Michael Bolton
99 - Double Good Everything - Smoky Robinson
98 - I Can’t Wait Another Minute - Hi-Five
97 - You’re the Story of my Life - Desmond Child
96 - Forever More - Stevie B
Moving on to TV, here's what you may have been watching the day this was released
We also feature another Busted Pilot - Perfect Crimes
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 3 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 1 1/2 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - Nikki says yes, although it's not a Christmas classic she would put on for an annual tradition. Jon says that he would not. The acting was good, but it took far too long to really become interesting and most of the plot felt unfinished.
If you want to watch All I Want for Christmas, as of this recording in November 2021, it’s available on Digital Rental, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.
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