Around this time of year, we watch Christmas movies, and this is a new Christmas classic to add to the mix. I love the plot. It reminds me of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Everybody was perfectly cast. Tony Danza stars as a thief named Jack Clayton. When Jack is about to be caught at the mall, he dresses up as Santa Claus and hops on the bus to Evergreen. He is mistaken for the new Santa at Sarah Gibson's tree store. He is very reluctant at first, but after becoming a part of the town, earning their trust, and falls in love with Sarah, he begins to have second thoughts on robbing Evergreen's bank. I highly recommend STEALING Christmas!!!

I am watching this movie as I write, and am so impressed with Tony Danza's performance. What an underused, underrated actor! Someone of influence should take note, and give Mr. Danza the opportunity to act in a major film. The movie itself is not bad. Good as Christmas movies go.

While "Stealing Christmas" might easily have been just another cliched warm and fuzzy holiday tale, exceptional performances by Lea Thompson and Tony Danza raise the dramatic level and clear the way for a revelation of the underlying moral conflict. Betrayal of trust is the one transgression that has no redeeming value; Lea Thompson is the angel who turns Tony Danza's cynical heart away from the brink of betrayal, and touches his heart in a way that makes it impossible to betray the trust that has been placed in him by the simple hearted town folk--and the trust of Lea herself.In an era of movies that myopically portray love exclusively in the form of passionate, nude bedroom scenes, "Stealing Christmas" provides a refreshing view of love between two people primarily as mutual respect, admiration, and most of all, acceptance of each others' faults.

Tony Danza, one of the most underrated actors in the business today, does a fine job portraying a bad guy who has the potential to be good, given the right circumstances. He finds that opportunity while on the lam from a failed department store breakin, ending up in a small town and meeting a widowed Lea Thompson and her cute daughter and taking a job as the village Santa Claus for 3 weeks. Solid supporting cast and plausible story line make for an excellent USA network film, seemingly shot in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast. Betty White is, well, a very good Betty White. Film isn't hokey, even if Danza does get off a line about the Lea Thompson character: "She's the boss." Come to think of it, there are times when she resembles Judith Light. All in all, good holiday fare.