I've watched this movie several times over the last few years and enjoyed it each time. I do suspect that the version I saw this year has been edited for time. If I can find it, I plan to add it to my DVD collection so that I don't have to worry about more editing in future years. I love Christmas movies of all kinds and "Under the Mistletoe" will be added to the list of those that I look forward to every year. Thanks to all involved in it's production - particularly Michael Shanks, Jamie Ray Newman, Burkely Duffield, George Mendeluk, Lindsey MacAdam and Jason Rilie. British Columbia is a beautiful place and movies made there reflect the natural beauty of the Province and the people who live there.

Christmas stories often have an ethereal spirit which leads the main character(s) to a new awareness or life. "The Christmas Story" is a prime example where the ghost of Robert Marley and the other "spirits" lead Scrooge to a new life of loving and giving. Much in the same vein, "Under The Mistletoe" engages the audience in the same manner, without seeming derivative. It is a wholesome, modern Christmas film, that should become a yearly favorite. Jaimie Ray Newman radiates on screen. She is totally believable as the mourning widow with a son who can not let go of his father, who has died, but remains visible to him. Burkley Duffiled as her son is a fine young actor, handsome, and natural as the loner who can only see into the other world. Michael Shanks, as the new father in his life, is refreshing in his departure from "Stargate". And Connan Graham fulfills his role as the "ghost", the departed father, admirably. The action hockey sequence is bound to engage the hockey fans and the kids as in the "Mighty Ducks". Well produced and put together film with a sure and steady hand in directing.

Aside from a few sentiments that bothered my slightly feminist nature this is a charming and gentle movie.Both George Mendeluk and Michael Shanks describe Jamie Ray Newman as being very 'present' in her role of Susan Chandler and after seeing the movie I understand more clearly what they are saying. Susan Chandler just fills the screen with chemistry and energy.The only problem I had with Susan Chandler is that she seems a bit too self absorbed. Even with thinking that Kevin Harrison has a wife at home, she constantly imposes on him to look after her son while she pursues her 'love life'. I mean I would think it was very strange for someone's wife to allow him to just go baby-sit my kid on a moment's notice.After seeing this movie and even with knowing why Michael Shanks chose the role he did in it, part of me kinda wishes we could have seen what he would have done with the role of the ghostly father, Tom Chandler.In my interview with George Mendeluk, he says that Michael Shanks has a wholesome quality about him that makes Kevin Harrison so believable. Boy is this ever true. You just can't help but want to take this man home with you. He is gentle, caring, intuitive, intelligent and dedicated to helping Jonathan deal with losing his dad. Yet there is an air of sadness about him that tugs at your heart. When he finally reveals the reason for that sadness, you just want to hug Kevin and never let him go.It's easy to see why Michael Shanks was drawn to this role considering how devoted to his own family he is. If you haven't seen the movie yet, keep your eyes open for the bracelet he is wearing which is clearly visible in one particular scene. It is the one that his oldest daughter made for him and Michael Shanks told me it was part of what he was using to remind him of his own family life and using it to create part of Kevin Harrison's character.Burkely Duffield is really amazing in this movie and George Mendeluk is right, he is the one who brings it all together. Under The Mistletoe fore goes the stereotypical 'wisecracking' preteen who is smarter than the adults. Instead, Jonathan Chandler is filled with a childlike faith and sense of wonder that so often children lose as the head towards their teens. Burkely Duffield makes Jonathan come across as sweet and sincere.In many aspects, Under the Mistletoe is a 'by the numbers' storyline, yet it manages to rise about that and stand out because of the extraordinary cast of characters and the actors playing them, especially Michael Shanks and Burkely Duffield.Jonathan Chandler is very worried about his mother and he finds a safe harbor in Kevin Harrison who, instead of treating him dismissively for claiming to be able to speak to his deceased father, opens his mind and heart to the troubled young boy to really listen to him. The movie treats both Jonathan and Susan's issues of grief over the loss of Tom Chandler with respect, not as comedic fodder.The one thing I did come away with is that the movie to me is really more about Jonathan Chandler and Kevin Harrison's interactions, than it was about Susan and Kevin's. Susan Chandler in many ways seems almost secondary to this part of the story line as she blithely turns her son's emotional issues and problems over to a man she hardly knows, but immediately trusts to help him.On the totally shallow side, Michael Shanks is absolutely stunning to look at in this movie. His close ups highlight his eyes and his smile. The camera angles and blocking for this movie are definitely used to his best advantage, as it is with all the actors involved. This movie was clearly made by someone who wanted it to be focused on the characters, not on the scenery around them.Marla

Painfully bad, even for a Lifetime movie or a Harlequin novel. On any other network this would be a Alan Smithee production. The basic premise, a ghost with unfinished business, wasn't the problem. The Patrick Swayze film, Ghost, proves that it can work. In this case, though, the execution of that premise was not handled well. After a year of talking to his dead dad, the kid's mother still doesn't have the kid in therapy. Then one book and some ghostly tricks later, mom decides she may need therapy. Oh, and let's add that the dead father's unfinished business can be summed up that he left mom in a financial hole and she needs a man to take care of her. Ack! The only saving grace was Michael Shank's performance. At least his character came as someone you could tolerate which is more than can be said for the two other adult leads.