Christmas Jars movie review

MOVIE TITLE: CHRISTMAS JARS SPECIAL FATHOM EVENT – ONE NIGHT ONLY – November 4!

RATING: G (When I watched the press screening, it was listed as unrated, but I would definitely give it a G)

LENGTH: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

Ready for some Christmas spirit? Based on the 2005 New York Times best-selling novel by Jason Wright, this long-awaited, sweet movie has the magic of the holidays in spades. You WILL cry and you WILL be touched. I was surprised how many tissues I went through while watching it. The wet quantity proves I really enjoyed it.

This movie is being debuted as a Fathom Event at your local theater on November 4 in connection with BYUtv. It will be showing in over 700 theaters across the United States, but it’s only for 1 night, so put it on your calendar!

I’m so happy that Jason Wright was able to get his beautiful story turned into a movie. I interviewed him many years ago at a convention we were both attending. I remember he pulled out his cell phone and said, “You complete me.” ha ha

Here’s a screenshot from the old YouTube video of us where we were talking about politics.

His endearing story and movie are about people who fill jars with their extra coins during the year and then anonymously deliver the gift to someone in need during the Christmas season. It’s a story of hope, forgiveness, and love.

About this movie, Jason said, “It’s tough to articulate what it means to see ‘Christmas Jars’ finally coming to life. I’m so thrilled with what the team has done and that I don’t have to pretend to like the adaptation of my novel. I’m absolutely in love with it. Even more than buying a ticket and eating some popcorn, I want folks to go home and join the ‘Christmas Jars’ movement by putting a jar on their counter, filling it up, and giving it away anonymously to someone in need during the holidays.”

Absolutely! His book started a movement and, no doubt, this inspiring movie will create a resurgence of good will. Make this one of your family’s new Christmas traditions! #ChristmasJars

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

There is a fantastic discussion guide with great topic ideas for your family at https://www.fathomevents.com/events/christmas-jars Ideally, your family conversation will lead to creating and delivering a Christmas jar of your own!
No profanity.
Absolutely nothing offensive. Yay!
Talk of an abandoned baby.
Talk of an abusive relationship resulting in a woman’s black eye.
Talk of a man in critical condition in the hospital.

THEMES:

Hope
The goodness of people
Kindness is contagious
Forgiveness
Honesty
“These jars are proof that the magic of Christmas is real.” – Clara Zacher (Ashley Comeau)

THINGS I LIKED:

It feels like a Hallmark movie. That’s a good thing. It’s as clean and inspiring as you hope it would be. With a little humor, romance, mystery, and compelling inspiration, this family-friendly film is perfect for all ages.
Jeni Ross is outstanding as Hope, an idealistic, young reporter trying to get her break as a journalist.
Lovely music by Christopher Guglick.
Great casting by Ilona Smyth of the little girls used to illustrate Hope growing up. They all really looked like her! All of the cast seemed to have good chemistry and the characters are believable and realistic.
There is quite a bit of humor to balance out the cheese and sugar.
Ashley Comeau was hilarious as the quirky school teacher, Clara Zacher. It was such a funny, awkward scene. She reveals the theme of the entire movie in a line she delivers during that scene.
Ron Lea is immediately likable as Adam Maxwell. You’ll pretty much want to be adopted into his loving film family.
Doug Murray nailed his funny role as the salty Lyle Butler.
Krista Jang provided a comedic gal pal to add some entertaining banter at the office.
Hairy Hobbit slippers from The Lord of the Rings. Yes! I tried to find them online because they actually looked really comfortable, but I thought these ones were pretty funny.

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Cute and entertaining background activity in some of the office scenes.
There is mention of one of those Family Tree DNA kits. If you’re interested, I highly recommend 23nMe. Two of my sons used it and we had so much fun exploring the results. They both got the one that also identified health risks. If you’re really interested in genealogy and learning more about how to research your family tree, check out the book I wrote with my twin sister!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some of the jokes and gags are pretty cheesy, especially lots of cliched tripping.
Some of the actors smile a little too much, like they’re super excited to be in a movie, you know? I would be too. Just sayin…
Transitions could have been more interesting.

FUNNY LINES:
* “I just matched with a guy who works at IKEA.” – Brandi (Krista Jang)

“Is he cute?” -Hope (Jeni Ross)

“No, but I need help with my bookshelf.” – Brandi

“What about all the damage?” – Hope, when interested in buying an old desk that needs to be refinished.

“Oh ladies, what do you think YOU’RE going to look like in 200 years?” – Store owner (Michael Mancini)

“Fair point.” – Hope

“I have an irrational fear of clowns.” – Hope

“Who doesn’t?” – Ian Maxwell (Markian Tarasiuk)

INTERESTING LINES:

“Not everyone wants credit for their good deeds.” – Cynthia Roberts (Nadine Roden)
“Sharing what you’ve written is like letting someone take a peek into your soul. It’s never easy.” – Hope (As an author myself, I completely agree!)
“You can fix just about anything if you apply enough love and elbow grease.” – Adam Maxwell (Ron Lea)

If you haven’t read the book yet, now is your chance!

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