In One Magic Christmas, Ginny Grainger is a hardworking mother struggling to keep her family afloat during a difficult holiday season. Feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from the joy of Christmas, she’s lost sight of the magic her children still believe in. When a gentle Christmas angel named Gideon is sent to watch over the family, small moments of wonder begin to unfold. Through unexpected encounters and quiet acts of kindness, Ginny slowly discovers there may still be room for hope, gratitude, and a little Christmas magic in her life.
The score was orchestrated, conducted, and produced by Glenn Morley with music by Michael Conway Baker. Songs included “Sleigh Ride,” written by Mitchell Parish, music by Leroy Anderson, and performed by The Ronnettes; “Stop! In The Name of Live,” written and music by Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland, performed by Vivian Williams, Yvonne Murray, and Bobbie Lee Davenport; “Lost in the Stars,” written by Maxwell Anderson, music by Kurt Wiell, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” written by Kim Gannon, music by Walter Kent, and performed by Michael Dees.
Released on DVD on August 21, 2001.
Cast & Crew
Director: Phillip Borsos. Writer(s): Thomas Meehan (Story & Screenplay), Phillip Borsos (Story) Barry Healey (Story). Producer(s): Peter O’Brien, Phillip Borsos (Executive Producer), Michael MacDonald (Associate Producer). Cast: Mary Steenburgen (Ginny Grainger), Gary Basaraba (Jack Grainger), Elisabeth Harnois (Abbie Grainger as Elizabeth Harnois), Arthur Hill (Caleb Grainger), Wayne Robson (Harry Dickens), Jan Rubes (Santa Claus), Elias Koteas (Eddie), Robbie Magwood (Cal Grainger), Michelle Meyrink (Betty), Harry Dean Stanton (Gideon). Director of Photography Frank Tidy, B.S.C. Production Designer: Bill Brodie. Editor: Sidney Wolinsky. Music: Michael Conway Baker. Costume Designer: Olga Dimitrov. Casting: Gail Carr.
Technical Specifications
MPAA Rating: G
Runtime: 89 minutes
Sound: Dolby
Color: Color
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Box Office
Budget: $7,500,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend (U.S. & Canada): $2,662,241
Gross (U.S. & Canada): $13,677,222
Gross (Worldwide): $13,677,222
My Thoughts
This was my first time watching One Magic Christmas. It has all the ingredients for a truly great Christmas movie. You have a small town, winter and snow, family struggles, and in the end, a magical transformation for the main character. It tackles many meaningful topics such as hope, financial struggles, family, and rediscovering lost Christmas spirit. So why doesn’t it work? It is a very dark and heavy movie at times, with a bank robbery, death, kidnapping, just to name a few of the more intense moments, and the balance between that realism and the fantasy of a Christmas angel, Santa Claus, and the North Pole just doesn’t seem to mesh. I thought Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton were good as Ginny Grainger and the Christmas angel Gideon. Although I think Steenbergen’s reaction to her husband’s death and the kidnapping of her children was lacking a little in the emotion department, it just didn’t feel emotional enough, although an argument could be made that people deal with grief differently, and at times, Stanton’s character, Gideon, seemed a little creepy and maybe a little stalkerish? The movie seemed to move fairly slowly through most of it before an ending that you would expect from a Disney Christmas movie. My overall rating for One Magic Christmas is 57.00 (out of 100).
Ratings
My Rating: 57.00 (out of 100)
Rotten Tomatoes: 47% (Tomatometer) 68% (Popcornmeter)
Metacritic: N/A (Metascore) | N/A (User Score)
IMDb: 6.4 (out of 10)
The Movie DB: 58% (User Score)
Combined Rating: 58.80
Have you seen One Magic Christmas? Share your thoughts and comments below.
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