"The Spirit of Christmas" at least has a great title and a pretty good story. People often forget the spooky side of Christmas legend. The Christmas Carol features ghosts and rattling chains after all. It's nice to see that aspect of Christmas represented in a film.
A probate lawyer visits the hotel owned by a decedent in order to appraise and sell it. No one is willing to appraise it because it is haunted by a man who was killed a century ago. The man's spirit returns to either haunt or hang out in the hotel his family used to own. The logic behind his appearance is inconsistent and illogical. That's ok. The film really isn't about ghosts or lore. This is a mystery romance film with a slight Christmas theme.
Kate, the lawyer, and Daniel, the ghost Hot Guy, try to figure out the cause of his appearance every year. He isn't sure. The script is very concerned about the timing of a trip Daniel makes to Canada. I wasn't super concentrated because the film isn't ambitious enough to build a world for Daniel. Why does he half to be a rum runner besides general poverty?
At least the film is visually interesting. The hotel is dark and not every shot is framed directly in front of the actors. Sometimes we see shots from above or below someone. I only mention this because so many made-for-tv Christmas films are very visually boring. There is a great moment when a second ghost is revealed who makes a frightening appearance in a hotel bathroom. The film was shot during winter and there is real snow in some scenes.
The actors are attractive. You want them to get together. Jen Lilley as Kate is good at selling Kate as an overworked, cynical career woman. Thomas Beadouin is emotive enough to feel empathetic. He is very handsome and the movie gives us a shirtless scene which it knows we want.
The two of them get together and break his curse, or blessing or whatever it is. I feel like the writer ran out of time and just ended the story. The leaps in logic make no sense within the confines of the story. Again, it's ok. This is an ambitious misfire which is better than a lazy run of the mill dud.
A probate lawyer visits the hotel owned by a decedent in order to appraise and sell it. No one is willing to appraise it because it is haunted by a man who was killed a century ago. The man's spirit returns to either haunt or hang out in the hotel his family used to own. The logic behind his appearance is inconsistent and illogical. That's ok. The film really isn't about ghosts or lore. This is a mystery romance film with a slight Christmas theme.
Kate, the lawyer, and Daniel, the ghost Hot Guy, try to figure out the cause of his appearance every year. He isn't sure. The script is very concerned about the timing of a trip Daniel makes to Canada. I wasn't super concentrated because the film isn't ambitious enough to build a world for Daniel. Why does he half to be a rum runner besides general poverty?
At least the film is visually interesting. The hotel is dark and not every shot is framed directly in front of the actors. Sometimes we see shots from above or below someone. I only mention this because so many made-for-tv Christmas films are very visually boring. There is a great moment when a second ghost is revealed who makes a frightening appearance in a hotel bathroom. The film was shot during winter and there is real snow in some scenes.
The actors are attractive. You want them to get together. Jen Lilley as Kate is good at selling Kate as an overworked, cynical career woman. Thomas Beadouin is emotive enough to feel empathetic. He is very handsome and the movie gives us a shirtless scene which it knows we want.
The two of them get together and break his curse, or blessing or whatever it is. I feel like the writer ran out of time and just ended the story. The leaps in logic make no sense within the confines of the story. Again, it's ok. This is an ambitious misfire which is better than a lazy run of the mill dud.