"A Godwink Christmas: Second Chance, First Love" is not one of the better of traditional new romantic stories put on film for the holiday. Just because a film is built around Christmas doesn't mean it's a good movie. Besides the usual problem of having to offer something substantially different in so many of these films that are formulaic, this one had a couple of specific guffaws that make it seem very unreal. At the end of the film, the film has a short clip of the real Pat and Margie Godfrey, whose story was the inspiration the film. I don't know how much of the story accurately reflects their story, and that's not the bone I have to pick with this film.
First though, is how the producers tried to give something new and different to keep it from seeming humdrum as most everyone will immediately know the outcome. So, Pat Godfrey moves from Hawaii back to his native Boise, Idaho. And he has two sons. That shows some promise for a start - it's not a single mom with a daughter, or a dad with one son. But, of course, in this day and age, there has to be divorce, and that's the dad, played by Sam Page. And he had his own outdoor adventure company that he sold. So, now, he decided to move back home so be near his mom, and closer to where the boys will be able to visit and see their mother. Oh, yes, she left him because she wanted the big city corporate life.
Then, he meets high school sweetheart Margie Southworth who has never married, and is completely, overly, head-over-heels, madly and happily in love with herself, her job, the people around her and the fantastic company she works for. She heads up the marketing department in the branch or division off the company that seems to have a large presence in Boise. And, there are apparently a few of the company's retails stores in the town and area. Margie has no more family around, and they weren't very big on Christmas, but she likes it. And she remembers Pat and his parents, who did Christmas up big. Pat's dad died a year or so ago, and now Lois is happy to have her son and grandson come back home while he looks for another job.
Pat and Margie will bump into one another time and again - those are the Godwinks that Grandma Lois says are so much more obvious than mere coincidences. And, there is another little quirk of Margie's that fits nicely with this plot. She has a penchant for losing jewelry. Wherever she goes, she seems to leave an earring. And, who would find them, but Pat.
Still the film is okay has may get through as an okay or even quite good Christmas movie. But then, there's Margie's six-month dating with Scott, who is another store manager who lives 90 miles away, and is a sort of long-distance relationship. I've been to Boise and all over southern Idaho a number of times, and there aren't any towns of much size within 90 miles of Boise. The most likely candidate would be Twin falls at just under 50,000 population. But their company could have a nice retail store there. Oh, yes, did I mention that one of Margie's school chums is the manager of one of the stores under her territory in Boise? And then there's the company itself. Except for boyfriend Scott, there's hardly another guy visible in the company main office. There are some, of course, but everyone working around Margie is a woman, including her boss.
This isn't a women's lingerie company, but a general merchandise business that seems to handle various gift products. And while there's certainly nothing wrong with a company composed mostly of women employees, it stands out as not very realistic. It would be just as noticeable to most viewers today if the company were all male or had very few women visible. But in this case one other element comes to the fore - all of these women, with the slight exception of Margie's right-hand woman assistant, Casey, seem to be advertising toothpaste commercials. Their broad constant smiles almost make on think they are pasted on their faces. This creates a saccharine image that is just unbelievable for any office building or corporate setting. Sure people smile, but most of them give their lips and cheeks a break part of the time. This is so obvious and tedious that it really makes the move and the rest of the story hard to swallow. It may be a company policy though, because even boyfriend Scott can't not smile continuously until toward the very end when it seems he and Margie aren't got to last as a couple.
On that basis alone, I would rate this film even lower than my five stars. But Michele Scarabelli gives this film a life as Pat's mom, Lois, and grandma to his two boys, John and PJ. And, the boys themselves seem like normal kids in their situation, well behaved, missing Hawaii for being uprooted to a cold climate, but loving their grandma and the idea of being closer to their mom. And, Pat Godfrey,, played by Sam Page, is believable and does a good job as a single dad relocating with his boys.
As it is, this film is far too saccharine in the portrayals of most of the female cast members. One wonders how much of the plot was like what the real Pat and Margie lived. Of course, it would have been 30 or more years before the date of this film. And that Margie's workplace and fellow employees even more unbelievable. There's not enough different content in this one to overcome its shortcomings of a formulaic holiday film.
First though, is how the producers tried to give something new and different to keep it from seeming humdrum as most everyone will immediately know the outcome. So, Pat Godfrey moves from Hawaii back to his native Boise, Idaho. And he has two sons. That shows some promise for a start - it's not a single mom with a daughter, or a dad with one son. But, of course, in this day and age, there has to be divorce, and that's the dad, played by Sam Page. And he had his own outdoor adventure company that he sold. So, now, he decided to move back home so be near his mom, and closer to where the boys will be able to visit and see their mother. Oh, yes, she left him because she wanted the big city corporate life.
Then, he meets high school sweetheart Margie Southworth who has never married, and is completely, overly, head-over-heels, madly and happily in love with herself, her job, the people around her and the fantastic company she works for. She heads up the marketing department in the branch or division off the company that seems to have a large presence in Boise. And, there are apparently a few of the company's retails stores in the town and area. Margie has no more family around, and they weren't very big on Christmas, but she likes it. And she remembers Pat and his parents, who did Christmas up big. Pat's dad died a year or so ago, and now Lois is happy to have her son and grandson come back home while he looks for another job.
Pat and Margie will bump into one another time and again - those are the Godwinks that Grandma Lois says are so much more obvious than mere coincidences. And, there is another little quirk of Margie's that fits nicely with this plot. She has a penchant for losing jewelry. Wherever she goes, she seems to leave an earring. And, who would find them, but Pat.
Still the film is okay has may get through as an okay or even quite good Christmas movie. But then, there's Margie's six-month dating with Scott, who is another store manager who lives 90 miles away, and is a sort of long-distance relationship. I've been to Boise and all over southern Idaho a number of times, and there aren't any towns of much size within 90 miles of Boise. The most likely candidate would be Twin falls at just under 50,000 population. But their company could have a nice retail store there. Oh, yes, did I mention that one of Margie's school chums is the manager of one of the stores under her territory in Boise? And then there's the company itself. Except for boyfriend Scott, there's hardly another guy visible in the company main office. There are some, of course, but everyone working around Margie is a woman, including her boss.
This isn't a women's lingerie company, but a general merchandise business that seems to handle various gift products. And while there's certainly nothing wrong with a company composed mostly of women employees, it stands out as not very realistic. It would be just as noticeable to most viewers today if the company were all male or had very few women visible. But in this case one other element comes to the fore - all of these women, with the slight exception of Margie's right-hand woman assistant, Casey, seem to be advertising toothpaste commercials. Their broad constant smiles almost make on think they are pasted on their faces. This creates a saccharine image that is just unbelievable for any office building or corporate setting. Sure people smile, but most of them give their lips and cheeks a break part of the time. This is so obvious and tedious that it really makes the move and the rest of the story hard to swallow. It may be a company policy though, because even boyfriend Scott can't not smile continuously until toward the very end when it seems he and Margie aren't got to last as a couple.
On that basis alone, I would rate this film even lower than my five stars. But Michele Scarabelli gives this film a life as Pat's mom, Lois, and grandma to his two boys, John and PJ. And, the boys themselves seem like normal kids in their situation, well behaved, missing Hawaii for being uprooted to a cold climate, but loving their grandma and the idea of being closer to their mom. And, Pat Godfrey,, played by Sam Page, is believable and does a good job as a single dad relocating with his boys.
As it is, this film is far too saccharine in the portrayals of most of the female cast members. One wonders how much of the plot was like what the real Pat and Margie lived. Of course, it would have been 30 or more years before the date of this film. And that Margie's workplace and fellow employees even more unbelievable. There's not enough different content in this one to overcome its shortcomings of a formulaic holiday film.