The Town Christmas Forgot (2010 TV Movie) User Reviews

I must agree with the first reviewer

[Luvhallmark · 5/10 · 26 November 2010]

As I began to wind down after a very busy thanksgiving day, I turned on the hallmark channel because I love to watch the holiday flicks this time of year. I was excited to find out there was a new movie on "The Town that Christmas Forgot" so I began to watch, well after about the first 15 minutes I found myself saying "I can't believe they actually made a movie like this", it went from bad to absolutely ridiculous in about 20 minutes. This has to be one of the silliest Christmas movies I've ever seen, are they kidding me with this stuff. I honestly was laughing at one point almost feeling embarrassed for lauren holly and the others. My husband didn't even recognize Lauren Holly whom I love, but I'm not sure what she's been doing to her face but it isn't pretty. She was so so cute....it's very sad. Anyway, the scene where the young daughter is singing on stage with the young boys was horrible...very silly, in my opinion, all the acting in this movie was borderline atrocious. Unfortunately, this is a Christmas flick to FORGET! Sorry Hallmark....you missed your mark with this one:(

12/05/10- After visiting this page again to read some of the other reviews of this movie, I realized that I may have seriously offended the young girl who plays the daughter in the movie and I apologize for that. I don't think it was so much her acting that bothered me but I guess maybe the way the scene was presented to us, I'm sure she's a fine actress and I wish the best for her. I still must stand true to what I said though about the movie overall, I think it was one of the worst holiday flicks I've seen. PS- I did in fact enjoy Stephanie's role!

Deck The Halls With Lauren Holly

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 29 August 2020]

If you are a sucker for schmaltzy tearjerkers, then this TV movie might be for you.

A family traveling through the mountains gets stranded just before Christmas in a town called Nowhere is that located, well, in the middle of nowhere.

It's one of those towns of broken dreams, where most of the downtown storefronts are boarded up and there are no prospects because the local industry---in this case a coal mine---shut down years ago. What is left of the population is depressed and hopeless.

But when the Bensons arrive in Nowhere, they meet Samantha Bee (Stephanie Belding), owner of the Bee Hive Café and one of the few residents left with any Christmas spirit. She is determined to put on a Christmas pageant.

The story is about the transformational power of hope, which is a Christmas staple. The writing is average and most of the plot points can be seen well in advance of their arrival. But real softies might still be drawn into the spunk and pluck of this lightweight fare.

Fun, quirky movie

[herrcarter-92161 · 7/10 · 5 June 2023]

This is hardly the perfect movie, but I found myself enjoying it a lot. It's fun, different and kind of quirky. I think the thing I enjoyed most was that it was such a departure from the perfect, idealized world of Hallmark Christmas movies. The kids weren't polite and well-behaved. The teen daughter was so annoying that you just wanted to confiscate her cell phone and throw it out the window. The young boy was so bratty that you wanted to sit him in the corner for a timeout. The mom was so stressed out that you wanted to strap her down to a massage table, just to have her chill out. Only the dad was kind of normal and reasonable. You felt for him, as he tried to deal with his obnoxious family.

Then you had the small town. It certainly looked like it could have had the potential to be charming and quaint, but from the get-go, they successfully portrayed it as the dying ghost town that it was. The town's denizens were not necessarily perfect, warm, fuzzy people you meet in Hallmark Christmas towns. The characters of Samantha the waitress and Coleman the mechanic were certainly likable enough, but they were much more down-to-earth, real and unattractive than you might expect from Hallmark. The other town characters, from the silent cafe patrons to the grumpy mayor to the angry toy shop owner, were all weird and disagreeable. It made for a much more interesting palette of characters.

I liked how the family changed, just by being in the town. The town didn't necessarily do anything to earn their love. They just got to know the people and became involved in their lives. Just having them involved in the town's pathetic Christmas pageant helped them in their character arcs. I also liked how the pageant wasn't this amazing production, but more like the amateurish effort you'd expect from a small, dying town.

The ending seemed a little too pat and unrealistic. So, the dying town's dilemma of bringing in new economic activity is magically solved by having Mr. Benson unexpectedly provide them the loan to set up a ski resort on their beautiful mountain because, coincidence of coincidences, he just happens to be the owner of a bank! The least they could have done was make a more compelling case that this was a good business decision for him, and that he saw it as an investment on which he expected to make a profit, rather than having him do it because he felt sorry for the town. But, hey, it's a Christmas movie, so you are willing to cut them a little slack.

All in all, an enjoyable Christmas movie. Just enjoy it for what it is, without too much of a critical eye.

Outstanding

[richard-mathews · 28 November 2010]

Well if "micahcircuitry" did not like this one he will definitely not like "THE NIGHT BEFORE THE NIGHT BEFORE Christmas"..

It is a shame.

"jlf-7" and I both like this one.

If you drive around Colorado between US 50 and I-70 you will definitely find a few places like this one…

This is a good study of people. Check out the men sitting at the lunch counter.

I loved the Toy Store owner. He may be grumpy but he has a positive outlook that the Toy Store will reopen.

This film was probably made in the back of a warehouse in three hours on a total budget of $19.73

[micahcircuitry · 1/10 · 26 November 2010]

There are many different kinds of truly awful movies.

Some suffer from a plot hole so large it could engulf the state of Vermont (Doomsday). Some suffer from no plot at all (Transformers 2). Some make so little sense that your only thought when you leave is "what just happened?" (Speed Racer). The more classic bad movies are exuberant affairs where the director had a clear, amazing vision and the ability to execute it, but, along the way, something went horribly awry (Plan 9 From Outer Space).

And then there's this.

Last night, after eating pounds upon pounds of turkey, my family decided to do something we would not normally do - sit down and utilize the cable TV we pay for. After watching President Obama inexplicably give an award for American heritage to Sir Paul McCartney, my father flipped through the channels and saw, on the Hallmark Channel (a channel neither of us knew existed until that point), a movie entitled "The Town Christmas Forgot". Knowing just how awful of a poorly done TV movie we were in for, we joked about why Christmas forgot this town and started watching. We expected the worst.

And it did not disappoint. The Town Christmas forgot is a stereotypical portrait of a dysfunctional affluent family (incoherent father, irritating mother, insipid teenage girl, young son who seems legally obligated to lisp his lines) on their way to a ski resort. Or their home. Or to a hotel. Or somewhere. It's never really clear. All that we know is that this family is inside of a Lexus that breaks down near the town of Nowhere (and no, I am not making this up). The kindly townsfolk quickly take to the newcomers - the dad saves his mechanic from an untimely death, the mom teaches the waitress to dance, the teenage girl is able to develop a mature relationship with a teenage boy within 5 hours of meeting him, and the young boy brings Santa back to the town (again, not making this up). Later, they give the entire town lots and lots of money, and everyone is happy.

This would be incredibly clichéd, but the acting saves it from the bargain bin - and pushes it straight into the landfill. It seems that the director pulled a few random people off the street, gave them a lot of money and a teleprompter, and... well, you can imagine. The special effects are even farther sub-par - apparently, the crew couldn't afford a real Lexus, so a cardboard cutout functions as such during the "snowstorm", or, more accurately, the Styrofoam blown by a power fan just off screen. And that's not even mentioning the "mountain view".

Somehow, somehow, they also managed to add in a few plot holes to the incredibly clichéd storyline - for example, the ski resort they wanted to build on top of the abandoned coal mine would be incredibly dangerous, as the tunnels could give way under the weight of construction, as is shown in an "exciting" sequence.

If you are like me and are a fan of bad movies, please watch this film. Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

--------------

Update Dec. 9: I would just like to say that I actually quite enjoyed this movie - I felt that it was campy instead of kitschy, and that did make all the difference - I just liked it because it was so wonderfully bad. I have never seen the Hallmark Channel before, so I don't know if this is par for the course or not, but if this is unusually bad, I wouldn't be surprised if this acquired a Plan 9-style following.

Really, I'm not sure whether I should have given this one star or if I should have given it ten. It was truly an exquisite movie, but only to people like me who love bad movies. I guess I was just trying to grade based on regular criteria.

Call me cynical and heartless - believe me, I'm not. Nor am I a special-effects aficionado (I thought Speed Racer was terrible, while the only people who liked it were special-effects lovers). I'm simply a man who dared to dream, to dream of a land where Christmas actually did forget the town of Nowhere, Colorado.

Also, my user name is so weird because I blog these posts and I want to enable my readers to find me on IMDb.

Two hours of my life that I'll never get back

[emj19 · 1/10 · 28 November 2010]

What can I say that's good about this holiday movie? Hmm... Let's see; Thank God it wasn't longer or I would've died of boredom...The 11:00 news was on after it so I was able to get back to reality; It was in color; oh, wait, that was Disney's ploy back in the 60's...Let's face it; this has to be one of the worst holiday movies I've ever seen in my life...Can't we get anything that isn't filmed in Canada with really bad Canadian actors? The acting & directing was abysmal & the sets looked like they were knocked together in about 5 minutes. The sun was shining during the "blizzard" & the plot was a joke. As Dan Ackroyd used to say during his SNL movie reviews: "Boy, That really bit the big one". I'm usually a fan of the Hallmark holiday films but I think this one might just make me swear off of them forever. Police departments could use this movie to torture people into confessing to crimes...although it might be considered as cruel and unusual punishment. This movie may also be banned by The Geneva Convention, so we probably can't use it to replace waterboarding. It should be a federal crime to walk into a crowded room and shout "The Town Christmas Forgot"

I've Seen Worse

[wembley-927-322868 · 8/10 · 19 December 2010]

I am an incurable "anything Christmas" nut and look forward every year to my old favourite movies and hopefully some new ones. I watched this show last night and yes, I too noticed that the sun was shining during the storm at the beginning of the movie. I didn't recognize any of the actors' names and settled in to watch. Within minutes I realized this town named Nowhere was actually partially filmed 15 minutes from my home in a little town called Millbrook. This made the movie even more special as only a week ago I was sitting in a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in Millbrook with the name "Nowhere Lodge" painted on its transom. We had asked the proprietor what the origin of the name was and he told us it was put there when a movie was filmed there not long ago. But I digress. Granted the movie is hokey. But there was no swearing that I could hear and no nudity. The kids' acting left a bit to be desired but they will improve with practice I'm sure. All in all, it was a feel good, family suited Christmas movie whose message seemed to be that it doesn't matter how much money you've got, decency, regards for your fellow man and the true meaning of Christmas are all that matters. If it's on next year I will watch it again. (For what it's worth, I never could stand "It's a Wonderful Life", so there you go - to each her own)

The absolute worst

[caseybones · 1/10 · 18 December 2010]

I love the start of the non-stop Christmas movie season and was excited to see a brand new movie (I think I've seen them all). Settled in with a friend to watch.

Ten minutes into it we were both rolling our eyes. The terrible acting, stereotypical character, and the crappy "special effects" just totally served to make this a disaster. We toughed it out for about half an hour and gave up. Just plan awful.

Lauren Holly seems to have been reduced to making Christmas movies (and not very good ones) on a regular basis anymore. This one is pretty embarrassing - she should remove from her resume in a hurry!

ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL

[bmiller59 · 9/10 · 12 December 2019]

This was a wonderful movie. To those who ripped it, what were you thinking? I wanted to give it a 10, but I've given out too many this season. The story was so enjoyable, the cast was great and it looked as if the cast had a great time doing this movie. All I can say is to watch this and enjoy it for what it is and the message it sends.

A polarizing Christmas tale or it's fun to reviewi the reviews!

[hsolaf · 5/10 · 3 January 2011]

It's funny that 5 of 9 reviews find this Christmas movie wonderful(8/10)while 4 others think it's terrible or even worse. And what do I think?I think reading all of the reviews,good or bad,is as much or more fun than watching the movie, a good case for how reading the reviews enhances the movie experience.I had Town Christmas Forgot at 6 before, then I pulled it down to 5(safe place in the middle) after reading 9 reviews.

There's some truth in all of the reviews, but if you read the bad ones you'll realize that those six glowing ones may reflect the reviewers opinion, but are undeserved as far as the quality of this product. Films at this time may have an "it's Christmas, make me feel good" sympathy bonus built into them, and this one is capitalizing on the formula.

It's a bad economic climate,no coincidence that it's a very financially troubled town where our well to do couple and their two children are stranded in a snowstorm, in the middle of Nowhere(literally , it's the name of the town, and you better believe it).They have to stay at Nowhere for a few days, while they wait for their car to be fixed.

Lo and behold, in record time Annie(Lauren Holly),who is a former dancer-actress, and Charles(Rich Roberts), a bank executive,bond with the town folk,organize the town's Christmas pageant, teach the Nowhere women and children to dance,save a local man's life;while their daughter Trish(Torri Webster) finds a Nowhere boyfriend and trains a local teen rock band; their young kid Nolan(Azer Greco), yes, Virginia,transforms the local toy store owner from a grump into a Santa.There's more, but hey, it would be a spoiler...and you would be really dumb if you can't figure it out.

The actors do their best to make this story as credible as they can, and Holly shines as usually in her lady Santa role. Only a great actress and trooper could get away with doing that silly dance Holly does at the end during the Christmas pageant, and still look cute and lovable.

This Christmas film is predictable; it's maudlin, it's schmaltzy, but not as extreme as to be camp.It's watchable, entertaining,but a stretch in credibility for the viewer and less than intelligent fare. I certainly think that Canada(if this is indeed Canadian) and Hallmark can do better. I long for the days long past when one could expect real first rate dramas with award winning actors from Hallmark.This is not...that.

A dying town receives some stranded travelers

[HallmarkMovieBuff · 6 December 2010]

Santa may be making his list and checking it twice, but I've been watching just about every holiday movie this year that I can so I check them off my list. Although the plot may be trite (as most holiday movies are), I've seen more than a dozen, maybe two dozen, in the last couple weeks, and this one is one of the best put-together ones of the lot. And because it stands out from the crowd, I may be rating it higher than it deserves.

On the plus side, this flick is helped by a relatively tight script, decent direction, and worthy performances by its veteran stars, Lauren Holly and Rick Roberts.

Standouts in the supporting cast include the luminescent Stephanie Belding as the waitress who coordinates the Christmas pageant opposed by her mayor husband, owner of the restaurant where she works; the actor whose name I can't pin down as the barber who also "knows cars" (it seems the principal characters in town have two jobs, while most of the town is out of work); as well as the two who play the Benson kids (especially the son).

What IS THIS?

[pinky_lerue · 1/10 · 21 December 2013]

So a wealthy family gets stuck in Nowhere (hahahahaha), Colorado and everyone is depressed but want to put on the worst Christmas pageant ever... So the not depressed wealthy family teaches the depressed and poor people how to act like they aren't stuck in a messed up economic crap hole... all while ignoring that the banker dad is probably indirectly responsible for the terrible mortgages and everything else that ruined the town after the coal moved away. Spoiler: They have the god-awful pageant and the kids stop being awful brats because the magical poor people taught the wealthy ones to be less horrible.

The writing is abysmal and I honestly hope everyone involved in this production was in Nic Cage levels of debt to take it on.

watchable, but definitely low on the totem pole of Christmas movies

[jml1988 · 4/10 · 29 December 2020]

The acting was pretty bad on all accounts, but the storyline was sweet. I feel they could have done much more with the plot and expanded it a lot. The movie just kind of ENDED.

Wonderful Christmas Movie

[jlf-7 · 8/10 · 27 November 2010]

They need to make more movies like this. It's not slick but has a "good feeling". If they made more movies like this the price of admission could be a lot less at the box office. Yes it's fairly predictable but shows how these rural communities suffer.

It's about a yuppie family who gets stranded in the Colorado mountains and has their car breaks down and they have to stay over in this small town and adjust to rural life. A good lesson for any big city people (we've been both). Especially meaningful in these new depression times! How the other half lives!

If you want to learn the mindset of how these rural areas live and struggle. Has a good ending!

Jon & Judy

Unexciting story with no surprises

[Jackbv123 · 4/10 · 25 August 2018]

A lost family comes to Nowhere and of course they change everything.

Torri Webster was probably the most interesting thing in this movie. As the bored teenage girl who comes to life in Nowhere, she brings a little life to the movie. The rest of the acting is just OK.

The focus of the story is the town pageant. We see a lot of it and most of it is pretty amateur.

There are a few uninspiring speeches about hope and the future which don't help.

Nice family made for TV Christmas Movie

[bogusannie · 8/10 · 1 December 2010]

I think this movie was no worse than any other made for TV Christmas movie. It was predictable, yes, but still a cute movie nonetheless. It was definitely a great movie for kids to watch without fear of inappropriate scenes or language. The acting was fine, I certainly wouldn't call it horrid...let's try remember that this was not billed as a blockbuster, it wasn't "profound" but I loved it anyway...and Lauren Holly looked beautiful as always. I guess it's easy to be a critic when you aren't the one in the movie. It entertained and was definitely a 'feel good' story. There were several funny lines. It was a good little Canadian made film. Great job Stephanie!

What cant rich white people do?

[zaclipman-76203 · 4/10 · 6 December 2021]

Rich white people save a town.

My favorite part was that a guy falls down a mine shaft, is perfectly ok and drives home :) just like in real life.

Romance blossoms, a rag tag group of dancers learn to put on a routine that brings down the house and a kid teaches a man that looks like a portly Richard Dreyfuss the meaning of cmas - all in 2 days story time.

2010 was clearly an interesting time for making hallmark movies.

Stranded family sees the light.

[jaywalkeruk-1 · 8/10 · 29 December 2010]

If you're looking for an Oscar-winning blockbuster then you'll be sorely disappointed but if you're looking for a feel-good, family movie that reminds all us gadget-orientated, money-obsessed individuals that the truly important things in life are the people we live with and that true happiness comes from giving (of yourself) not taking, then you'll like this cheesy movie. The acting isn't great, but it's good enough; the script is predictable and not clever but it works. It doesn't promise to be anything other than what you'd expect from a made-for-t.v. movie- and that's its attraction. If you watched this then posted a negative review, then you have no soul and have more in common with The Grinch than Santa Claus.

Corny but cute...

[janmanuel2 · 8/10 · 25 November 2018]

I enjoy this movie and have watched more than once. The characters in the family are all appealing. They are people caught up in our high tech society who become stranded in a dying town. I loved how they started to enjoy life in the town and the ending was comforting and appealing. I gave it a couple extra stars because it is being rated so low by some people and does not deserve it. The cast is excellent. Besides, I'm a sucker for small town diners.

Cute and Cheesy

[rebmarch · 8/10 · 18 June 2013]

Typical 'Hallmark' movie, it's not going to have Oscar winning acting, writing, or directing values. I don't know what people are expecting, some of the reviews I'm reading, I've paid for worse movies than this at the movie theater.

First of all, since it has not been mentioned the child actor who plays Nolan Benson is Lauren Holly's son Azer Greico, and I felt that Azer had some wonderful scene stealing moments, Lauren you're doing a good job and should be proud of him. And I grew up in Lower Bucks County, where Ms. Holly grew up at, we're all proud of her also.

As far as her appearance, she looks fine, she was in her late forties when this was filmed and will be 50 in October, in order to get work, most actress' have to have some cosmetic surgery done. The only thing she should never do is cut her hair again, no, no, no.

For the movie in general I found it cute and entertaining and watch it every time it's on. Loved Samantha Bee, the chemistry between her and Annie and Charles and Coleman you think they were friends forever and not total strangers who just met.

Azer's scene stealing Nolan Benson is what made the movie for me and I never knew it was Lauren's son until I read it on a PM over by an 'NCIS' Fanfiction writer who I was PM with. Azer does have a future in acting, he had a small part in an Adam Sandler movie last year.

For those who don't like low budget cheesy movies, don't watch. For the folks who just enjoy fun movies that the actors enjoyed playing their roles, this is treat for you.

love the kid, possible spoiler

[momcat316 · 8/10 · 12 July 2014]

I hope to see more of azer, how do you pronounce his entire name, by the way. I know young men hate to be called precious, but that's exactly what he is. I'm a southern grandma, so I'm allowed.

and yes, I saw every episode of NCIS with his mom, ms. holly, and will watch her again, if cable gives me the chance. thank you for letting talent run in the family!

I also fell absolutely in love with the father, and will search IMDb for more chances to see his work. I'm betting I've been married longer than he's been alive, or at least close. 48 years, mr. Roberts? or you look young for your age, and thanks for an unexpected ending.

As brilliant as it is corny

[lagra7 · 10/10 · 9 December 2011]

I love love love corny & sappy Christmas movies. There was nothing about this movie I did not like. It was so over the top awesome that I am sad I cannot watch it every day! It won't win Oscars, but it is hardly a Razzie nominee either. From the miraculous recovery of the guy who fell in a warehouse hole to a thirteen year old whipping a band into shape in a matter of hours, this film delivers hardcore corndog feel good humor. The waitress Sam is the whole movie, sweet and completely oblivious to her mean hubbies wishes to not have the Christmas pageant. The family stranded there were so impressive in terms of their do-good-ery that you are left wishing for a sequel... A+++++, so great! Loved it!!!!

Nowhere Colorado Haha

[gregsgirl7 · 9/10 · 9 November 2019]

I actually really enjoy this movie! Yes it's super corny and the plot is somewhat predictable, it has a feel good ending. The daughter is a spoiled latte, phone in hand and where are all the cute boys. The son is friendly and just wants what's best for the family. They get stranded on a drive to a hotel, in Nowhere Colorado. I'm from Colorado and wish this town existed. I'd rent a place and stay all December, well maybe the last two weeks of the year. Overall they understand that money and things aren't what counts. I applaud this.

Classic

[lisahouston-11745 · 10/10 · 5 September 2020]

Love this Christmas movie. It's a classic. Just a shame it's rarely on tv

Delightful!

[lomaxx-27257 · 9/10 · 30 April 2021]

Easy, light, touching, heart-warming and fun!

Highly rewatchable annual Christmas fare. Underrated. Without "Christmas" in the title, doesn't get the Christmas exposure it should on Hallmark..should have been titled: "Christmas in Nowhere." Need more Rick Roberts anywhere!

He is golden. Lauren Holly too? (Obviously just after some plastic surgery.) Big star power in this little movie. Love her, ever since The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. Her massive red hair & styling here is gorgeous. The only weak point is the grating daughter & writing for her..ugh..FF thru it. (The guy who plays "Coleman" - genius. Check him out beautifully stealing the entire episode of Monk, 'The Lottery' in a tiny roll.) This cute and timeless Nowhere film deserves to be included in every Christmas programming collection for viewers to enjoy. ###