This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Help From Above
Plot Overview
Seth Webster (James Van
Der Beek) played piano in a renovated theater to help put
himself through college. Afterwards as an architect he
restored buildings and only played piano to entertain his wife. She
passed away and there went his piano playing, but he's involved
after work in the lives of his six-year-old twins Judd (Michael
Strusievici) & Jason (Valin Shinyei) who prove to be a handful
for a series of harried housekeepers.
Reba Maxwel
(Erin Karpluk) frequented a renovated theater while in college and
having fallen in love with the stage forsook her promising business
career to go into acting and directing (and sometimes
starving.) Her fiancé convinced her to move back to town and
start her own travel agency: Way to Go Travel. Her mother was,
“just happy you found something more secure than your
so-called theater career.” Her sister Vicki (Johannah
Newmarch) was put out by her younger and prettier sibling catching
a man before her, so she contrived to break them up. Now Reba won't
speak to her, but she's doing a brisk travel business as the
holiday season arrives.
It's a miracle Seth finds
another full time housekeeper so close to Christmas.
Mrs. Merkle (Doris Roberts) takes charge of the boys
(“Don't mess with the big dog”) and contrives to bring
together the two unhappy unmarrieds. These two latter had both put
off having premarital sex, so their former dating experience was
given to learning how to relate to the opposite sex on the whole.
Consequently, even having been out of the game for years, they pick
it right back up like riding a bike after having once learned
before an hiatus. They're doing fine until they each recognize in
the other an unwarranted holding on to the past, then it's the pot
calling the kettle black. It's a quandary like one in an Isla
Morley book: “Greg wants [me] to give up the past the way
cocksure people give up smoking. Which leaves me with only two
choices: either I give up the past … or I give up Greg”
(182).
Ideology
A Christmas pageant uses the King James Version along with traditional songs and familiar narrative. Here in modern life there's a scene where Reba selects what to wear on a first date. The apostle Paul enjoins (1Tim. 2:9) “that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.” “Shamefacedness” has to do with being easily embarrassed. The relevant note in my Franklin Electronic Bible reads, “Early printer's error for ‘shamefastness’, which means modesty of character.” The (New) Cambridge Paragraph Bible restores the original ‘shamefastness’, and the ASV (1900) carries it, too.
Reba infrequently wears a watch or a thin-chained necklace with a small pendant. She wears her hair halfway down her back, though she'll bunch it up in the gym or while painting stage props. At most she'll have a few sips of wine on her dinner date. While emceeing a Christmas pageant she's got ringlets on the sides. She's always buttoned up to the top and on stage the hem of her dress is two inches above her knees (modest in the '90s.) Other women in the gym show a tiny bit of cleavage, but not she. She's an altogether good example of a modest exterior.
As for modesty of character she won't mention her sensational portrayal of Maria in “Sound of Music.” While other “actresses” found waitressing say that's not their real job, she includes it in her CV. She demurs at an invite to spend Christmas at a family gathering that she's not a part of. She's got the modest character to fit in with modest attire the way a white wedding gown is worn by a blushing virgin. Compare (Rev. 19:7-8) “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife [is] arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
We can contrast Reba with her sister Vicki and the KJV with its sister version the New King James Version, (1Tim. 2:9) “that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly clothing.” The NKJV's “moderation” could mean a gal's not got every last button on her bodice fastened and she's not waiting until her wedding day to start the Go All the Way business Reba's fiancé suggests. He couldn't wait but eloped with her sister—they were in love. Reba if practicing NKJV “moderation” could have “chosen parchment the color brides wear when honesty rather than chastity is the virtue to be showcased” (Morley 193), their NKJV “propriety” being veracity.
I once did an interview with Father David Lubliner of St. John Orthodox Church. Concerning sex before marriage, he said, “Pastorally I certainly wouldn't recommend it, and we see that in the escalating number of people who are unsuccessful making the transition from live-in arrangement to lifelong marriage. It was once broadly understood that marriage was a sanctifying relationship ordained by God, and outside that context—where someone could get a ring for $50—it's real hard to see the value of chasteness both within and outside of marriage. The Lord tells us that the pure of heart shall see God, so it isn't enough to purify the outward part. This is true as well for how we speak, how we judge people.”
Production Values
“” (TV Movie 2009) was directed by Michael M. Scott. It was written by David Golden and Debbie Macomber, the latter having authored its book. It stars James Van Der Beek, Erin Karpluk and Doris Roberts. Roberts a seasoned thespian was remarkable. The other parts were amateurish as one might see on TV.
It's certified PG. It was shot in Canada for the Hallmark Channel. Christmas provides a background setting to accommodate a play performed by children with one of their fathers playing the piano and directed by his love interest. The miracle working housekeeper eschews slight of hand in favor of innuendo w/coincidence. The film runs comedy throughout while also maintaining serious drama. It'll keep you going. Runtime is 1½ hours.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This is a good holiday film that avoids the saccharine sweetness we get inundated with this time of year. The plot is easy to follow with family reconciliation a hoped for goal as well as a successful relationship. You almost can't go wrong with this one.
Movie Ratings
Action Factor: Weak action scenes. Suitability for children: Suitable for children with guidance. Special effects: Wake up and smell the 1990s technology. Video Occasion: Good for Groups. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Three and a half stars out of five.
Works Cited
Unless otherwise noted, scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. 1873. Software, print.
Morley, Isla. Come Sunday. Copyright © 2009 by Isla Morley. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, First edition, 2009. Print.
Franklin note is from “The Bible Word Book,” R. Bridges and L. Weigle, Thomas Nelson 1960.
Lubliner, Fr David of Saint John the Wonderworker Serbian Orthodox Church, Eugene, OR, USA. 2010. In-person interview.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version, Copyright © 1979 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org