Angels have always been a popular subject for television shows and movies. This is specially true around the Holiday season. Probably over one-fourth of the Holiday movies out there have some sort of divine intervention involved. But like other formulas in Hollywood, the angel/divine intervention fixing problems on Earth formula always works. People still love to watch these types of films around the Holiday season. Throw in a couple of TV star veterans and a popular series of books, written by Debbie Macomber, and it would seem that Mrs. Miracle would have the perfect recipe for being the latest and possibly greatest made-for-TV Holiday movie.
In Mrs. Miracle, Seth Webster (James Van Der Beek) suddenly becomes single dad to two unruly six-year-old twin boys after his wife dies. With the holidays approaching, finding a housekeeper has proven to be nearly impossible. That is until Mrs. Emily Merkle (Doris Roberts) shows up at the Websters’ door ready to turn their lives around. The boys mis-pronounce Mrs. Merkle’s name and just call her “Mrs. Miracle.” Mrs. Miracle does more than just straighten out the behavior of the twins. Soon Seth meets Reba Maxwell (Erin Karpluk), who also happens to be the best friend to the Webster kids’ first-grade teacher. After just one date, Seth and Reba find they have a lot in common. Since the death of his music-loving wife, Seth has been unable to play a single chord on the piano, and Reba was once a talented actress but now avoids the theater as much as she can. With a little help from Mrs. Miracle, Reba gets the job of directing the Christmas pageant that the Webster twins are in. That is when Mrs. Miracle’s match-making wheels really get set into motion.
Mrs. Miracle is nothing new; we’ve seen this type of story done countless times before. Actually, this film a cross between a couple of different types of storylines. You first have the supernanny (see Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee) sent to teach some unruly kids how to behave. But then that same nanny turns out to have some really super powers by playing cupid and sets up two lost souls, who have gone through a lot of pain in their lives. It should be noted that the romantic/matchmaking aspect of this film is really the central story. There are kids in this film, but they definitely take a backseat to the parents, so this isn’t an all-out family film. There are a lot of series topics explored here, and younger kids probably wouldn’t understand what is going on.
As a plus, Doris Roberts as the titular character makes you believe that she can really do everything she is doing. James Van Der Beek might not seem like the best choice to play a father, since it was not too long ago that he was most known for playing a high-school kid, but he turns out to be very believable in this single dad role. Even relative newcomer Erin Karpluk fits in nicely with the rest of the cast. Canadians know that she is no newcomer, though, being that she was the star of the series Godiva’s and most recently Being Erica. Karpluk does have good chemistry with Van Der Beek, but at times things feel a little too over-the-top dramatic.
Mrs. Miracle, though a television movie, is the type that won’t stop fans of the popular Debbie Macomber series of books from watching. The acting is solid for the most part and has the right amount of romance that couples, both new and old, can enjoy.
The video is given in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen color. The transfer is great with colors generally looking bright and vivid details everywhere. No major or minor problems at all here.
The audio included is in English Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. No major problems here either.
No extras were included for this There are no extras for this DVD set.
So is Mrs. Miracle worth spinning in your player? It’s a decent Christmas movie with the usual cliched television movie elements that you expect to see on the Hallmark Channel every Christmas. And that’s where it should be seen, unless you’re somebody who just has a hankering to see a James Van Der Beek Christmas movie in the middle of July.
Sony Home Entertainment presents Mrs. Mircale. Directed by Michael M. Scott. Starring James Van Der Beek, Erin Karpluk, Doris Roberts, Michael Struslevici, Valin Shinyei, and Chelah Horsdal. Written by Debbie Maccomber (book); David Golden (teleplay). Running time: 92 minutes. NOT RATED. Released on DVD: November 16, 2010.
