I'll Be Home for Christmas

Rating:
Summary: the greatest movie
Review: PLOT: Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays Jake Wilkinson, a selfish and self-absorbed college student taking classes in California. He has no desire to be home in New York City for the holidays (largely because of his new stepmom), but his decision changes when his dad promises him a vintage Porsche for Christmas if he gets home by a certain time. Seems like an easy task, until students of the football team accuse Jake of not helping them cheat on their history exams. For punishment, they decide to dump Jake in the California desert with a Santa suit (complete with the hat and beard glued to his face), no money, and no identification. From there, Jake tries to travel to home in any possible way he can, and his desire to complete his trip successfully is enhanced even more when he finds that his girlfriend Allie is being escorted by football player and archrival Eddie back home to New York.

REVIEW: Live action films from Walt Disney Pictures in the 1990s had tended to be comedies with light humor and disposable plots. Which is what I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS basically is, except that this fluff tries to tackle an issue that's decidedly quite serious: creating a change of heart over a self-centered man. For its part, Disney decided to stick with its same-old, same-old humor schtick to cover this plot, and as a result, it fell flat on its face.

One big problem with this flick was the setup of the characters; in a movie where a person is supposed to experience a change of heart, you would at least expect some of the characters to be three-dimensional; to have real, human-like personalities. Instead, all of the characters are showcased as little more than stereotypes, such as Eddie the football jock; a short-tempered bus driver; the sassy persona of Jake's younger sister, Tracey; and the awkward old women destined to see Tom Jones in concert. Jonathan Taylor Thomas's character, Jake, unfortunately gets the stereotype treatment, too, and as a result, the progression of his character through the movie feels insincere, awkward, and cheap, especially at the end. That type of move would have been forgivable if the plot of the movie was good, but for the most part, it is absolutely horrible.

The plot especially helps in dragging I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS down. It may be one thing for some events to be acceptable yet unreal, such as the posing of gangly, awkward teenagers as college students or to stage Jake's campus, Palisades College, with both standard grammar school lockers and dormitories (for the record, I looked a little into this, and I found that a Palisades College does not exist. Just an observation). But it is clearly another when contrived elements appear in the plot over and over again. This film does require you to make some decidedly stupid assumptions. For one, it is saying that the best way for Jake to get out of his, for lack of a better term, "Santa suit problems," is instead of taking the short hike from the desert back to Los Angeles, he should make a cross-country trek out of the entire ordeal. It is also saying that the proud-spirited policeman in a particular village should not get suspicious when Jake and another man are giving out appliances instead of toys to children in a children's hospital. And let's not forget the moment when the bus driver allows Allie to take Jake's seat on a bus just because she says she will take it, no questions asked. Not to mention that Jake is never seen to really change his ways toward others as the movie progresses, even if he is, say, giving money he won in a race to another person for a better cause or helping a quarreling couple reunite. This is simply because the plot handles these events very poorly, and often makes them even, sadly but admittedly, laughable.

And last but not least, it should also be mentioned that it seemed that the actors themselves knew that this was going to be a bad film, for only Jonathan Taylor Thomas works well with what he is given. But yet, in the end, the numerous problems with the movie get even the best of him. Thus it can be said that these problems help make a movie that can be considered one of the worst films Walt Disney Pictures has ever made. That does not mean this movie is actually unwatchable, since like many other Disney live action films, it does perform enough imitations to get by, but that does not make the film's shallowness any more forgivable.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Example of Hollywood's Occasional Soullessness
Review: PLOT: Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays Jake Wilkinson, a selfish and self-absorbed college student taking classes in California. He has no desire to be home in New York City for the holidays (largely because of his new stepmom), but his decision changes when his dad promises him a vintage Porsche for Christmas if he gets home by a certain time. Seems like an easy task, until students of the football team accuse Jake of not helping them cheat on their history exams. For punishment, they decide to dump Jake in the California desert with a Santa suit (complete with the hat and beard glued to his face), no money, and no identification. From there, Jake tries to travel to home in any possible way he can, and his desire to complete his trip successfully is enhanced even more when he finds that his girlfriend Allie is being escorted by football player and archrival Eddie back home to New York.

REVIEW: Live action films from Walt Disney Pictures in the 1990s had tended to be comedies with light humor and disposable plots. Which is what I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS basically is, except that this fluff tries to tackle an issue that's decidedly quite serious: creating a change of heart over a self-centered man. For its part, Disney decided to stick with its same-old, same-old humor schtick to cover this plot, and as a result, it fell flat on its face.

One big problem with this flick was the setup of the characters; in a movie where a person is supposed to experience a change of heart, you would at least expect some of the characters to be three-dimensional; to have real, human-like personalities. Instead, all of the characters are showcased as little more than stereotypes, such as Eddie the football jock; a short-tempered bus driver; the sassy persona of Jake's younger sister, Tracey; and the awkward old women destined to see Tom Jones in concert. Jonathan Taylor Thomas's character, Jake, unfortunately gets the stereotype treatment, too, and as a result, the progression of his character through the movie feels insincere, awkward, and cheap, especially at the end. That type of move would have been forgivable if the plot of the movie was good, but for the most part, it is absolutely horrible.

The plot especially helps in dragging I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS down. It may be one thing for some events to be acceptable yet unreal, such as the posing of gangly, awkward teenagers as college students or to stage Jake's campus, Palisades College, with both standard grammar school lockers and dormitories (for the record, I looked a little into this, and I found that a Palisades College does not exist. Just an observation). But it is clearly another when contrived elements appear in the plot over and over again. This film does require you to make some decidedly stupid assumptions. For one, it is saying that the best way for Jake to get out of his, for lack of a better term, "Santa suit problems," is instead of taking the short hike from the desert back to Los Angeles, he should make a cross-country trek out of the entire ordeal. It is also saying that the proud-spirited policeman in a particular village should not get suspicious when Jake and another man are giving out appliances instead of toys to children in a children's hospital. And let's not forget the moment when the bus driver allows Allie to take Jake's seat on a bus just because she says she will take it, no questions asked. Not to mention that Jake is never seen to really change his ways toward others as the movie progresses, even if he is, say, giving money he won in a race to another person for a better cause or helping a quarreling couple reunite. This is simply because the plot handles these events very poorly, and often makes them even, sadly but admittedly, laughable.

And last but not least, it should also be mentioned that it seemed that the actors themselves knew that this was going to be a bad film, for only Jonathan Taylor Thomas works well with what he is given. But yet, in the end, the numerous problems with the movie get even the best of him. Thus it can be said that these problems help make a movie that can be considered one of the worst films Walt Disney Pictures has ever made. That does not mean this movie is actually unwatchable, since like many other Disney live action films, it does perform enough imitations to get by, but that does not make the film's shallowness any more forgivable.

Rating:
Summary: Romantic comedy for the family to experience and see
Review: This a must see movie for all those couples out there that need a little spice in their relationship it's a great date movie especially when it gets closer to the hollidays! i mean it gives you something to watch other than seeing "It's a Wonderfull Life!" time after time but don't get me wrong i do like it but it does get boring watching it over and over again! i liked the part towards the end of the movie where JTT gets that cute girl to go back home with him and appologizes to his girlfriend for what he did then he goe home to see his dad, step-mom who is very sweet! at first you think that when JTT is offered the keys to that jag or whatever it was if he came home during the holidays but you find out later after a little that the car is no big deal at all! i liked where he says that he likes some kind of sweater to his step mother and she has a huge grin on her face which makes you just want to cry! THIS IS A MUST SEE MOVIE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! it will show you how fun it is to be with your family especially over the hollidays it does show sme of the pain and heartache that it takes to get home during the holidays because it is such a special time of the year to be with family that you probably hardly see on a regular basis thanks for taking the time to read my review hope you will enjoy the movie just as much as i did! the reception would be much better on dvd though then a vhs copy would be but it's up to the average person that wants to buy this movie! thanx again!

Rating:
Summary: A shallow, unconvincing waste of time and money.
Review: This is definitely not a Christmas classic. The actors/ actresses were extremely superficial in their parts. First of all, the script was a standard Jr. High style script that offers very little real life dialogue. Secondly, the character's interaction with one another seemed rather... acted. That may sound good, but when you can tell that actors/ actresses are acting, you have a dull, unbelievable movie.

Perhaps if you enjoy wasting your time and money this would be a good movie. However, if you value your thinking ability steer clear of "I'll Be Home for Christmas."

Rating:
Summary: JTT's last film before leaving for college!
Review: This is Jonathan Taylor Thomas's last movie before leaving for college. I'm sure he'll be back in the business once he graduates, but until then, this is what we have to remember him by. And I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is great and totally excellent. It's about a college student named Jake (JTT) who has to get home to New York City for Christmas. When some arch rivals play a prank on him, leaving him in the middle of a desert wearing a Santa Clause suit and with no money or way home, he must find his way home so he can be home in time for Christmas to be with his girlfriend (Jessica Biel) and his family. I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is a fun, romantic comedy for the entire family. It's fun to see how Jake actually does get home. If you're a JTT fan, you must see this movie. Adam LaVorgna (who can be seen now on TV's "7th Heaven" with Jessica Biel, who also stars on "7th Heaven"), is also great in this film. The acting is terrific, and the storyline is cool, too. Definitely see I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - one of the best holiday films in a long time!

Rating:
Summary: THIS MOVIE IS HOT!!!!!!!!
Review: This is the best movie out there and JTT is so fricken hot and sexy and that makes this movie more worthwhile. You have to watch it. a must see movie you can actually watch with your parents! Thanks to whoever made a good movie for the whole family!!!

Rating:
Summary: This movie will NOT be in MY home for Christmas!
Review: This movie was definitely not worth the time it took to view it. It totally lacked substance, romance, and had only feeble attempts at humor. It's hard to imagine a positive review of this film from anyone over the age of 17.

Rating:
Summary: More like a movie made for TV than a theatrical release
Review: This must be the worst holiday movie I've ever seen. Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays a college student who gets left in a desert with a Santa suit "glued" to him because his classmates wanted to get even. But he has to get home because his dad promised to give him a Porche if he was there on Christmas eve. Of course he needs to win his girl back on the way.

Everything about this movie seems like it was made for TV. There are some really funny parts but they can't save it. Why would you buy this when there are so many other holiday movies that are far better? The Santa Clause, Jingle All The Way, Home Alone, Home Alone 2 and many others make this movie look stupid. If you have to own every Christmas movie out there, then buy the VHS version since you're only going to watch it twice a year.

Rating:
Summary: TAYLOR SCORES ANOTHER WINNER
Review: This was a fun and entertaining movie. As always, Taylor Thomas played his part well. I thought he was just as funny here as in "Man of the House". There's a scene in which he hides in a dog cage in order to stowaway on a plane-----absolutely classic.

Rating:
Summary: I,ll Be Home For Christmas.
Review: This Was A Great Movie. As Usual JTT WAs Awesome. I Enjoyed Everything About Him In This Movie. I Cant Wait For his Next Movie.