BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

seasamh I really didn't like this production. The title sets up a metaphor which signals the "big message". There are two problems with the "big message". First, it's delivered with hammer-like subtlety -- okay, Hallmark is not particularly good with subtlety, but still, why use a metaphor if you're going to hit us over the head with its meaning? The metaphor itself becomes little more than a scavenger hunt to find the (literal) silver bells. Second, the metaphor really doesn't match the plot. The central conflict between father and son is not well developed and doesn't make sense. The inevitable explosion seems completely out of character. I get it, son rebels against Dad's career choice for him, an age-old dilemma. But what happens here is out of character and overwrought. And what does any of this have to do with "silver bells"? The message of the metaphor would not solve the father/son conflict. Add to these issues the fact that there is absolutely no chemistry between Anne Heche and Tate Donovan. Chemistry is critical to the Hallmark formula! In fact, the relationship here is not even at the center of the story, which is a mistake, because Hallmark is all about that relationship. I would just as soon have skipped this one -- and it has to be pretty bad for me to say that!

beebertie I just love Chistmas stories, all Christmas stories. The photography is excellent. You can almost feel the wonderful chilly weather. This is a film for the entire family having to deal with today's problems: Parent & Child Communication. We have to listen to what our children are saying to us. Often times parents insist on living out their dreams through their children, and not letting their children live out their own dreams. All children are gifted in some way. We as parents have to help our children realize their own dreams. We want to cushion the falls that our little ones are going to have along the way, but experience is an excellent teacher. No matter how old we are, we still keep learning even when we are old and gray. I do wish the full cast would've been listed in the credits. Often times these little films are shown only once, so it is best to plan on watching to see if it will be a "little diamond in the rough". Since I had my trusty VCR working, I'll be able to look at it a second time. There are more of life's lessons to learn in "Silver Bells".

Tamarah I just finished reading the novel "Silver Bells," by LuAnne Rice this last Friday while on vacation in the woods of Tennessee (and by a roaring fire in the fireplace!). I really liked the book, and was anticipating the TV movie. Normally, the Hallmark Hall of Fame productions are enjoyable; and, and I knew they probably would digress from the book a bit to get it into the television time frame. However, as I sit watching this (as I type, in fact!), I find myself very disappointed in how much the movie digresses from the novel. And, while I have nothing against the acting skills of Anne Heche or Tate Donovan, I wouldn't have pictured either of them for the roles they were given. If I had not read the book, I probably would have rated this movie higher; the movie itself is okay, but if it had stuck closer to the original story, it would have been much better.My suggestion? Skip the movie and read the book--it's magical!

lavatch "Silver Bells" was billed as the 225th presentation in the Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television film series. Sadly, this effort was not among the strongest of their offerings.The likable cast included Anne Heche and Tate Donovan, whose characters were a widow and widower, and who inevitably became the central romantic couple. Unfortunately, the plot focused on a teenager runaway problem, as opposed to joys of the holidays, which should have been the film's central preoccupation. As played by Donovan, the young runaway's father was a hard-working Christmas-tree dealer and decent man, and it made no sense that the boy would take to the streets of New York City following an argument with his father. The runaway story bogged down the film as a lugubrious, mechanical plot device. The film should have celebrated the holidays with more joy in the lives of the characters. The most heart-warming scenes were the ice-skating sequence and the singing of the children in the church choir. The son Danny (Michael Mitchell) was an aspiring photographer. The film should have been about the photos, the great New York scenery, and the young man's love of photography, not the maudlin, melodramatic, and ultimately unconvincing story of a runaway.