Watch Christmas Eve For Free

Thanks for the memories!

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

My wife ordered this based on reading reviews in IMDb, which I had always suggested is a good idea. Apparently she read only the first review, which gave it high marks. She did not notice the average rating, which was quite a bit lower.In addition to transparent characters, a predictable plot, and a disappointing ending which left lots of loose ends, it was clear that the script was not given any technical scrutiny.At the beginning of the movie, a single vehicle takes out a single ground-based transformer and wipes out the power for Manhattan. That can't happen. The fire department comes and cannot remove the van because it has become an electrical conductor which is supplying power to the only thing holding up all of the stuck elevators in the city.The most important quality of the elevator, which opened the door to building skyscrapers, is that the braking system, developed by the Otis Elevator Company, has fail-safe, mechanical brakes. They fail only if that part of the building is destroyed. But there's more...Although the van mysteriously supplies power to "elevator brakes," it also apparently supplies power to brilliantly light up all of the elevators in the plot. If, OTOH, the backup power system in (for example) the hospital is working, the elevators would be powered.And then there was the construction elevator, located outside of a building, which now traps a single passenger. This elevator seems rather clumsily built, in that if one leans on the door, it falls off, and you fall out, but you can hang on and climb back in if you're lucky. Still, it is temperamental. If you yell too much, it drops several floors and slams to a stop, warning you that something, somewhere, is angry with you. This elevator finally brings its passenger to tears, who finally regrets all of the horrible things he did.But was I warmed by the courageous woman who recovers from heart surgery in an elevator full of strangers, only to be told by her surgeon, right then, that she as a month to live? Well, she got over it in a few minutes, took control of the situation, and convinced the atheistic surgeon to lead the elevator in prayer, asking God if he could maybe do something. The dying woman was already getting snarky, goading the atheist to perfect his praying. Snarky and smiling, she finally let him finish. Really?Watching this movie was like buying a car. The more time you have invested, the more want to just get it over with. Too much time invested to go to the next car dealer...or movie.I voted this the worst movie my wife has ever picked. So far.

Christmas Eve is a light, charming Christmas movie. It works mainly because of all the talented actors involved. (You can look at the IMDb listing to see who they all are.) The plot involves different groups of people being stuck on elevators in New York City for several hours on Christmas Eve. We get to know the people and see how they react to missing their Christmas Eve plans. I didn't really care for a couple of the groups, mainly the hospital elevator and the group of musicians. However, the elevator with James Roday and a neighbor was especially sweet and touching. And I would just like to hang out with the people in the mall elevator! Give this a try if you're looking for a sweet Christmas movie to watch.

As the message boards and the limited reviews have been somewhat merciless on this good-but-not-great movie, I feel duty bound to write a few good words. I decided to invest a small amount of money on the film, because I was curious how James Roday would do outside of 'Psych' (which I have generally liked). But I had a pretty good experience watching the movie. Critical and audience reaction doubtless has reflected the fact that it is not a comedy, nor is it particularly warm (!). The writer-director (I believe) wanted to discuss a number of large life issues. (The movie actually might have worked better on some ordinary day, as very few of the subplots actually resolve with reference to the holiday).Some of these are successful, some not. I particularly enjoyed the musicians in the elevator, and also doctors and patient. The scene with the five millenials (flaky girls, know-it-all, docent, and body builder) worked. So did the duo of Jon Heder and Max Casella. The solo of Patrick Stewart and the James Roday (sigh) did not work so well. All that said, however, the different reactions of the trapped groups was interesting and dramatic. The critics' views that they are all unlikable is Grinch stuff. The reveals of the interconnections among them (done with some subtlety) were the script at its best. All in all, a sort of Ship of Fools movie that ultimately worked, maybe because the formula is so strong. The critics and some of our acerbic friends on this site are way too negative.

I really enjoyed this film. It was a family film that maintained a really cool independent film style. It seems to have had a smaller budget, but they really went for it and got everything out of it. Especially when it came to the actors. Man what a cast! I love Sir Patrick as much as the next guy, but I got to say Steven John Shepherd was a revelation. Man can he act. I started looking up some of the cast I didn't recognize and realized that many of them were British. Fooled me. I watched it a second time knowing this and was able to capture a few slip-ups, but for the most part they were really convincing as Americans. This film felt so comfortable with itself. It never tried to be anything it is not. I think that is the biggest take away I got from it. Be what we are. We can see the characters embrace themselves and we can also see the film embrace itself. Now I just hope more people see the film and embrace it as I have, because I sure did love it!