Background: This came in a Holiday 6-pack (sound familiar?) that I couldn’t pass up at Walmart. I knew nothing about it going in, and I was surprised to find it’s a movie older than I am—it was made in 1980.
Plot: A recently divorced woman (Learned) moves from Omaha to San Francisco to restart her life. She joins a church choir, and the new director decides the choir should put on a concert of Handel’s Messiah. Along the way, the choir faces several trials, including vandalism, death, sickness, and prejudice.
Reactions: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this film! While it isn’t mesmerizing by any means, it is a nice little Christmas movie. Not all the threads are tied up by the end of the movie, but I found that I didn’t really mind. The movie ends with about five minutes of the Messiah, and I thought it was a fitting conclusion.
I do have to mention a couple things, though. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when Nebraska is treated as "the sticks" in movies. While the filmmakers did a good job of not making Omaha, where the main character is from, sound too backward, she did bring up a couple of “Nebraska sayings”… one of which I’m certain I've never heard in my 26 years as a Nebraskan! (The one I’d heard was “Can’t died in the cornfield.” This was said after one of the other characters said he couldn't do something. The one I hadn’t heard was “Dead dogs don’t talk,” which was referencing her tired feet.)
Verdict: Keep (I may never watch it again, but I’ll surely watch one of the other movies on the disk.)
P.S.: You can watch it for free here.
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