Common Sense Media Review
By Emily Ashby
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Feel-good holiday fun, but needs a reality check.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
What's the Story?
When her partner, Clive (Conrad Coates), makes off with a stolen diamond and leaves her high and dry at the crime scene, Cate Dove (Shannen Doherty) just barely escapes being caught. Wondering how she can stay off the cops' radar, she gets a desperate phone call from her sister, Savannah (Sonya Salomaa), who's stuck in the Caribbean and needs someone to stay with her kids back home in Comfort, Conn. While she's hardly the maternal type, Cate eventually develops a rapport with her kind-hearted niece Annie (Natasha Calis) and mischievous nephew Parker (Josh Hayden), who reveres his errant aunt for the legendary tales of her youthful bad behavior. Coming home forces Cate to dust off the skeletons in her own closet, including her feelings of inadequacy around her successful older sister and an unresolved relationship with her high-school boyfriend, Hank (Ty Olsson) -- who as the town's sheriff, is primed to discover her true identity. Eventually Cate has to choose between her criminal ways and the family and friends she's rediscovered in Comfort.
Is It Any Good?
CHRISTMAS CAPER touches on familiar themes of holiday spirit and Christmas cheer, and it's refreshingly free of mature content (language, sex, drinking, etc.). But be prepared for lots of joking references to potentially hazardous pranks (cracking open a fire hydrant to create an ice slick on the road, for example) and criminal activity. And Cate is hardly a model citizen (let alone baby-sitter), often applauding Parker's mischievous ways and even giving him a few tips on successful theft. Remind tweens and teens that in the real world, crime calls for harsh punishment and rarely works out in the feel-good way that Christmas Caper suggests.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Cate's strengths and weaknesses as a role model. Do you think she's a good person or a bad one? What redeeming qualities does she have, despite her line of work? How is she a good example for her niece and nephew? What do they teach her? Can you think of other fictional characters who are both good and bad? What about people in real life?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 26, 2007
- On DVD or streaming : October 28, 2008
- Cast : Natasha Calis , Shannen Doherty , Ty Olsson
- Director : David Winkler
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : First Look Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Holidays
- Run time : 88 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : brief mild language and thematic elements
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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