Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Singer seeks fame, finds family in gentle holiday tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Holiday Harmony
What's the Story?
In HOLIDAY HARMONY, Gail (Annelise Cepero), who grew up in foster homes and now, at 24, lives in her van, is traveling from club to club, singing her way to hoped-for fame. She's heading for Los Angeles to be a contestant in a potentially career-making iHeart Radio competition. When an accident damages her van in Oklahoma, she's taken in by mechanics Van (Brooke Shields) and her son, Jeremy (Jeremy Stumpter). If Gail helps the town's music students prepare for their Christmas show, the local principal will pay for her van repairs. She and the students fall in love with each other. So do Gail and Jeremy, who, because of a tragic loss, is determined not to keep Gail from following her dreams. Eventually Gail finds family in a small town and realizes that what Los Angeles offers isn't really what she wants.
Is It Any Good?
Much of Holiday Harmony feels stiff and pre-programmed at first, adhering to the expected themes that many modern winter holiday-focused movies rely on. It's time to retire the overused scene in which a new love interest leaps to the wrong conclusions while eavesdropping. Beyond the use of such lazy plot devices, able performances by Annelise Cepero and Brooke Shields, as well as tear-inducing moments that dwell on the meaning of home and family, ultimately redeem this as sweet family holiday entertainment.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the meaning of "home." How does Gail decide that being with her new friends feels like home?
Why do you think the iHeart Radio people didn't accept Gail as she was?
Why do you think people seek fame? What did Gail learn about the love of friends and family versus the adulation of strangers?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 24, 2022
- Cast : Brooke Shields , Annelise Cepero , Jeremy Sumpter
- Director : Shaun Paul Piccinino
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : HBO Max
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Run time : 110 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some suggestive material, thematic elements and a brief drug reference
- Last updated : September 26, 2024
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