Christmas at Maxwell's.

Christmas at Maxwell's Directed by William C. Laufer, 2005, DVD 855132001018, Colour, 94 min, $19.95

Willowcreek Marketing bills the new live-action Laufer Films production "Christmas at Maxwell's" s a "DVD that the entire family can enjoy." Sadly, not only will your entire family not enjoy this movie, it is questionable whether you would want your entire family watching this movie. It is a movie about the Austin family as it searches for answers in what could be their last Christmas together since the mother, Suzie Maxwell, is dying of cancer. Though the film has great potential to explore the themes of death, dying and suffering, it seems to only touch on each of these on the surface.

The film repeatedly relies on flashbacks to show the troubled past and dark secrets the family has been dealing with, including the abuse Suzie suffered at the hands of a previous partner and a later miscarriage. Yet again these topics are simply thrown out there with no exploration or explanation. The dark images portrayed in these flashbacks might be bothersome to some adults and down right disturbing for children.

Someone picking up this movie hoping it would lead to discussion of illness and how a family can deal with such issues would be thoroughly disappointed. There is no discussion amongst the family members about what is happening or how they are feeling. Each character is living in their own world, dealing with the illness individually and most often deceptively. While the promotion material says that "Christmas at Maxwell's" is the "vision of [a] Catholic filmmaker," unfortunately a bible quote at the end of the film is the only overtly religious feature in this film. Fr. Johnston, the priest in their summer home town, is so underplayed he could have represented any denomination. You don't really see him helping the suffering family and there is no more ministering between the Austins and Fr. Johnston than the gentle reassurance by the priest to the son that everything will end up fine.

"Christmas at Maxwell's" seems to take the cheap way out as the mother is miraculously cured, making it utterly unnecessary to deal with the issues of death and loss. At best this movie is an after-school television special that never picks up, deals with issues only superficially and downplays the religious angle.

Reviewer's note:

Whereas Bugtime Adventures offers excellent quality, animated, religious-based entertainment, Laufer Films is thoroughly disappointing. The former points the way to the kind of Christian movies many parents are looking for--just as Focus on the Family's Adventure in Odyssey series does--but we still await an overtly Catholic alternative to the secular media.

Christina Tuns lives in Toronto with her husband and four children.