We’re almost to the halfway point in my Christmas Movie Review as we countdown to Christmas.

Of course, I’m hoping for coconut and dark chocolate.

One of the most famous lines in “Forrest Gump” is “Life is like a box of chocolates….”  Well, watching Christmas movies is like picking a present from under the tree.  (Unless you peeked), you never know exactly what you’ll open until you finish unwrapping it – maybe there will be a gem stashed somewhere inside?…  Or you’re like Ralphie in “The Christmas Story“ and the real present isn’t under the tree – but hidden elsewhere. 

It’s not in that one, kid.

Last night, I was super excited to watch a new Christmas movie with high hopes.  I cringed during the opening scene, and my expectations dropped.   (The review for that movie will be forthcoming, I promise.)

However… as I watched that movie and tried to ignore my husband’s eye-rolling and peanut gallery comments during certain scenes (which I can’t deny also having), three thoughts hit me.

1. It’s so easy to trash someone else’s work, and make fun of the downfalls – especially in a movie where it can be painfully obvious. I learned from Hal Croasmun, when I earned my screenwriting masters certificate, to look beyond the bad, see what the movie got RIGHT, and focus on that.

2. The theme of my screenwriting website is that Every Day Can Be Christmas, so… it’s up to me to give a gift during my reviews and find at least something worthwhile to comment on.

   *Normally, even at the risk of being labeled a Pollyanna, I lean toward the upbeat, but I admit, on a day when I was feeling less than charitable, i.e., Scroog-ey, thanks to a non-related frustrating experience, it was easier to stay in that mode, and skip highlighting anything good in one of my past reviews. If you’ve read them… you will note I’ve made one addendum.

3. One of these days soon, a movie of  mine will be out there on the chopping block.

So, though I will not shy away from sharing the pitfalls, I don’t need to be heavy-handed; there are enough discerning (and yes, funny) critics around to do that.

Because… the Spirit of Christmas is what I strive to embrace.