I’m writing this review through a bunch of tears. You know one of the reasons that one of the directives on Fangirlish is to write your opinions and speak your truth, was because I think it’s so important. I don’t think that critics can always explain to you why you need to see something or why you’ll like something, because they are critics. And life isn’t always about how a movie was shot. So excuse me as I word vomit all of the feelings that I need to express.
Life is about how television and movies makes you feel. They are about what emotions bring out of you. They are about emotions.
And they are about memories. And Ghost of Christmas Always has made me feel so many emotions and relive so many memories.
Sometimes I think that memories are a curse. There is so much of my life that I have blocked out, because pain is something that no one wants to feel. When it comes to Christmas – I would be one of the people that gets scrooged. I would get a visit from the ghosts of Christmas present, past, and future due to the fact that I long ago lost Christmas magic.
But for some reason I feel like it’s found when I watch Countdown to Christmas movies. I get so many people that criticize me and the way that I watch them all and find something in 98% percent of them to love.
Critics trash them, one friends said to me.
Good thing that I never relied on critics to tell me how to feel.
Ghosts of Christmas Always screwed me up in a way that I didn’t really expect to feel. But for 98 minutes of my life – I felt. I remembered the reasons that I watch these movies – that I look forward to them. I remembered the reasons that Christmas is supposed to be something important.
I remembered the way that the holidays are supposed to be something important. The way that they are supposed to be about family.
But you know – the movie. I should talk about that.
After scrooging (that’s what they call people that they visit) someone, Katherine goes for a walk around Hartford. She’s the ghost of Christmas present and though she can’t remember how she died, she does remember where she’s from and part of the life that she lived.
No one is supposed to be able to see her, but on her journey around Hartford, someone can. We meet Peter, who is a man with a good soul, who has been out in the middle of the night giving food and doing good for people who truly need it. But, it’s instant chemistry when these two meet – problem being though that one of them is a ghost and one a human.
Before she can give a name, she is snapped back to the Department of Restoring Christmas Spirit. She doesn’t tell her friends what has happened – she starts too, but something stops her. She doesn’t even come clean when they get their next years assignment so that they can do the research. She should have come clean, but she wasn’t ready to spill her secrets about Peter.
Fast forward a year and the ghosts are set to go out on their assignment. Katherine is a little afraid, because none of them can understand why they are going to visit Peter. He’s like the living embodiment of Christmas cheer. He’s always giving of himself, his heart, and his time.
He’s exactly like his Grandfather, who gave everything of himself. He may have had nothing, but his Grandfather still gave what he had.
Peter is aware of all of the things that he has and he’s aware of how his father feels about him giving everything away. But none of that matters to Peter, because he knows how blessed he is. He also wants to make his father and his grandfather proud. It’s just a balance – because they are complete opposites.
Now – Peter’s father is all about work. He’s been that way for as long as Peter can remember – especially after his parents divorce. But the truth is he’s busy making excuses for his father and reasons that he’s stayed away from his Mom, but all the while putting what he wants to the side.
Peter doesn’t want to be behind a desk. He wants to be helping people.
Now, the thing is, Peter doesn’t know how to be honest with his Dad about that. Yet, after his night with the ghosts, he calls and tells his father off, and that he doesn’t want to be a part of the company and that he doesn’t want to be like his Dad at all.
And you would think that would be the end – because besides telling his Dad off he’s found Christmas cheer. The issue is that when the ghosts go back to the Department of Restoring Christmas Spirit, they are told that they scrooged the wrong person. It was supposed to be Peter’s Dad. They have to go back, but the ghosts can not be seen.
Yet, Peter can see them. So they enlist his help.
Only for Peter this is painful. He doesn’t want to go down this road and as things get progressively worse with Peter and his Dad, he gives up. Peter doesn’t want anything to do with it. And this makes the Ghost of Christmas Past Arlene, jump in.
She takes Katherine and Peter back to the past. Only it’s Katherines past and she shows Katherine how she died and the reasons that she can’t give up. Her best friend was Peter’s Grandma, and every charitable thing that she and her husband did was in her honor. Katherine always had a dream of doing better, of being better, and actually died trying to help a family that was on the streets.
In the past they are able to find a key piece of the puzzle to get Peters Dad to see things differently. You’ll have to watch what it is, because it’s so important and honestly, reminded me to leave pieces.
Because pieces are important.
When Peter and her return from the past, he tells her that he could love her and he’s pretty sure that she could love him. But this means that he knows that he can love and won’t settle. When he walks back into the house and leaves her there.
And it’s over the next part of the movie where we see that she is given a glimpse into the future. Her future is meant to be with Peter. She doesn’t understand why she’s shown a future that she couldn’t have. But the thing is – if she’s shown it, that future exists.
Somewhere.
Here’s the thing about time. Time is not linear. Time is not as simple as we think that it is. Time is not just passing seconds. I have long believed that what is meant to be, will be. Do I believe in destiny? Not really. But do I believe that there are things out there that we can’t understand? Absolutely.
Seeing Peter and Katherine end up together and making sure that Peter’s grandparents dreams come true – was everything. Katherine was able to walk through the doors to the great unknown and it made her end up with her soulmate.
The thing is that in life, we’re all trying to find a way to cope. We’re all just trying to find ways to cope, to make dreams to come true.
Look, Ghost of Christmas Always isn’t perfect. But what is perfect the way that this cast has chemistry, the way that it all fits, the way that it reminds you of all of the Christmas spirit that you should feel… is perfection to me.
But what it also does remind me is that you don’t ever know what anyones story is. You should however, listen to peoples stories and learn about people.
It’s how people go on living and pieces of their souls are meant to live forever.
