The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

               This year I have been inundated with Christmas movies.  It is to the point that I was sick of them by the end of November.  There were a few I continued to watch after that point.  The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is one movie I rarely ever turn away from.              

                When my brother bought this for my mother, he referred to it as “The Fonzie Movie” and we have affectionately called it that ever since.  Starring Henry Winkler and Warren Christie, Mr. Winkler is not playing the character of Fonzie.  He is Uncle Ralph.  A retired New York cop, Ralph is going to Chicago to spend Christmas with his niece, Jennifer, and her young son, Brian.  Having not flown in decades, Ralph becomes confused at the airport.  Seeing a problem, Morgan (Warren Christie) offers to help.  Discovering they are both going to Chicago, Morgan gets Ralph into first class and they get to know each other during the flight.  Morgan tells Ralph about all his travels through the years and how he is coming back to the United States to open a restaurant.  Ralph talks about Jennifer, who he pretty much raised as his own.

                Once in Chicago, Morgan is supposed to grab a flight to Colorado, but the Denver airport is snowed in.  Ralph likes Morgan and asks Jennifer if Morgan can stay with them for awhile.  She is reluctant to do so as he is a stranger.  Once Ralph explains Morgan is a chef, whose expertise she desperately needs in order to make a turkey for her boyfriend’s parents, Jennifer agrees to let Morgan stay in her home.

                It does not take long for Jennifer’s son Brian to become attached to Morgan and Ralph likes him better by the minute.  Jennifer still remains uncertain.  She lives a very organized life and does not understand how he can live such a free spirited lifestyle.  When Morgan insults how she does Christmas, she has a fake tree and too many decorations, Jennifer's opinion of him drops even more.            

                However, the longer Morgan is in her house, the more he grows on Jennifer.  He helps her with the Christmas grocery shopping and throws off her annoying neighbor by replacing one of the white Christmas lights with a red bulb.  The neighbor wanted the entire neighborhood to have only white lights, so this one red bulb drives her a tad crazy.  Despite Jennifer’s growing feelings, there is still one problem.  She has a businessman boyfriend who she has until this point believed was the right man for her.  The question for Jennifer is: who is really the man for her?

                A sweet movie, I can watch this over and over; and I have.  Mr. Winkler is really funny and I cannot imagine anyone not wanting Ralph as their own uncle.  He is that caring of a man.  Then there is Warren Christie.  His character, Morgan, is a good, but not perfect, man.  He has a good heart and has the ability to stick his foot in his mouth with his good intentions.

                When it comes down to it, I keep watching this movie because it is funny, not too dramatic, and has a simple story. It always makes me smile, and it is good to have something like that when things are stressful. To top everything off, it is not exactly a trial to watch Warren Christie. No, not difficult at all.