OllieSuave-007 This is an uplifting made-for-TV Christmas movie, a story about young Nathan Andrews (Max Morrow) who tries to raise money get a pair of dancing shoes for his dying mother, Maggie (Kimberly Williams-Paisley). In the meantime, lawyer Robert Layton (Rob Lowe) is dealing with marital issues and the course of events lead him to cross paths with Nathan.Many made-for-TV Christmas movies are sappy, happy-go-lucky and a little bit corny to say the least. This movie is a heartfelt and meaningful story that will bring tears to your eyes, especially seeing young Nathan's enduring mission to buy a pair of his mother's favorite dancing shoes for Christmas. It shows how strong of a love a child has for his mother, something we should feel inspired from.The parallel plot regarding Robert's life is intriguing and I thought it assimilated well with the Christmas shoes plot; it was interesting to see how the course of events from both stories relate towards each other, resulting in some emotional and uplifting results.The acting was good and the direction by Andy Wolk was solid. A highly recommended Christmas movie that is perfect for the entire family.Grade A

mantis594 I watched this a friend who randomly bought it. She's more into sentimental films whereas I'm admittedly not, though I enjoy a good one. This one misses the mark by quite a bit.Some of the acting was decent (a lot wasn't), but unless you get completely into the sentimental moralistic theme of the film, the rest is laughably bad. The story is simply ludicrous and feels completely contrived. Even my friend couldn't take it seriously. Once I realized she wasn't into at all; I stopped biting my tongue and we did enjoy poking fun at it.After all that, I understand why a lot of people would enjoy the movie. I would liken it to my enjoying some poorly made action movies or comedies. The movie was not well made in most respects, but if you enjoy this sort of thing give it a try; if you don't, run, don't walk, run to the nearest exit.

Nan Ferrer This movie about a little boy wanting to buy a pair of shoes so his mother could wear them when she went to see Jesus (she is dying while waiting for a heart transplant) was just too sad for a Christmas Movie. The ending, while showing what a difference was made in Rob Lowe and his family's life, was one sided. The boy's mom died leaving him and his father to cope while Rob Lowe learned a lesson about his family life by the tragedy. A pretty good story for any other time of year than the Christmas Season. It was a total tearjerker an I do not think that is what Christmas should be about. A true miracle ending would have been the Mom getting the heart transplant along with Rob Lowe's finding the true meaning of Christmas.

buiger I cannot believe Rob Lowe left 'The West Wing' for this... In 'The West Wing' his character was a living, breathing thing, here it is nothing more than a cardboard cut-out! What a mistake!This film was basically well made, decently acted, and very, very sad and depressing. However, the main problem of the movie is the idea behind it, it's way too simplistic, and far too moralist. In its wanting to be a moral beacon, preaching what it believes and spelling it out at such great length that even the mentally handicapped would have understood, it goes way over the top and becomes soapy. In the end this is a film that only overly sentimental grandmothers with advanced sclerosis will really be able to enjoy. Everybody else should better stay away!