Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

JaynaB This movie opens on a familiar scene of children driving away a string of housekeepers, but that's only one of the plot threads in this heart-warming seasonal movie. There's a lot to like despite the frequently-visited trope of the super-nanny straightening out the chaotic household.What makes it an outstanding example of the concept is not only the highly relatable problems faced by the family - no over-the-top issues here - but the realistic way those problems are brought out and resolved over the course of the film.The young boys are cute and lively but troubled. The way their inner trouble is portrayed is subtle - comments by their teachers and a brief, odd reaction from their father (the handsome and vulnerable James Van der Beek). Nanny predictably fills a void in their lives.She also, predictably, nudges their dad gradually into delivering what his sons need from him, and what he needs from himself. Nanny's mechanism for coaxing Dad out of his funk is the delightful Reba (played by the equally delightfully Erin Karpluk with deftly handled emotional fragility), a local businesswoman with her own problems.The romance felt a bit rushed, especially between the first meeting and the first date, and the nanny's departure was also rapid. Another reviewer complained about the speed of reconciliation in Reba's family but I found it very realistic.In fact, one thing I particularly like was that, instead of the plot benefiting from one of those last-minute miraculous interventions so common in Christmas movies, the 'Christmas Spirit' only nudged, and the humans had plenty of chances to turn away from the inner changes needed to bring the plot to a satisfactory resolution. It felt real and probable, especially as played by Van Der Beek and Karpluk.I'm pretty sure I'll be watching this movie again in future years.

Neil Doyle And amazingly, his name is entirely missing from the IMDb credits for the movie! He's not the only focal point. But JAMES VAN DER BEEK has the principal role in this story about a widower who needs a housekeeper who can deal with his two rambunctious boys--and stumbles across romance with plucky ERIN KARPLUK.Both are hurt from their previous romantic encounters and have to find true love through forgiveness and the machinations of a fairy-tale figure who becomes his housekeeper, nimbly played by DORIS ROBERTS.The Christmas program part of the story is the weakest sequence in the whole made-for-TV movie. But because the cast is refreshingly natural (the two boys are excellent), and because James Van Der Beek is exceptionally sincere as the boy's young father (especially in his scenes with Erin), the predictable tale stays afloat because of the charming way it's told.Recommended viewing around the holidays--even if there is an air of deja vu about the whole thing.

Nancigee741 This movie is one, a first for me, that I can truly say is BETTER than the book. (The book contains too many other subplots, especially the annoying, psychotic in-laws.) I can easily see why they were omitted to make the story fit into a two hour made-for-TV drama.....................The movie followed the book closely, but did not give us enough Mrs. Merkle "Miracles". You were never quite sure what she was...Debbie Macomber should have taken a few more clues from the old Nanny and the Professor show and stolen a few more subtle hints as to Mrs. Merkle's powers...................The book is the last by author Debbie Macomber I could tolerate reading....her writing has become trite and preachy instead of entertaining and interesting and are not worth the price charges for novels these days......................If you did not like this movie, you will HATE Debbie Macomber's books written in the past 10 yrs (her earlier works were actually better)............................

Lily-32 I for one enjoyed it. It felt a little rushed sometimes and like they could have expanded on a few things, but it was still cute and I'll buy it on DVD. James Van Der Beek and Erin Karpluck had some great chemistry. I would have loved to have seen more of that with the story expanding just a little more on their characters' courtship. The Christmas program left much to be desired but it wasn't the focus of the story so we'll forgive them that one. I do have one severe gripe and I've seen this many times over in movies that have a similar conflict with a specific character. With the back story between Reba and her sister I felt dissatisfied with Reba finally just showing up on her doorstep. If I were her I'd have a few more things to say and a few questions I wanted answered. Yes, perhaps they did talk and we weren't intended to see it but I would have liked to. In my mind it's no longer about the guy for Reba. He's long gone anyway and she's better off without him. It's about what her sister did and what would drive a sister to go that far. Mere competitiveness seems too trivial for a betrayal of that magnitude. So I would have liked to see that conversation. I would also have liked to see Seth at the piano in their home before his final decision to play at the pageant. I realize they probably wanted to emphasize his return by him just showing up but I would have liked to see it anyway. This movie wasn't really meant to be a nail-biter, after all. Still, as I said, I enjoyed it and I'll be happy to have a copy when it's released on DVD. I was definitely more pleased with this than National Tree or Flower Girl.