The Wishing Tree (2012) Reviews

• Feel-good Christmas movie

  susan-gateway2012-11-11

  This movie delivers exactly what sappy Christmas movies are supposed to! It has all the ingredients to raise your spirits, life your hopes and make you want to enjoy the Season by being more loving, caring and giving. That's why it's an 8 in my world. The classic formula in constructed here. Good guy, victim kids and antagonist parent who eventually "sees the light" and gives her wayward son the love and attention he needs. There is one musical number that is done well. The romance component is in place. And truth wins over deception and love over hate. It's a good way to spend a couple hours.

• A decent Made-for-TV Christmas movie for a change

  Zoooma2014-06-05

  What do you expect from the Hallmark Channel, originality? Is there any originality in a single Hallmark card? Probably not. So here is yet another cliché-filled, ultra cheesy Made-for-TV Christmas movie from them. But it's a Christmas movie, it needs to be able to tug at heart strings and be sappy. How do you accomplish that? With clichés and cheese. Fortunately this one works. What we have is a teacher looking after three kids and we get to see how they all come together as friends and better people at Christmas. It's definitely not the normal "awwww so sweet" chick flick romance blah blah blahbiddy blah. There is romance involved but it doesn't come together until the end and it's not the main focus of the story. This is actually some decent holiday goodness for a change with a feel good message. If maybe 1 out of every 20 made-for-TV Christmas movies is honestly truly worth seeing, this is one of those. 6.4 / 10 stars --Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

• Not a Christmas classic

  Ed-Shullivan2018-12-02

  I like Jason Gedric as an actor but starring in this made for TV film he plays a sombre teacher who lost his wife so he buries his emotions and focuses on three students who won't get to go home over the Christmas holidays. It's a cheap and sobby drama/romance with a supposedly "feel-good" ending which I didn't get and the story line has been done a hundred times before but the other versions must be better than this one because it was quite frankly lousy. I know, I know, it's a somewhat Christmas themed story so I may end up with coal in my Christmas stocking for writing a negative review but I call them like I see them. I rate it a low 3 out of 10 rating.

• An OK Christmas Film from Hallmark

  jacob-916-2199822015-07-14

  What to say about The Wishing Tree (not to be confused with the Showtime movie of the same name)? Well, it's not one of Hallmark's greatest Christmas films, but it was OK. On the plus side, the plot was decent and the acting from the actors was pretty good. On the minus side, the human characterizations was not too good and needs more work. I will admit, I did felt uncomfortable during many of the scenes in the film, even the scene where Teryl Rothery's character said she won't forgive the boy for what he did to the Wishing Tree. Despite these problems, The Wishing Tree is still an OK Christmas film, though it's definitely a holiday film worth watching once.