YMMV / One Magic Christmas

• Esoteric Happy Ending: Yay, everyone's all right! Um, except the father is still unemployed, they're moving, and the mother just blew the last of her savings on the father's very risky start-up. Also, you might have very reasonable doubts about showing this movie to impressionable young children, since it might make them think that faith in Santa Claus can bring their loved ones back from the dead.
• Genius Bonus: This movie takes place in Canada. Small clues about it are sprinkled throughout, largely a side effect of it being filmed there. A bad economy serves as the story's backdrop, with Jack being unemployed and other characters being portrayed as financially struggling - while it was "Morning in America" in 1985, Canada's economy was still pretty flaccid. While at work at the grocery store Ginny announces a sale on Nabisco Shreddies, the name which Nabisco markets their shredded wheat breakfast cereal in Canada. Many characters have noticeable Canadian accents and one wears a Toronto Blue Jays shirt. Plus, it prominently shows a group of kids playing a street hockey game.
  • Medford, Nova Scotia to be specific, going by the markings on the police cars.
• Retroactive Recognition: This is Sarah Polley's first acting credit.
• Spiritual Successor: To It's a Wonderful Life.
• Strawman Has a Point: With her husband out of work and out of money, the landlord about to evict them from their home, all the other stressful experiences in her life, is it really fair to blame Ginnie for being less than excited about celebrating Christmas?

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