I watched “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” on the recommendation of a friend, and I really enjoyed it. The only way I could get my hands on it was to buy a used copy at Blockbuster, and I’m glad I forked over the money. It’s a keeper.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays Jake Wilkinson, a college freshman who hasn’t spent Christmas at home since his mom died. The memories are just too painful for him, especially when his dad remarried not even a year after his mother’s passing. He’s become cynical and manipulative, not wanting to think about anyone but himself. He took the plane ticket his dad sent him to use for the Christmas holiday and turned it in for two tickets to Cabo, planning to take his girlfriend and skip the whole family Christmas thing, as usual. She’s not impressed – she believes families should be together.
This year, his dad (Gary Cole) really wants him to come home for the holidays, so he makes a proposal. If Jake can get himself home in time for Christmas Eve dinner at 6:00 pm, his dad will give him the vintage Porsche they’ve been rebuilding. Jake wants that car in the worst way, so he agrees. He tells his girlfriend, Allie (Jessica Biel) that he’s planning to go home after all, and she agrees to fly with him. They’ll leave the next morning.
However, something gets in Jake’s way. He agreed to help some members of the football team pass their history final, and they get caught cheating. Mad at Jake, they punch him out, dress him as Santa, glue the hat and beard on him, and leave him out in the middle of the desert. Now how is he going to get home in time to win the car?
He has adventure after adventure, working his way across the United States. He unknowingly helps a string of people along his path, and when he finally arrives in his own hometown, he realizes that it’s not about taking from people, it’s about loving them and being loved in return.
You’ll get goose bumps and you’ll also laugh out loud during this great holiday film, rated PG.
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