Christmas 2020 Reviews: Day 2 - The Spirit of Christmas (2015)

The Spirit of Christmas follows Kate, (played by Jen Lilley) an attorney whose workaholic nature leads to her romantic relationships fizzling out, as the men she dates always feel like a side feature in her life, not a key focus. Kate is assigned to have an inn appraised and sold, but that isn't as simple as it seems: the inn has a ghost there named Daniel (played by Thomas Beaudoin). Daniel was cursed to become a living human again for the twelve days leading up to Christmas, before turning back into an invisible ghost trapped in the hotel for the rest of the year. Daniel resents this curse, as his time alive only reminds him of his wife who betrayed him by marrying his brother only a month after his death, and he struggles with not remembering how he actually died. Kate wants Daniel gone so that the inn will be sellable (no one wants it while it's haunted) and so she begins to work with him to discover what really happened that fateful Christmas Eve night when Daniel was killed.

The first ten minutes of this film were a bit of a struggle. One of the first scenes shows Kate being broken up with by her boyfriend, to which she expresses relief in a way that feels very forced in its supposed carefree nature, and just doesn't feel authentic. This is immediately followed by Kate receiving her assignment from her boss, in dialogue which again seems a bit forced and it's not very interesting. When Kate arrives at the inn, she finds a photograph of "the ghost", Daniel, as he was when he was alive. This is clearly a modern day photograph with a sepia tint - it doesn't look even a little bit like a real Victorian photo, partly due to how it's edited, partly because Daniel looks like a modern man with his clothing and haircut.

However, when Daniel enters this film, the film is mostly delightful there onward. Beaudoin is very likable in this role, and it's well-written. Some may have played up the fish out of water aspect by having Daniel behave in a very old-fashioned way, and they allude to this a few times in the film, but it's never used too much. This character has a real arc as this film goes on - not just in terms of character growth and his growing bond with Kate, but also seeing his history unfold, which held a genuinely interesting mystery (although the films opening scene of Daniel's murder unfortunately spoiled the idea of who the suspects could be). This is one of the most charming male leads I've watched in a while, from Beaudoin's performance to Daniel's wardrobe, which is amusingly more hipster than Victorian, the same with his haircut. He also had a good chemistry with Lilley as Kate.

Jen Lilley as Kate grew on me quickly. After the first fifteen minutes, I was invested in her story. She's a respectable female lead, and there's something about her voice and mannerisms that remind me of Reese Witherspoon, one of the most likeable actresses we have right now. This is ironic, as if I were to summarise this film, I would describe it as a gender-reverse Christmas version of Just Like Heaven. The character of Kate here is actually similar to Witherspoon's character in that film too, as they are both stubborn but smart women who are overly invested in their work lives. There is a moment where the film tries to give Kate the tragic backstory of "I don't know how to love because my parent divorced when I was young and it may have broken me", which is the weakest aspect of her character, but luckily it is brushed aside rather quickly.

The supporting cast all did well, with the present day living characters being notably charming. You would want to live in a neighbourhood with those people. The score is also pleasant, and the cinematography is fine, if not simply standard. It was nice to see a Christmas film that actually used real snow in its outdoor shots, and it is a very Christmassy film

The middle of this film, from after the first fifteen minutes up to the last ten minutes, is the best part of this film. Like with the beginning, the ending of this film is unfortunately disappointing. It's a nice ending in theory, but it makes no sense. I won't spoil it here, but something happens without explanation, that should really have consequences for Daniel, but there aren't any. While the film itself doesn't feel rushed at all, this ending is so abrupt and somewhat bizarre, it would have been good to have just an additional two minutes to explain where Kate and Daniel will go from there. Like I said though, it's a happy ending and you want that for these characters, so I can't criticise it too heavily.

Overall, if you can look past the silliness of the concept of a romantic Christmas film with an attractive Victorian ghost man finding out how he was murdered, with the help of a modern day attorney, then I recommend you give this a try. It's a bit cheesy, but I found it enjoyable.

THE SCOREBOARD

Would I recommend this film? Yes.

Quote of the film: "This is shaping up to be the worst Christmas since I died." - Daniel

Film rating: 6/10