It is a performances centric movie

Excellent, a Must See

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

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Christmas in Conway will make you laugh, it will make you angry at the cranky neighbor Gayle Matthews (played by comedian Cheri Oteri), it will make you root for the unknown young lovers palliative care nurse Natalie Springer (Mandy Moore), and landscaper Tommy Harris (Riley Smith) but mostly it will make your own heart bleed with sorrow and hope for the true love felt by contractor husband Duncan Mayor (Andy Garcia) and his cancer stricken wife Suzy Mayor (Mary- Louise Parker).There are stories within stories which are explained by the bed ridden Suzy Mayor to her palliative care nurse Natalie Springer which allow us to slowly understand the deep anger and resentment that Suzy's husband Duncan carries with him like an elephant on his shoulders. This deep anger and resentment has no room for anyone in his life except his lovely bed ridden wife Natalie who he will do anything for, and I do mean anything. Now Suzy's good friend the Doctor Emmons (Jason Davis) has advised Suzy's husband Duncan that the agreement was that he would release Suzy from the hospital and allow her to die gracefully at home in her own bed on one condition only and that one condition being that Duncan had to agree to allow the palliative care nurse Natalie Springer to also reside in the house 24 hours each and every day to assist Suzy through her ups and many downs with her medication as the cancer took away her strength slowly.When Duncan experiences first hand a significant set back with Suzy's health when he tries to make her happy when he attempts to take her to the seaside carnival they once rode the Ferris wheel and he proposed to her on, he decides the next best thing that he can do to show her how much he loves her is to find an abandoned Ferris wheel and rebuild it in his own backyard. The only thing that was missing from this beautiful Christmas themed movie was the Beatles song "I get by with a little help from my friends", as Duncan's dream of making his ill wife Suzy happy by riding a Ferris wheel just once more and this dream could not be accomplished without a lot of help from some new friends.The film is an inspiration and reminds us not judge any person by a first or even second impression, but to think the best of everyone and they will reward you with the goodness that is within them, be it a little or a lot of goodness. Now the dying Suzy Mayor is rewarded with the goodness she deserves from others as she gave to the many people she touched, especially that of her husband Duncan who by the end of the film we all think very highly of.

This was very good, a little heartbreaking if I'm honest but I appreciated that it wasn't the usual cheesy or corny Christmas movie. A surprisingly great cast here too; Andy Garcia, is fantastic, Mandy Moore, very believable as the home care nurse and Mary-Louise Parker is suitably sick. They all do a great job telling the story of a grumpy (heartbroken) man who goes about building a Ferris wheel for his ailing wife in their backyard as a reminder of the night he proposed to her.There are some very heartfelt moments here and a bit of a romance hinted at between Moore and the landscaper which is left a little vague. I could have done without the brief attempts at humour from the neighbourhood Grinch woman and the cowboy junkyard man. A beautiful ending here too which at first left me surprised -what, that's it? Because I was so engrossed in the story. But then when I thought about it I realized I didn't really need to see anymore. 12/22/14

The over-riding theme of this plot is terminal illness.Who wants to see such an ultra-depressing movie at Christmas...OR any other time of the year??Movies are basically and primarily (supposed to be) entertainment. There is nothing entertaining about terminal illness. And NONE of this movie's inner messages could sugar-coat it...therefore, I found NOTHING up-lifting. It's depressing!Many folks, self included, know the intensely heartbreaking experience of loved ones who had a terminal illness and passed away. Some folks experienced losses of loved ones shortly before or on Christmas day, or shortly afterwards.Do we really need a movie like this to remind us of our heartbreak, especially around Christmas time? I assure you: definitely not!Watching this movie once, was MORE than enough for me!There is more than enough sadness in life...and.. I find this movie to be totally INSENSTIVE to the movie watchers, which, I believe, was made for the sake of the almighty dollar!

This film had quality actors playing roles with substance. Several plot lines and touching moments. They could have done without the buffoonish neighbor lady, but otherwise, I appreciated the love this man (Andy Garcia) showed for his wife in the last stages of her life. Mandy Moore was truly believable in her role as a hospice care nurse, and the relationship she developed with the dying Mrs. had depth to it. Probably a little on the unbelievable side, overall (building a ferris wheel in your back yard?), but I appreciated the fact that the end of the movie was their ride together on the wheel, and not her death.Thumbs up!