Homeless For The Holidays Review

Homeless For The Holidays is a story based on the experience of the film's writer, producer and director.  A story of having it all (or thinking so anyway) and then losing it all, only to realize what's really important.  This story is all too familiar for some of us.  Jack Baker is a hard worker, doing everything to move up the corporate ladder, including sacrificing time with his wife and kids, but finds himself unemployed and unable to support his family.  In desperation, he takes a job at a burger joint, and tries to make the most of it.  The family begin to lose their possessions, their friends and to a point, their faith.  

What I liked about this movie is that most of the situations were extremely real.  These days it is so easy to go from top of the world to down in the gutter. The Baker family was living above their means to begin with, they started out with a lot of debt, and when the money stopped rolling in to cover those luxuries, they were able to realize how unimportant they really were in the long run.  I feel that the lead character, Jack, was portrayed well... you could really get a sense of his desperation and angst.  The other characters in this film, however, were not as well established or defined... they were all over the place, making them difficult to identify with.  There was even one really odd, unnecessarily long scene in the supermarket involving comedian Brad Stine as a creepy store manager with too much power.

Overall, the movie was made on a very low budget, and hence was lacking in the area of production and some acting abilities.  It was a good storyline, though.  The heart of the film was there, and the main idea was definitely delivered in a way that made you think while not coming across overly preachy or forced.  What would you do if you found yourself homeless on Christmas?  Would you be able to find the joy in the little things?  Would you be willing to give your last $40 to someone else?

View the trailer or find out more about Homeless For The Holidays here.  I was provided with a free copy of this movie on DVD for review, however the opinions expressed here are my own.