Christmas at Water's Edge (2004 TV Movie) User Reviews (15)

Not Great but Not Bad

[Christmas-Reviewer · 6/10 · 9 July 2017]

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.

In this film a wealthy collegian (Keshia Knight Pulliam) and an angel-in-training work together to organize a holiday concert for a youth center.

The college student has skated by on everything her entire life because her dad "paid everything off". When she thinks she can just buy a college diploma she is mistaken. She has one teacher that is about to fail her. So she has to pull herself together complete all her missing assignments and write a mid term all over her Christmas Holiday.

This films screenplay is not good. It goes all over and never really focuses. The best part of the film is near the end when the "Christmas Choir Sings".

Family safe but watch something else!

A painfully horrible movie...

[ryan_here · 4/10 · 22 January 2005]

Hey, we all loved 'Rudy' and gladly accepted the sub-par acting due to the fact that she was so young at the time. But that was a long time ago. For those of you that did see this movie, you most likely sat through it praying that Cliff Huxtable would make an irrelevant but much-needed cameo appearance to the film to give it at least some A-level acting. The plot was predictable, the emotional outbursts obviously phony, and the only thing comforting about this movie was to see the attractive face of 'Ray-J' Norwood step into a scene and make the young teenage girls and boys scream to the top of their lungs while watching it in their rooms (at least someone enjoyed it). On the plus side (and I include a plus side just because it is the right thing to do), it was nice to see Keshia Knight-Pulliam's return to TV and at the same time have a positive holiday movie that the whole family could sit down and enjoy.

Next time Try Harder

[TheMan896325 · 5/10 · 9 July 2017]

This is film is a blender. It blends story elements from "It's A Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Carol" and adds a Cosby star. The results an over ingredient film that has too much off everything and not enough flavor of anything else to make you want to sample more.

In this movie a spoiled brat must make up some school assignments or she will fail. An Angel in Training is sent down to earth to make sure she gets on the correct path or "He ends up in Limbo"

This film ends up becoming a huge mess and even a bigger bore. The cast could have delivered a great product but they need a better screenplay. AVOID!

Don't Waste Two Hours of Your Life!

[sammygkelseye · 1/10 · 5 January 2006]

This was about as saccharine sweet as they come with plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. At first, you don't understand why Mr. Turner can't pick up his daughter and later, it kind of filters in that he is a very busy man. Then you have Tre, the "would-be" angel (ripping off It's a Wonderful Life" here) who isn't allowed to fall in love with the person he is sent to help (portrayed by Keshia Knight Pulliam) but does anyway. The angel in charge of him tells him it will be too painful for both of the parties involved. And at the end, all he says is ,"Yeah, you're right. It does hurt." As Keisha's character, her is a guy she has supposedly become attracted to and she just says "See you around." He leaves and that's the end of the movie. There was a story somewhere in there about saving a foster home for some kids but it just served to move the rest of the story along. Poor Tom Bosley - he must be hurting for money to be roped into doing this! The only "positive" I would have for this movie is that I thought Ms. Pulliam looked gorgeous and that's coming from a straight woman who grew up watching her on the Cosby Show.

Limited Acting Range Fir the Former Child Star

[archiemartinjr · 1/10 · 8 July 2017]

Keshia Knight Pulliam was a cute child actor in the "The Cosby Show". She must had had a good family because she is a child start that did seem to stay out of the tabloids during her teen years.

This is the first project I have seen her in that she wasn't a child. She was great in "Polly" and "Polly Coming Home" but again she was a child.

Her she is 20 Something spoiled rich girl. She can mean okay but she can not play "redemption". Her range of being an actor is not much. She is not very good. I think this film would have been better had they cast somebody with more talent than Keshia!

In this film she plays a wealthy collegian and an angel-in-training work together to organize a holiday concert for a youth center.

The story really has no major pay off and none of leads keep you interest enough to carry you to the end of the film!

Quite Possibly the Worst Thing I Have Ever Seen

[sarah-uku · 1/10 · 11 December 2004]

Yeah, i think that subject line pretty much says it all. I am not usually one to post comments on a movie but this one was so bad, I just had to make an exception. So badly acted and badly written that everyone involved in its making ought to be ashamed of themselves. The only reason I continued watching it was because I was so amazed at how bad it was and was convinced it couldn't possibly get any worse. Boy, was i wrong. It eventually deteriorated into a bad Sister Act 2 remake. Characters so one-dimensional and annoying, you are almost yelling at them to get the hell off your screen. Positive images of African-Americans? Yeah right. The girl is a vapid, spoiled brat who is not going to graduate from college, and heavens forbid the son actually want to be in college as opposed to pursuing a music career. I was insulted by it. I wish for no one to see this movie. Save yourself.

Sweet and Unique!

[cday321 · 8/10 · 9 December 2004]

I have never seen a movie like this before on regular TV. It was so nice seeing African American characters I could relate too. Layla and her brother reminded me of me and my brother growing up. It was nice to see "Lil' Rudy" acting again and I never knew Ray J could act either. As a hip rendition of "Scrooge", with a street wise angel attempting to straighten out the attitude of a spoiled brat, I really liked their chemistry. And as a teacher, have no problem sharing this movie with my students.

Pleasant and inspiring family film

[vchimpanzee · 20 December 2005]

Michael Turner has money, but his success came at a cost. He doesn't give his family as high a priority as his work. His son Berto, who was expected to go to Harvard Business School, would rather go into the music business. His daughter Leila has found a purpose in life, helping out at a home for troubled teens, run by Harry. Leila's friends have trouble understanding why she doesn't have time for them any more.

Leila and her mysterious friend Tre discover that the teens at the home have singing talent, and they believe they can save the home (which is on a block to be demolished for one of Michael's developments) with a fund-raiser concert. Giving advice to Tre is Earl, who appears and disappears quickly.

This is a pleasant enough film, with some sad moments. But by some miracle, the situation will probably get better for everyone. After all, it IS Christmas.

The kids are quite talented at singing. The actors in this movie are pretty good, considering it's a TV-movie. Nothing that special, though I would never have recognized Keshia Knight Pulliam. She was so cute as Rudy, and now she's all grown up. And Tom Bosley does not disappoint.

I recommend this movie for anyone who likes a cute and inspiring story with little if anything that could be considered offensive.

Terrible screenplay, weak acting, and a boring film

[SimonJack · 3/10 · 4 February 2021]

"Christmas at Water's Edge" is one of the many TV movies made each year around the Holiday season - this one in 2004. Occasionally, one turns out to be a real gem, and it's not a secret because many people will have seen it and many have rated it very high. A little more often, there will be a very good Christmas movie - sometimes even two in one year. But, the vast majority of such seasonal films are in the middle, ranging from fair to good. They're okay for one viewing, but nothing to look forward to on a yearly basis.

Then there also are some films that one can't recommend at all. They suffer in multiple ways - poor or weak screenplays, confused or haphazard plots and stories, bad acting, poor direction and any number of technical weaknesses.

This one suffers mostly from a really bad screenplay that bounces all over the place. And, a forced story that seems to be emulating pieces of three great stories and movies - Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," "It's a Wonderful Life" of 1946, and "The bishop's Wife" of 1947. The only problem with the cast is that most of them needed acting lessons. All of this is put in a plot with a spoiled college student who is visited by an angel to help straighten her out and learn the true meaning of Christmas. That will happen, so the story goes, by the angel and Leila organizing a youth center's holiday concert.

I also struggled to stay with this film to see if it didn't have something to redeem it; but, alas, it didn't. Nine out of 10 viewers would probably find this film boring, and unable to stay with it. But, maybe 10 percent will like it. It should be a signal to movie buffs that if a Christmas or holiday film isn't carried by a major TV channel, chances are it won't be very good. This film wasn't, and isn't. I only saw it because it was one in a multi-movie DVD I purchased.

Warm Christmas Message

[cherrellerobinson · 8/10 · 10 December 2004]

I really appreciate a movie that captures the true spirit of Christmas. Many times we get caught up in the idea of presents and material possessions, that we forget that there are people who never experience a happy Christmas. And Christmas at Water's Edge reminds us of the true meaning of having family and friends in our lives. Filled with a great cast of notables such as Keisha Knight Pulliam and Tom Bosley creates a familiar setting for TV buffs who grew up with Happy Days and The Cosby Show. I thoroughly enjoyed the positive images all of the cast brought to the screen-especially for African Americans. Far to often television portrays the African American Family as entertainers as oppose to business people like the father portrayed in Christmas at Water's Edge. It was nice to see images of African Americans in another line of work.

Also, the story was inspiring and well thought out. The perfect story for young adults. Our young adults born in and after the 80's are of the "give me, and mine, mine, mine generation," that movies like this awaken them to recognize true meanings in life. Christmas at Water's Edge is a wholesome family movie worth repeating for years to come.

A must see movie

[sdpsilverfox · 10/10 · 25 November 2006]

My views on the movie are: it is romantic, heart warming and a great movie to watch.All of the actors are graded an A plus with me they show compassion,love and understanding. The movie showed laughter, sensitivity, anger at some point. My first time seeing was in 2005 i am sorry it took so long to see,Iwould watch it over and over again.I have been looking to purchase this work of art for a year but had no findings until now please let me know how to purchase this film.This movie is a must have movie and great entertainment for my guess would truly adore Christmas at water's edge I know my family enjoyed watching it with me every time it came on:on any channel.THE BEST MOVIE EVER

A Pleasant Christmas Surprise

[jazzkatt15 · 31 December 2004]

I liked Christmas At Water's Edge. For one, it was good to see Keshia Knight Pulliam, back on the screen again.I was ,also, glad to see Janet Hubert and Tom Bosley. The plot was very simple. For a movie starring African Americans, it did not contain profanity or anything disrespectful. I felt it was a family movie. Even though, it was a little predictable, it gave a good feeling, and you felt the spirit of Christmas. The acting could have been slightly better but the messages within were very clear. Also, Pooch Hall looked good all throughout the movie! I would urge everybody to watch it, the next time it comes on. It is great for the family. Even though, there weren't any Oscar performances, it was a fun movie. If you watch the movie with a closed mind, you will not get anything from it. You have to see past the slightly predictable plot and the less than stellar performances and see it for what it was...a pleasant Christmas surprise! I loved every minute of it.

Love, Love, Love this movie. Looking for it on DVD

[shetiye · 10/10 · 25 November 2005]

This movie was an excellent family oriented movie. Not many Christmas movies hold my interest nor do they they excite me in any way. Christ- mas at Water's Edge was both, exciting and interesting. The cast and crew did an excellent job. Thanks for the entertainment when I needed it at that time of the year. Please, don't stop producing or lose your sense of family morals when making your next movie. There wasn't any killing Santa or any of that nonsense or violence. Further more, it wasn't too far fetched. You touched reality without leaning more towards violence. You get a 10. Job well done! Last but not least, I'd like to have this movie on DVD.

Excellent

[dvbreeden1-1 · 10/10 · 13 January 2005]

I throughly enjoyed this movie. It gave the version of several different types of people the ones that have, the less fortunate and the ones who is always willing to help others and themselves without taking a handout. I may be the only one who enjoyed this but you should see it for yourself before you let me or others make up your mind, It stars Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy) of the Cosby Show, Ray J(Brand's Brother), Tom Bosley(Happy Days) and the mother from the Fresh Prince. There is not much more I can say without giving it away. Just Keep an open mind and Stop to think of the real meaning that the writer was trying to bring across. Just my opinion. Judge for yourself if it comes out for rent.

Excellent Family Value Movie - Good and Wholesome- For All Ages

[440Race · 10/10 · 25 December 2004]

My whole house watched this movie today. It was refreshing to see a movie which the whole family, regardless of age, could watch together, enjoy, and talk about the family values shown. There have not been many movies with such a diverse cast that is primarily African American which have been created in this genre. I read the other comment while we all were watching the movie and was waiting to see the justification for the comment. All ages in my house enjoyed the movie and began to wonder what the writer was looking for in the movie. This movie was good and I hope to see it again. It is not like the usual movies of today which parents have to be so concern with the language, innuendos, etc. This movie should be placed with the older traditional Christmastime movie. Thank you to all those involved with this movie. It is one I could easily add to my DVD/VHS collection as a holiday tradition.