MovieChat Forums > Dear Santa (2011) Discussion > Gaping Plothole/Ending

Gaping Plothole/Ending

posted 9 years ago by rjrmemorabilia2
5 replies | jump to latest

I noticed right from the beginning that there wasn't any return address on the envelope or at the bottom of the letter. There's literally no way just from the name, Olivia that Crystal could do a Google search and find out where the letter came from. That annoyed me right from the start. Where was the proofreader of the story? How could such a glaring error go completely unnoticed which the entire film hinges on?

Also the ending left a lot to be desired. There were too many things left up in the air. Crystal donated her lat check to the homeless shelter so it could re-open. This meant that she was also about to become homeless herself because her mother said no more checks after that one. Yet she NEVER mentions her upcoming problem to Derek. Jillian just disappears without another mention, which is also a problem and should've been addressed in the original story as well.

I could easily see the check donation coming too. There was an episode of the magnificent That's Life, where Lydia whose behind on her rent takes two additional jobs so she won't get evicted from her apartment. But she's also donating time at an after school day care center, which is badly in need of structural repairs otherwise it's going to be closed by the city. Lydia DeLucca makes enough money to pay her rent. But you can guess what she does with the money instead. She ends up losing her apartment and independence along with it and then has to move back home with her parents. Crystal puts herself in the exact same situation. But she NEVER told Derek, her parents couldn't care less about her and there was absolutely no resolution to her situation.

If these problems and a few others were fine tuned in the script, it would be quite a good little film. But at least for me all they did is screw it up big time.

[–] rizdek 8 years ago

As to the return address. True, I also noticed it didn't seem to be on the envelope. But as I looked closely when she opens it to read it later, I notice some drawing/writing at the bottom of the letter. You don't see all of it, but that might well be where Olivia's full name and perhaps a return address of some sort was supposed to have been. It would have tied the story together better if they'd have had the envelope actually show a return address...something easily done because the father ran a business and might have had printed stationary which the kid would have used to write her letter.

Not sure I'd agree that she'd be "homeless" after donating the check since she may well have owned her apartment AND might have had some money in a bank account...enough to keep her from being homeless. But for me that last act of generosity was supposed to show that she acted selflessly and didn't expect to be rewarded or recognized for it.

I'm not sure how your "seeing the check donation coming" is a problem with the movie. Could you explain that?

Given how the film ended...that same night at the shelter...I'm not sure where we'd expect Jillian to pop up. She didn't really like the shelter and would have probably still have been under the impression that it had closed, so there'd be no reason for her to show up. In fact if she'd showed up at the shelter, THAT would have been a plot hole. Do you mean weeks and months later? Rarely do these kinds of movies give that kind of "what happens down the road" ending. These are fairy tales with a "and they lived happily ever after" ending.

[–] leedeelee 7 years ago

You're overthinking it-it's a Christmas romance---a fantasy!😄

[–] curemad_jelly_tot 7 years ago

It was fate ;)

[–] leedeelee 7 years ago

Jillian knew Derek didn't want her even before Crystal appeared, so after Crystal, she ran away embarrassed with her tail between her legs.

Crystal didn't think of or care about being homeless...she was depressed and lovesick and wanted to help Derek and the shelter, even if he didn't want her anymore--she cared more about them than the money, learning a true lesson in life about unselfishness and growing as a person in the process.

Which was the true "moral of the story."

[–] jadams414 7 years ago

Just to add salt to the wound, didn't anyone notice that the letter hadn't been cancelled? No postmark, no return address label. (However, she probably DID put her address on the bottom, as she was only nine years old).

Secondly, the fact that Olivia goes out, disappears, ends up at the skating rink? No security guards anywhere? They use cell phones, so why wasn't her dad calling around, frantically? Crystal just happens to come upon her. Oy!
What also irritated me, but then, it's usually my pet-peeve: when Derek berates her for the letter, she just stands there, mouth agape. Speak up, woman!@! That Jason Priestly, new director, didn't say something to the screenwriter, bugs me no end!
Okay, I've said my piece. Oh, I may be coming down with dementia, but when Frank finally enters the soup kitchen, as he lost his bet with Crystal, it was so familiar, yet I don't remember seeing this movie before. Merry Christmas everyone.