The Godwink Christmas series has been going on for awhile at Hallmark. For those that don’t remember, a “godwink” is a coincidence where God is trying to nudge you in a certain direction. Last year we had Second Chance, First Love. This year we are given Miracle of Love.
Joy (Katherine Barrell) just graduated with her masters in nursing. Not knowing what to do with her life, she signs up to volunteer at a week-long community service event called Advent in Oshkosh. There she meets Eric (Alberto Frezza), who is trying to become a writer. They spend the week helping a family rebuild their home while falling in love.
The Godwink movies are a perfect blend of religion and secular. They don’t bash you over the head with God but they also don’t discount God’s hand in every day life. I think it’s a nice way to try to bring both Christians and non-Christians together.
As for Miracle of Love, specifically, there is nothing groundbreaking here. The acting is fine. The story is fine. Everything is just fine. Like the other movies, there aren’t any real conflicts. Supposedly, these are based on true stories so there is never a villain or big obstacle to overcome. (Well, OK. Eric does get injured toward the end of the movie. That is the Big Godwink.) It’s just people trying to make good decisions in life. I do like that there is no manufactured conflict. However, it can turn the movie toward the boring side. Since there is little to nothing to overcome and you already know they are going to end up together (what Christmas movie ends where they don’t get together?), there isn’t a lot to get invested in while watching.
Much like last year’s movie, if you are into the “God has a plan for us” mindset, you’ll probably enjoy these movies. For everyone else, there isn’t a lot to keep your interest unless you really want to watch two people dance around whether or not they should date. These movies are basically the equivalent of people watching in the mall except you get to follow them home when they are done shopping.