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There are a handful of Christmas movies that I absolutely must watch during the holiday season. They include: "The Preacher's Wife," with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. It's a remake of the 1947 film, "The Bishop's Wife" starring Cary Grant and Loretta Young.
Then there's, "It's a Wonderful Life," followed by "Frosty the Snowman," "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" (I admit it), "Miracle on 34th Street, both the 1947 movie with Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn and the 1994 film with Richard Attenborough and Dylan McDermott.
I also can't live without seeing "The Kid Who Loved Christmas." It's a wonderful, corny, sappy, and downright heartwarming family film that will put you in the Christmas spirit.
"The Kid Who Loved Christmas" is produced by Eddie Murphy. It features an incredible cast that includes: Oscar winning actress, Cicely Tyson, Della Reese, Ben Vereen, singer Vanessa Williams, Sammy Davis Jr. in his last film role, as well as the late Esther Rolle (TV's "Good Times") and of course Michael Warren.
Most people may remember Warren from his college basketball days at UCLA. He played under the late, great legendary coach John Wooden and alongside Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Lucius Allen and Lynn Shackelford. The Bruins won the NCAA national championships in 1967 with a 30-0 record and in 1968 (29-1).
Warren is also known for his accomplished acting career and most notably for playing Officer Bobby Hill in the groundbreaking, Emmy Award winning police drama, "Hill Street Blues."
I've been a huge fan of Michael Warren ever since seeing him in the "Wanna Bet?" episode of "The White Shadow" TV show. Warren starred as a hotshot, basketball player that Coach Ken Reeves (the late Ken Howard) tried to enroll at Carver High.
Yet, despite most everything Warren has done, it’s “The Kid Who Loved Christmas” that is so special for me. It's about a young orphan named Reggie ("Trent Cameron," TV's "Cold Case" and "Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story"), who has been shuffled from various foster homes. Finally, it seems he has found the perfect home and the foster parents of his dreams. Reggie's new father Tony (Warren) is a promising jazz musician and his mother, Lynette (Williams) provides the ideal nurturing environment that Reggie so desperately needs.
The three of them are so perfect together in their warm, Christmassy Chicago home that they look as if they could be on a Currier & Ives Christmas greeting card. But even little Reggie--who has spent time running away from foster homes-- feels that his new family is just too good to be true.
And as fate would have it, Reggie's perfect world soon comes crashing down. Weeks before Christmas, Tony and Reggie receive word that Lynette is killed in a car crash.
Poor little Reggie's fate is now in the hands of another supposedly "nice and well meaning" Social Services Department worker named Etta (played wonderfully by Cicely Tyson). Etta vows to Tony that she will do everything within her power to ensure that he gets to keep Reggie. She even promises Reggie that she will forward his "All I Want for Christmas Is My Daddy Back" letter that he wrote to Santa Claus.
Cue the sappy music.
But while Etta's intentions might be good, her boss, Esther Clayton's (Rolle) sure aren't. Esther is one of the most cold-hearted administrators you'd want to meet. She gives socials workers a bad name. Rolle is so convincing here with her character that you really do want to strangle her for being so callous.
Esther determines that Tony's job as a musician doesn't provide the stability for Reggie. Consequently, she has him taken away again. Tony and his friends go through every legal channel they can to get Reggie. They are torn up to learn that he has already run away from the house that Esther has placed him in and that he is now homeless.
Just when it seems all hope is gone and Reggie won't spend Christmas with Tony and the rest of his family and friends, something dramatic causes crusty, old, Esther to have a change of heart. Keep the Kleenex handy. You're going to need them for this tearjerker.
I can pretty much recite nearly every line of this movie. Interestingly enough, I recently connected with Michael Warren on social media. He’s still acting, but he’s also now a talented artist. I was so impressed by his artwork, that I bought a colorful, canvas piece. He has an impressive collection. You can check it out at michaelwarrenphotofantasy.com.
When we spoke by phone about his art, I mentioned how much I loved “The Kid Who Loved Christmas” and how I was so impressed by his saxophone playing in the film. Warren said it was a special movie for him as well because he was able to work with entertainment legends Sammy Davis Jr., Cicely Tyson, Della Reese, Ben Vereen, and Esther Rolle.
"You know the funny thing is, I could hardly blow a note from that saxophone, said Warren with a laugh. "When I did, it wasn’t a good sounding one at all."
Here's the thing. I have watched "The Kid Who Loved Christmas" many times and couldn’t tell that was the case. Warren comes across as a veteran sax player. That’s the sign of an exceptionally good actor and Warren has proven through his body of work, he's certainly that.
If you're looking for a great Christmas movie to add to your collection, "The Kid Who Loved Christmas" is a must-have.
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