The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)

The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)

Directed by: Robert Ellis Miller

Starring: Diana Scarwid, Robert Urich, Tegan Moss

Really, I should’ve known there’d be a huge number of sappy Christmas movies OnDemand right now, but I guess I don’t really think these things through. Well, there’s no one to blame but myself. Also, coincidentally, I’m the only one who suffers, so I guess that’s my own punishment.

During the Great Depression, a man gets falsely arrested for attacking  somebody during a riot caused by the lack of work. To get him free in time for Christmas, his three kids travel across the country to visit President Hoover, because the president can fix everything. Along the way, they meet all sorts of horrifically dangerous people, all of whom are incredibly nice to the kids, and it turns out that the president helps them and everything is wonderful and happy. Which is BULLSHIT!

Really, apart from all the hobos and side-street puppet show people they meet who should really have just knifed the kids right off the bat, what strikes me most is the idea behind the movie. As far as I can figure, somebody just sat down and thought, “Okay, how do I make a Christmas movie that’s different than all the others? I know! I’ll have some kids going across country to meet President Hoover!” What? How do you even come up with that? That’s just bizarre, man.