There are a few things to complain about when it comes to A Christmas Switch (2018).  The first is my longstanding disapprobation of granting god-like powers to Santa Claus.  For whatever reason, today’s film decided to not make Jolly Ol’ St. Nick a character.  Instead, we get Mrs. Nick (Annie Abbot), who magically appears whenever there is a turning point in the plot.  The other is that it is cheesy.  Then again, would one expect anything different with Christmas films?  Despite these warts, it is a welcome change from the usual romantic comedies.  Sure, it smacks of other familiar stories like A Christmas Carol, but at least the Yuletide backdrop is solely about our two leads learning to appreciate what they have.  Presents are a blessing this time of year, but what is of greater value is to know that we are blessed.  Besides, as “O Holy Night” reminds us, with the birth of Jesus, the soul “felt its worth.”

The worth of Audrey Turner (Jackie Seiden) is not only as a server at the diner at which she works in A Christmas Switch, but as an occasional singer.  Since it is the holidays, she is often called upon by her manager, Stan (Lou Beatty Jr.), to perform carols.  Raise your hand if you have ever been in such an eating establishment.  Despite the unlikeliness of this scenario, she is viewed by Julia Samson (Ashley Wood), the president of a record company.  She had been sent there against her better judgement by her assistant, Tyler (Brandan Robinson), and her boredom and disgust are evident.  Nonetheless, she is impressed by Audrey’s voice and they have a conversation.  Julia’s disdain is evident, and while her career in music is appealing, Audrey is defensive of life as a mom.  With that, Julia leaves, but sees Audrey with her family through the window and is filled with wistfulness.  As for Audrey, Stan is asking her to take more shifts to cover for others.  With all the upcoming seasonal activities on her mind, she wants to refuse, but like everything else in her life, she can only say yes.  This means squeezing in some shopping after work.  While perusing price tags, and feeling disheartened by their steepness, she is approached by the aforementioned Mrs. Nick.  The old woman looks at Audrey knowingly, offering the tired mom a candy cane for comfort.  Mrs. Nick also deals with Julia, who comes to the store to pick up a pre-ordered gift.  Julia rudely cuts in line, but Mrs. Nick also proffers a candy cane to Julia with the suggestion to be nicer.  It leads to Audrey and Julia meeting and fighting over an oddly glowing candy cane ornament.  Because Mrs. Nick seems to know their unspoken wishes, when the two wake up the next morning, they are in each other’s bodies.  For clarity’s sake, I will continue to refer to them by their names.  In any case, it takes a mild panic attack before they see their reflections in the mirror and realize what has happened.  Eventually, they seek one another out at the diner and do their best to make sense of their situation.  The best they come up with for the moment is to play off their odd behavior as a result of hitting their heads following making contact with the bewitched bauble.  Later, they return to the Christmas store and are unable to locate the item responsible for the title event.  Making matters worse is that after Christmas Eve in two weeks, Mrs. Nick will close shop until the following year.  Yet, without the needed item, they are unsure of what to do for the moment except trying their best to live the other’s life.  For Audrey, this involves getting to experience luxury.  At the same time, she realizes the price Julia has paid for her success.  While Julia’s husband, Alex Samson (John Patrick Jordan), is loving, they barely see one another.  The same is true for Laurel Samson (Oana Gregory), their teenage daughter who is obsessed with excelling in her school work.  Another aspect that is missing from the Samson household is any sense of Christmas cheer.  As for the Turners, Julia notes a lack of order, particularly with Audrey’s adorable little daughter, Kelly Turner (Cleary Herzlinger).  Put differently, Audrey’s life is messy, and the organized Julia attempts to fix some of that, but learns to be more accepting and patient in the process.  Nonetheless, the one thing that Julia cannot accept is Audrey pitching music superstar Gavin Vaughn (Taj Speights) to sign with Julia’s company.  Julia tries to listen in on Audrey’s meeting with Gavin, but the device malfunctions.  This leaves Audrey to use her charms to impress Gavin with how much this label cares, earning his business.  To celebrate, Audrey suggests that their families get together on the day before Christmas Eve for a party.  During the soiree, Audrey and Julia are able to spend time with their respective daughters and realize how much they are missing their families despite their recent success.  In desperation, they try to join hands and wish with all their might that they could be returned to their bodies.  Hoping against hope that Mrs. Nick’s place might be different, they meet there on Christmas Eve and, in the midst of sharing all they have learned, find the elusive ornament.  As before, they wake up the next morning, but this time in their own beds.  We end a year later with Audrey giving a Christmas performance and Julia informing her that her album of seasonally appropriate music is selling.

The bit of information that initially interested me in A Christmas Switch is when Audrey defends being a mother.  While motherhood is certainly a part of the story, it is not the focus.  All the same, I appreciated the stance on what the Church calls a vocation, that being a mother.  It also believes in women having careers, too, in case anyone is keeping score at home.  Whatever a woman decides, the Church teaches it should be pursued based on that to which God is calling us.  Sadly, as I mentioned in the introduction, God is one of the things missing from the Christmas movie.  Getting into the spirit of the season is not about putting up decorations, although one can trace them to Biblical sources.  The evergreens used for the trees, for example, are meant to be symbols of God’s unending presence with us through the dark winter days.  The same can be said for the lights, though they can also represent the star that led people to the manger to see the infant Jesus.  It is remarkable that these connections go unnoticed this time of year.  They have become simply what we do instead of having any deeper meaning.  You will also not find that deeper meaning in the movie.  However, to be fair to it, there is something to be said about Audrey being more into Christmas than Julia, at least at the beginning.  It is Audrey who frets about making things special for Kelly, while Julia sees the the holidays as childish.  Indeed, something special did happen with the birth of Jesus, and none of this would be possible had that not happened.

I guess what makes A Christmas Switch more acceptable is that what happens in it is at least somewhat different than others of its ilk.  Like them, it does not deal with the reason for the season, but that is to be expected.  In any case, I can appreciate a story about making people into better versions of themselves, or, as the carol would have it, for the soul to know its worth.