In "A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish" (⋆⋆⋆) Katherine "Kat" Decker (Laura Marano) dreams of becoming a famous singer-songwriter, but she is being held back emotionally by a cruel stepmother and professionally by her job as a department-store elf. This could have been the end of her story. But she meets a charming young man, Nick (Gregg Sulkin), who is working as the store's Santa Claus. Little does she know, he has a very rich secret life.

Marano plays the most endearing department store elf since Zooey Deschanel's work in 2003's "Elf." Marano plays the role with such a deep and honest sweetness that she can win over the hearts of almost anyone around her. She and Sulkin have a nice chemistry that makes it easy to want them to find true love.

It is an added bonus that Marano is an accomplished singer, which adds another layer of enjoyment to the direct-to-DVD production.

Rick Bentley, Tribune News Service

Also Coming Tuesday

• "A Discovery of Witches"

• "The Swan Princess"

• "10 Minutes Gone"

• "Mike Wallace Is Here"

• "Mehsampur"