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If you’re not in the festive spirit quite yet, watching a good Christmas film is the perfect way to get excited. From heartwarming romcoms like Love Actually to family favourites like Home Alone, there are so many brilliant choices out there that it’s sometimes hard to pick your favourite.
But for every great Christmas film, there’s bound to be at least five awful ones that don’t quite have the same long-lasting impact. Maybe they do, but for the wrong reasons. And I decided to put myself through the ordeal of watching the very worst, so you don’t have to.
That film is Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas. Released in 2014, it topped the list of IMDB’s worst Christmas films ever and has a score of zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Just three weeks after it came out, it actually became the lowest-rated film on IMDB’s bottom 100 list too – an act that the titular star blamed on ‘haters and atheists’.
The film stars American actor and evangelist Kirk Cameron and is directed by Darren Doane, who also co-stars, reports the Daily Record. The synopsis reads: “Kirk’s sister’s annual Christmas party is about to be ruined by Christian, his brother-in-law, and Kirk realises he has to show Christian how important Christ is to the holiday season.”
On the surface, it seemed harmless enough. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a heartwarming tale about the ‘true meaning’ of Christmas? Little did I know, I was in for one of the most bewildering ninety minutes of my life, as nothing about this film made any sense whatsoever.
The film opens with a quintessential Christmas setting – a roaring log fire, stockings hung up, and a twinkling Christmas tree. Our main character, Kirk, is seated in an armchair, embarking on a monotonous speech about the “true meaning” of Christmas.
However, his viewpoint is unclear. He seems fixated on the commercialisation of the holiday, yet criticises those who aren’t. His concluding remark, “Maybe… just maybe… Santa is on the team,” does little to clarify his position. What team? I had no idea where this was going.
This tedious monologue unfortunately persists throughout the film as we transition into the main story. Kirk is attending his sister’s annual Christmas bash, which initially seems merry – hot chocolate is being served, presents are piled under the tree, and even Santa makes an appearance.
However, there’s a big problem – Kirk’s brother-in-law, Christian, despises the commercial aspects of Christmas, as we can see through his glum expression.
After enduring the festivities for a while, he retreats to his car parked in the driveway to escape the chaos. Much of the film takes place in this car, where Christian shares his belief that people’s obsession with trees and gifts has overshadowed the true essence of Christmas – Jesus Christ. His argument seems reasonable, but sadly, this moment of clarity appears to be the last in the film.
Kirk, however, is a firm believer in traditional Christmas festivities and sees them as having religious significance. He embarks on a mission to enlighten his cynical brother-in-law about the origins of Christmas traditions.
From the Christmas tree to Santa Claus and the Nativity, Kirk argues that they all have religious roots. However, he insists that anyone celebrating Christmas in a way he deems incorrect is just an irritant – and it’s a strange point of view to have.
He criticised Christian for “spoiling” Christmas, assuring that “everything you see is all about Jesus”. This apparently includes even the hot chocolate and the Christmas ham.
Addressing the materialistic aspect of Christmas, Kirk justifies it by saying, “this is a celebration of the eternal God taking on a material body. So it’s right that our holiday is marked with material things.”
Miraculously, Christian has a change of heart, re-joins the party, crashes into the tree and starts breakdancing. After this prolonged scene, the film concludes.
The movie’s message was somewhat unclear to me. However, I understand why it didn’t achieve the same popularity as Home Alone – the reviews were accurate, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
