Masterful Cinema

good back-story, and good acting

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A relative of mine insisted that I watch this movie with them a year or two ago, so I did.Given the choice between re-watching this movie, or dousing my posterior in the spiciest hot sauce imaginable, I'd probably re-watch the movie. Probably. I'd have to think about it for a few minutes. Does the pain of chili peppers coming in contact with my sphincter outweigh the pain of sitting through the entire duration of Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas? That's a question I hope no one ever has to answer.

The narrative flow of the movie works like this: Christian says something he believes in and Kirk gently chides him and then explains what an idiot he is. For example, Christmas trees are not Biblical in original, right? Wrong. God made trees. And we should see a cross every time we see a Christmas tree. You can see the logic. But it's a leap. If you can make these leaps, then you can watch this film and get something from it. You just have to let Kirk take you on a ride.It's only when we read too much into things - if that's Kirk's real sister, why isn't the brother-in-law played by the real brother? Where's Candace Cameron, his somewhat of a bigger star sister, and her husband, hockey player Valeri Bure? Why was there no hot chocolate in Kirk's mug in the overly earnest open? Does anyone who made this movie not realize that the DeAndre character is racist in its depiction of black people? Is anyone mad that they co-opted dubstep? Why wasn't POD in this movie?That said, I'm not going to make fun of Kirk for being a child star or his earnestly vacant stare. Obviously, this was not a movie made for me. I also don't think it was made for Christians. I think it was made for Kirk, his family and close multiethnic friends. Things just got out of hand and it ended up being released in theaters and they had to go along with it.

This film is completely off-the-wall crazy. It is one of those rare films that has the power to descend to the depths of insanity, dragging its helpless audience along with it, until WHAM! The phrase "Aspergers in your burgers" is uttered by a man holding a cup of coffee in front of his mouth. The madness is universally expressed by all characters present, leading to an unsettling conclusion: this is not about Jesus at all, but a tale of a party in which the hot chocolate somehow becomes contaminated with marijuana. Suddenly the strange giggling in the car, the hallucinogenic Santa segment and the random conspiracy theory scene with two minor characters makes sense when viewed this way. It makes more sense than the idea someone thought this movie was a good idea, anyway!

There used to be a cinema that featured really bad movies. It cost nothing to get in, but the viewer had to pay if they wanted to leave before the film ended. If that place still exists, they should add this one to their list.There are brilliantly bad movies that deserve a "1" rating. This is one of them.