Christmas With A Capital C (2011)

There are times when I'm watching a movie that I start to wonder if I should continue watching it right through to the end. I always do. I'm a completist when it comes to movies. Even the worst films end up becoming some kind of endurance test. Yet a film like Christmas With A Capital C ends up being one of the more challenging viewings for me. Because I'm so far removed from the target audience. Should I even bother giving my opinion on it? Will my opinion be worth anything? Well, as conceited and arrogant as I have to be to keep writing nonsense like this daily, I tend to believe that I can always come at something from an angle which makes it worthwhile. In this case, I have to be upfront about why I realised I wasn't the target audience.

Christmas With A Capital C is a movie that could almost be summed up thus - one man (Daniel Baldwin) returns to his home town, intent on taking Christ out of Christmas. Locals, led by their mayor (Ted McGinley) fight back against him. Meanwhile, kids act sweet, adults are all warm and neighbourly to one another, and a little digging around unearths the fact that this troublemaker may have issues with something other than Christmas. Maybe he just needs shown the right path.

I am, and have been for many years, a happy atheist. That doesn't mean that I disparage, and dismiss, any personal beliefs. It just means that, yes, I start to feel irked when those beliefs are either thrust upon myself, or society as a whole. Many people will know what I'm talking about, I'm not going to use this review as an excuse to take a major sideroad. And that's why I wasn't sure about what to say about this movie. Because it's clearly very pro-religion. The title, and main driving factor of the plot, is derived from a song by Go Fish (a contemporary Christian band who tend nowadays to aim a lot of their music towards kids).

Yet, and I'm as surprised as anyone else by what I'm about to say, it's not actually THAT bad. And there are two reasons for that. First of all, the moments that show characters unable to repress their urge to shout out about Christmas having a capital C are settled among other moments that deliver some standard, pleasant family moments. Second, the scenes that show how the law can be used to keep religious activity/paraphernalia separate from government business are quite interesting. Whether they are based on truth or not, I have no idea. But I hope so, simply because I like to believe in that separation of church and state, as it were.

There is actually also a third reason for this film not being as bad as it could have been, and that's the cast. McGinley is very likable, even when he's being a bit self-assured and pious. Baldwin is appropriately unwavering in his attempt to keep the town a relatively Christianity-free zone, Nancy Stafford is fine as the wife of McGinley's character, and Cooper Peltz and Francesca Derosa play the two main kids, with the former being a teenage lad and the latter a young girl who just wants to be a singing angel at this time of year. They both do fine. In fact, they're better than Brad Stine, who is saddled with playing the kind of guy who assumes that kids will be entertained by short plays that comedically reinterpret the story of Christmas (and, in this film, they ARE).

The script by Andrea Gyertson Nasfell is pretty horrible at times, and director Helmut Schleppi seems content to stick scenes together with no fluidity or thought of context, so it's amazing that this doesn't sink right to the bottom of the barrel. It's preachy during many moments, of course, but it's aiming to preach to the converted, literally, in a way that feels just as positive and schmaltzy as many other festive outings.

4/10

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Capital-Blu-ray-Ted-McGinley/dp/B005BRX8RY/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1417728676&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+with+a+capital+c

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Christmas Angel (2012)

When I saw the opening credits of Christmas Angel my heart sank. It's a film directed by Brian Herzlinger. If you're unfamiliar with that name then you were lucky enough to avoid the My Date With Drew drama on IMDb a number of years ago, in which Herzlinger spectacularly failed to realise the difference between enjoyable, friendly self-promotion on a chat forum and having to use hyperbole, lies and petty insults to stand your ground on a movie that few people had heard of at the time, let alone formed any opinion on. My Date With Drew was bad, but it wasn't THAT bad. If he'd gone about things in a different way then he may have received some grudging compliments. But he didn't. I only hope, for all concerned, that he's learned his lessons and moved on. Because nobody needs to sail through THAT shitstorm twice in one lifetime.

So let's get to this film. And let me say right now that I quite enjoyed it. I didn't love it - it's one of the many Christmassy TV movies that always reminds viewers that it's a Christmassy TV movie - but it was harmless enough, and featured a few good lead performances helping things along. Heck, the story was almost just the right level of sweetness to make you care without making you vomit. Almost.

The plot concerns a young girl (Olivia, played by Izabela Vidovic) who decides to investigate further when a number of wishes, made by her fellow classmates, are fulfilled. Olivia wants a husband for her mother (played by Teri Polo), a situation that looks a bit more likely when Nathan Davis (Kevin Sorbo) comes into their life. But Nathan isn't the man that Olivia wanted for her mother. Can she make her own wish come true? Perhaps the old woman (Della Reese) living nearby can help.

The script here is perfectly acceptable for a Christmas confection, and the performances from all involved are pretty good. Vidovic often veers over from cute territory to smug, but I guess most people won't be as bothered as I was by that balancing act. Polo and Sorbo do well, with the former especially likable and the latter doing a good "is he or isn't he a grinch?" routine. Reese is a lot of fun as the woman who may be holding one or two secrets, and Tamera Mowry-Hously and Jaiden Kaine help to liven things up, playing friends of the character played by Polo, a couple not averse to some minor meddling if it sees their friend happy.

There's nothing here that's great, but it could be good, if not for one main aspect. Yes, you may have guessed it, the direction. A lot of it is competent enough (I mean, this isn't exactly Gravity that we're watching), but then there are moments when the camerawork/framing is so clumsy that it takes you out of the movie, and you need to stay immersed in a light piece of work like this. Despite what he may think if he ever reads this, and I know Herzlinger certainly used to keep a close eye on reviews of his work, this is not me looking for an excuse to bash him. I'm not saying that his work on the film is inept, but there are certainly times when it's lacking, even for a TV movie.

All in all, Christmas Angel evens out to be a pretty average, ultimately quite enjoyable, story to watch during the Yuletide season.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Angel-Kevin-Sorbo/dp/B008EFDC6M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1387876767&sr=8-3&keywords=christmas+angel