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Saving Christmas

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Saving Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDarren Doane
Written by
  • Darren Doane
  • Cheston Hervey
Produced by
  • Darren Doane
  • Raphi Henly
  • Amanda Rosser
  • David Shannon
Starring
  • Kirk Cameron
  • Darren Doane
  • Bridgette Ridenour
  • David Shannon
  • Raphi Henley
  • Ben Kientz
CinematographyAndy Patch
Edited byPostmill Factory
Music byBrian Popkin
Distributed bySamuel Goldwyn Films
Release date
  • November 14, 2014 (2014-11-14)
Running time
79 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[1]
Box office$2.8 million[2]

Saving Christmas (sometimes referred to as Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas) is a 2014 American faith-based Christmas comedy film directed by Darren Doane and written by Doane and Cheston Hervey. Starring Kirk Cameron, Doane, Bridgette Ridenour, David Shannon, Raphi Henly, and Ben Kientz, the film was theatrically released by Samuel Goldwyn Films on November 14, 2014.[5][6]

The film combines a comedic narrative with educational elements, in order to "put Christ back in Christmas".[7][8]

The film received a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was nominated in six categories for the 35th Golden Raspberry Awards and won four, including Worst Picture.

Plot

After explaining why he loves everything about Christmas, Kirk learns that his brother-in-law, Christian White, feels that Christmas has become too commercialized and has strayed too far from the holiday's origins. Kirk tries to convince him that various popular elements of Christmas are biblical in origin. The two then return home for the remainder of the family Christmas party.

Cast

  • Kirk Cameron as Kirk
  • Darren Doane as Christian White, Kirk's brother-in-law
  • Bridgette Ridenour as Kirk's sister
  • David Shannon
  • Raphi Henly
  • Ben Kientz

Release

Box office

Saving Christmas debuted on 410 screens on November 14, 2014. For the weekend, the film came in fifteenth place with ticket sales of $992,087, with a per screen average of $2,420. In its six-week run, the film grossed $2,783,970 at the box office.[2] Based on a $500,000 budget, the film can be considered a box office success.[1]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 0%, based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 1.7/10.[9] On Metacritic, the film received a rating of 18 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[10] New York Times film critic Ben Kenigsberg said that Cameron's acting "sounds so forced you half-expect the camera to pull back to reveal hostage takers".[11]

In The Christian Post, an Evangelical Christian newspaper, Emma Koonse wrote, "[Kirk Cameron] dismisses theories that Christmas is derived in the pagan celebration of Winter Solstice in Saving Christmas, offering viewers a Biblical reference to items such as the Christmas tree instead. Furthermore, the film reveals Cameron's take on Santa Claus, the three wise men, and why Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25 each year... Although Cameron attempts to defend Christmas traditions in Saving Christmas, many Christians remain divided over what the Bible says about celebrating Christ's birth as well as where the varied Christmas traditions originated and what the customs mean in reference to Jesus."[12]

Critics controversy

On November 20, Cameron responded to the negative reviews by posting on his Facebook page.[13] He wrote, "Help me storm the gates of Rotten Tomatoes. All of you who love Saving Christmas – go rate it at Rotten Tomatoes right now and send the message to all the critics that WE decide what movies we want our families to see."[14] The attempt resulted in a severe backlash in which Internet users traveled to the Rotten Tomatoes page and condemned the film.[15]

Three weeks after release, the film gained additional notoriety when it became the lowest rated film on the Internet Movie Database's bottom 100 list.[16][17] Cameron later responded to the low rating, saying that it was due to a campaign on Reddit by "haters and atheists" to purposely lower the film's ratings.[18][19]

Accolades

Association Year Category Nominee(s) Result Ref(s)
Golden Raspberry Awards 2015 Worst Picture Won [20][21]
Worst Actor Kirk Cameron Won
Worst Supporting Actress Bridgette Cameron Ridenour Nominated
Worst Director Darren Doane Nominated
Worst Screenplay Darren Doane and Cheston Harvey Won
Worst Screen Combo Kirk Cameron and his ego Won

Soundtrack

Untitled

A soundtrack album was released on October 27, 2014 by Reunion Records.[22]

  1. "Joy" – 1 Girl Nation
  2. "Christmas Time Again" – Steven Curtis Chapman
  3. "Saving Christmas" – Building 429
  4. "Let Us Adore" – Jason Crabb
  5. "O Holy Night" – Kerrie Roberts
  6. "Away in a Manger" – Casting Crowns
  7. "Deck the Halls" – Tenth Avenue North
  8. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" – Rebecca St. James
  9. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" – Matt Maher
  10. "O come, O come, Emmanuel" – Rhett Walker Band

Home media

Saving Christmas was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 3, 2015.[23] The film was also made available on Hulu in March 2016.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kirk Cameron's 'Saving Christmas' Is The Best … Of The Worst IMDb Films Ever". Business 2 Community. December 5, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  3. ^ Siegemund-Broka, Austin (August 27, 2014). "Kirk Cameron's Faith-Based 'Saving Christmas' Picked Up for Limited Release". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ XDX2 at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  5. ^ Siegemund-Broka, Austin (August 27, 2014). "Kirk Cameron's Faith-Based Saving Christmas Picked Up for Limited Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  6. ^ Gilman, Greg (August 28, 2014). "Kirk Cameron Is Saving Christmas in New Trailer". TheWrap. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  7. ^ Hallowell, Billy (August 27, 2014). "Hollywood Actor Says His New Movie Will Hammer Political Correctness and Frustrate Atheist Activists". TheBlaze. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  8. ^ O'Neal, Sean (August 28, 2014). "Kirk Cameron to Make Christmas Safe for Christians". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  9. ^ "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  10. ^ "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas". Metacritic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  11. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (November 13, 2014). "To Save Us All From Satan's Power", The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  12. ^ Koonse, Emma (November 12, 2014). "Kirk Cameron Hopes Audiences 'Throw Both Arms Around Their Christmas Tree' After Watching Saving Christmas; Challenges Pagan Ownership of Holiday", The Christian Post. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  13. ^ Gettys,Travis (November 21, 2014). "Kirk Cameron Is Begging Fans to Help Boost His Movie's Putrid Rating on Rotten Tomatoes". The Raw Story. Retrieved November 21, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Koonse, Emma (November 21, 2014). "Kirk Cameron Urges Fans to Improve Saving Christmas Rating, 'Help Me Storm the Gates of Rotten Tomatoes'". The Christian Post. Retrieved November 21, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Kirk Cameron Tried To Cheat Rotten Tomatoes, It Did Not Go Well". CinemaBlend. November 25, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  16. ^ Kaufman, Scott (December 5, 2014). "The People Have Spoken! Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas Is IMDB's Worst Film of All Time". The Raw Story. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  17. ^ Mauney, Matt (December 5, 2014). "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas Officially Worst Movie in IMDb History". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  18. ^ Holley, Peter (December 8, 2014). "Kirk Cameron Says Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas Is the Target of an Atheist Conspiracy". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 9, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ O'Neal, Sean (December 5, 2014). "Kirk Cameron Is Crucified at the Hands of IMDb Users, Rises with Jesus Coffee". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 9, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "RAZZIES® Celebrate 35 Years of Worst Achievements in Film with Inclusive Nominee List ...and New "Redeemer" Award". Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  21. ^ King, Susan (February 21, 2015). "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas Dominates the 35th Razzie Awards", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  22. ^ "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas Soundtrack Details", Film Music Reporter. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  23. ^ "Saving Christmas DVD Release Date November 3, 2015". DVDReleaseDates. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  24. ^ Bradley, Lauren; Wickman, Forrest (March 1, 2016). "The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming This Month to Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, and Amazon Prime". Slate. Retrieved March 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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