{"id":761,"date":"2014-11-15T16:38:28","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T16:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/peanutsandpopcorn\/?p=761"},"modified":"2014-11-15T16:53:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-15T16:53:00","slug":"saving-christmas-is-full-of-useful-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/peanutsandpopcorn\/2014\/11\/saving-christmas-is-full-of-useful-stuff.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Saving Christmas\u2019 is Full of Useful Stuff"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Christian<\/a>
Christian (Darren Doane) is not happy with the idea of Christmas this year. (Provident Films)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some may view actor Kirk Cameron as a hyper-religious, ultra-conservative Christian, so it may surprise you that his latest venture, Saving Christmas<\/em>, is the polar opposite of what you might expect. In fact, this film is actually aimed at those who are hyper-religious, ultra-conservative Christians and even proves that the title is inaccurate. Christmas isn\u2019t in need of saving; it needs to be celebrated.<\/p>\n

Saving Christmas<\/em> is different from what you might expect in a lot of ways. It isn\u2019t really a tradition movie as there isn\u2019t much of a storyline. It isn\u2019t really a documentary, because there IS a storyline. The production is written and directed by Darren Doane who also has a large role in the film as Kirk\u2019s fictional brother-in-law \u201cChristian” and obvious metaphor for everyone who watches this movie. Christian\u2019s wife is played by Kirk’s sister,\u00a0Bridgette Cameron.<\/p>\n

The thin plot revolves around a family Christmas party where Christian spends most of it sulking in his car. Instead of the over-used storyline about someone who has \u201clost the Christmas spirit,\u201d Christian has had it with Christmas. He is upset with all of the commercialism and he fears that he is partaking in traditions that have history in druidism. Kirk goes out to talk to him and addresses each of his concerns with historical facts and stories.<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s and Christian\u2019s conversation is pretty entertaining to watch as Doane is actually very funny in his awkwardness. Christian rants about one subject, Kirk addresses it and then they move on to the next. Here you won\u2019t find schmaltzy stories like the \u201clegend of the candy cane,.\u201d Instead, lessons on the background of many holiday traditions and little-known facts about the nativity story are presented. This is all good stuff, however, comparing the Christmas tree to the Tree of Knowledge found in the Adam and Eve story is a bit of a stretch. The argument that \u201cjust because the druids worshipped trees doesn\u2019t mean we have to\u201d is enough.<\/p>\n

At just one hour and twenty minutes long, Saving Christmas<\/em> feels more like a Christmas TV special than a movie and like many holiday specials, about 20 minutes of the production is filled with fluff that doesn\u2019t really belong. These are \u201ccomedy bits\u201d from other cast members that aren\u2019t especially funny that should have been left out. That\u2019s not to say that it isn\u2019t worth watching. It is. Just don\u2019t expect to be entertained as much as you would with another movie. The other thing is don\u2019t wait too long to see this movie as it is only showing in theaters until November 27. (Click here<\/a> to find a theater near you.)<\/em><\/p>\n

One final thought, though the film is family-friendly, it is really geared toward adults. Parents will do better sharing the material with their children on their own level at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some may view actor Kirk Cameron as a hyper-religious, ultra-conservative Christian, so it may surprise you that his latest venture, Saving Christmas, is the polar opposite of what you might expect. In fact, this film is actually aimed at those who are hyper-religious, ultra-conservative Christians and even proves that the title is inaccurate. Christmas isn\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":558,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[756,755,753,668,105,752,751],"class_list":["post-761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movies","tag-bridgette-cameron","tag-christmas-traditions","tag-darren-doane","tag-kirk-cameron","tag-movie-review","tag-provident-films","tag-saving-christmas"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Saving Christmas\u2019 is Full of Useful Stuff - Peanuts and Popcorn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/peanutsandpopcorn\/2014\/11\/saving-christmas-is-full-of-useful-stuff.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Saving Christmas\u2019 is Full of Useful Stuff - Peanuts and Popcorn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some may view actor Kirk Cameron as a hyper-religious, ultra-conservative Christian, so it may surprise you that his latest venture, Saving Christmas, is the polar opposite of what you might expect. In fact, this film is actually aimed at those who are hyper-religious, ultra-conservative Christians and even proves that the title is inaccurate. 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