Hey Kirk Cameron I'll Give It a look.

I hadn't seen that there was a new Christmas movie out. I took my family to see The Hunger Games movie, of which was really good.  I will spend some time with that later.  Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas is now out so I had to do a little digging to find out about this movie.  Before I go on I am writing this as a commentary of films, not religion but as this film is a religious one it’s going to have to also be the subject.  I try and keep religion and politics out of my blog. Movies should be the only place where we can all meet as one. ( I have tomorrows blog idea) 

One quick Internet search brought up this very long list of reviews that are well worth the cost of the search.  There are a few things that are completely clear.

• This movie is apparently not doing very well. As of this posting, it is 8% freshness rating from critics and a 43% fresh with the normal people like you and me.

So naturally the film critic in me wants to see it just to see it, How bad could it be? I did go see Dumb and Dumber To Just because it was next to show and I haven’t seen it yet.  So you know I have no standards to what I will watch.  Hell, I am a soft sell at the holiday films. I enjoy It’s a Wonderful Life every year and I cry every time.

• Kirk Cameron doesn't know how either Rotten Tomatoes or the internet works.

On his personal and the films Facebook page there was an impassioned plea to go to Rotten Tomatoes and give it a good rating. Well, that’s going to give you a short time boost but in the long run, it's only going to cause you problems as you get the word out to the people who love you also bring out the people who haven’t seen your film and want to crush you.  It’s how the internet works. There are these things called trolls and they get joy from bringing you down.

Image from Saving Christmas Facebook page

More on the Rotten Tomatoes front. First off the reviews don’t work in that way.  It’s broken down into two sections. You have the critical review score and the regular viewer score. There is an approval process that you have to go through and you have to be an actual reviewer in standing to be one of the critics listed on rotten tomatoes.  Now Mr. Cameron may not know that because it’s not something that is widely known outside of critic circles. (even if it can be found on the site itself) The audience section of the review form works on the idea that if you have 100 people say they like the film they get a high rating. However, if you draw attention to yourself…You draw attention to yourself.

In an attempt to bring out his followers I think he may have tainted the data pool with people on both sides who haven’t seen the film and are just using the space as a flame war. So I don’t know if I can trust what I am reading online. I would like to see it for myself.

I have asked the film company if they have any screeners out there so I can watch the film and give it my honest review.

• Christian filmmakers never learn from the teachings of Jesus.

From my admittedly limited understanding, it seems to me that Jesus was a pretty chill guy, who enjoyed hanging out with the groundlings of his time. He never gave lectures he told stories.  He educated and entertained the masses. His stories must have been pretty good because people are still talking about them. You could say he was the first practitioner of Edutainment. (That word I stole… err borrowed word with full legal rights referring back to Mr. Joss Whedon if he coined that phrase, the Man is Brilliant)

What Christian films are missing is the entertainment portion of that formula. Jesus’s teachings would not have been handed down from generation to generation if they were boring. Movies like “God is Dead”, “Left Behind” and now this one is their primary goal is get the agenda out and let the storytelling be damned.

I say think about how Jesus would have told a story? If he would have used the methods today back them the miracle of the loaves and fishes would have been less impressive because it would have been only seven people staying to listen.

Image from Art in Faith 

(Actual number who stayed if Jesus was boring)

So I ask for a screener to see if they want me to review it, I will look at it with an open mind and heart and give you a fair and even review.

Do you think they will accept my request?