Summertime Christmas

Summertime Christmas
Directed By: Andrew von Ehrenkrook Written By/Screenplay: Maude Von Ehrenkrook Starring: Josh Roy Monica Elder Savanah Howard Dean Denton Runtime: 1 hour and 59 minutes

Summertime Christmas is a 2010 comedy/drama film released on Amazon Prime.

The film follows elves, Elwood and Nora, try to save Christmas spirit in a small town after a global law prevents parents from punishing their children.

Why It Doesn’t Save Christmas

1. The film seems to only exist as a jab at the CRC, which causes the film to feel extremely forced with its messaging.
2. Many of the characters are either bland and one-note or easily excitable, which can get annoying at times.
3. The pacing of the film is all over the place, with many scenes going on for far too long, while others are extremely rushed.
4. The opening sequence is bizarre, as it involves newspaper pages and letters being shown through holograms. It also doesn’t help that it lasts for a long time.
5. The film has numerous plot points and jumps between all of them many times, such as the Ice Cream factory or the Christmas Pageant.
6. There are a number of plot holes, such as why the police don’t punish the bad kids for their behavior or how Amy figured out Elwood and Nora were elves.
7. There is a Christian theme that becomes more forced as the film goes on, to the point where it becomes distracting.
8. The acting for many of the characters is very wooden, particularly Josh Roy, who pauses multiple times like he forgot his lines.
9. The editing is pretty cheap and unimpressive, although this can be excused due to low budget.
10. The bad kids and the Congressman are cliche and uninteresting antagonists who don’t impact the film very much.
11. While the soundtrack is good for the most part, there are moments where it becomes unfitting, such as during Santa and the Congressman’s argument, where the music makes Santa’s dialogue sound sinister.

Redeeming Qualities

1. The idea of elves helping a town rediscover its Christmas spirit is a pretty creative idea despite the poor execution.
   • The idea of including the Christian part of Christmas could’ve also been better and is a fun idea nonetheless.
2. As mentioned before, the soundtrack is good for the most part.
3. The cinematography is pretty decent, even if they do drag on.
4. Characters like Nora and the B&B Keeper are likable and have some funny moments.

Reception

The film isn’t very well known, but those who do know it have given the film overwhelmingly negative reviews for its pacing, acting, and poor execution. The film has a 3.1/10 on IMDb and a 20% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. YouTuber, Drew Gooden, reviewed the film and described it as one of his favorite bad movies.

Loading comments...