Saving Christmas

Plot

In a framing sequence, Kirk Cameron—as himself—addresses the audience from beside a fireplace, explaining his love of Christmas. He expresses his views that atheists have tried to take the holiday away and that Santa Claus is a Christian. He also criticizes fundamentalist Christians who have politicized the holiday by tying it to Pagan traditions and accusing it of becoming too materialistic. The main narrative shows Cameron attending a Christmas party at his sister's house, where his brother-in-law, Christian, is not celebrating.

Christian feels the holiday has become too commercialized and consumerist, and he is uncomfortable with what he believes are Pagan elements. Cameron tells Christian he is wrong and recites the Nativity story in cartoon form. Two guests discuss conspiracy theories. Christian complains that Christmas trees are not biblical; Cameron replies that trees were God's idea and each tree represents a Christian cross, encouraging the audience to visualize a cross when seeing a Christmas tree.

Cameron addresses other concerns about the holiday's date and the Three Wise Men, tying the Nativity to the crucifixion by saying baby Jesus' swaddling cloth foreshadowed his burial shroud and that frankincense and myrrh were used for primitive embalming. He suggests placing nutcracker dolls near Nativity sets to represent Herod's soldiers during the Massacre of the Innocents. Christian then complains that Santa has replaced Jesus and that "Santa" is an anagram of "Satan."

Cameron tells the story of Saint Nicholas, including a reenactment of the First Council of Nicaea where Nicholas supposedly assaulted Arius for heresy. Cameron claims Nicholas went out beating other heretics and that "Nicholas was 'bad', in a good way." He explains that St. Nicholas was the basis for Santa Claus, whose story was diluted by secular culture. Christian joyously declares "Santa is the man."

Reassured, they return to the party. Cameron criticizes those who see the holiday as too commercial, saying that because God took material form, it is appropriate to celebrate with expensive gifts. He explains presents represent Jerusalem, and Christmas is "doing what God does." Cameron issues a plea to make Christmas an overtly religious holiday "for our children."

Christian organizes a hip hop dance to "Angels We Have Heard on High" as a gift to his wife. Cameron, Christian, and all guests breakdance in an extended musical sequence. Cameron then tells everyone to feast and suggests the audience organize the best dinner possible for Christmas, but not to forget it is a celebration of God.

Reception

During its debut weekend, the film placed fifteenth, earning $992,087 with an average of $2,420 per screen. Over a six-week theatrical run, it brought in $2.7 million on a $500,000 budget. Critics universally rejected Saving Christmas, and it is frequently ranked among the worst movies ever created. Ben Kenigsberg of the New York Times described Kirk Cameron’s performance as so unnatural that viewers might expect the camera to reveal he was being held hostage.

In 2016, the Billings Gazette called it the worst Christmas film ever, while Digital Trends’ Will Nicol placed it on his list of the ten worst films. Christy Lemire stated it was the worst movie she had ever reviewed. Writing for the evangelical Christian Post, Emma Koonse noted that Cameron dismisses claims that Christmas comes from pagan solstice celebrations, offering biblical justifications for elements like the Christmas tree. She added that many Christians remain split on what the Bible says about celebrating Christ’s birth and the origins of holiday traditions.

On November 20, 2014, Cameron responded to the critical backlash on Facebook, urging fans to “storm the gates of Rotten Tomatoes” and rate the film positively. The effort backfired, prompting more internet users to visit the site and further criticize the film. Three weeks after release, it became the lowest-rated title on IMDb’s bottom 100 list. Cameron later blamed the low score on a Reddit campaign by “haters and atheists” intended to sabotage the film’s rating.

Did You Know?

• Kirk Cameron falsely claimed the unfavorable reviews were part of an atheist smear campaign on Reddit.
• The film debuted on 410 screens on November 14, 2014.
• A soundtrack album was released on October 27, 2014 by Reunion Records.