As a made-for-TV Christmas movie aficionado, I generally prefer the movies made by the Hallmark Channel. They're romantic without being trashy. They're predictable without being boring. They're quirky without being lame. Actually, they're a lot like me. But that's an entirely different blog post.
This year I'm extra excited because, in a move no doubt inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas, Hallmark Channel has given me 12 new Christmas movies to enjoy.
Hallmark Channel Christmas 2012 Movie #1 is Christmas Song. Two music teachers at a private New York City high school must compete for the right to keep their jobs by coaching teams for a TV Christmas singing competition. Naturally, the more they compete, the more sparks fly.
I found Christmas Song to be highly watchable. The teachers are not forced into comically trying to sabotage one another and instead allowed to act like adults--which wouldn't be the case if this movie were made for the big screen (cough Christmas with the Kranks cough). The four teen characters--a wrestler, a beauty queen, a sheltered girl, and a boy in a wheelchair (cough Glee cough)--play nicely against stereotype and have plot lines outside of their own popularity concerns. It even borrows the "I don't want my daughter to be a singer" storyline from Sister Act 2.
The few hiccups of Christmas Song come from the production and costume design. Dressing the high school students in red and green school uniforms is anything but subtle. Plastering lights and bows in every room makes it seem like you're overcompensating for something. And that something became clear when I noticed that in every outdoor scene with snow, the snow is actually white blankets draped across the ground and the foliage.
Overall, I recommend Christmas Song for at least one watching. Sure, during the final performance at the end, it's 100 percent clear that those teens aren't actually performing. But I found myself smiling anyway.
Hallmark Channel movies reviews still to come: Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and It's Christmas, Carol starring Carrie Fisher
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