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As the old saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover—and that couldn’t be truer than with Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas. Just take a look at the poster. It’s flashy, dynamic, practically screaming “high-stakes, action-packed Christmas adventure.” In reality? It’s the poster for one of the most painfully boring movies I’ve ever endured. Talk about false advertising.
His annual Christmas party faltering thanks to his cynical brother-in-law, former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron attempts to save the day by showing him that Jesus Christ remains a crucial component of the over-commercialized hol…
This movie was on my IMDb Bottom 100 watchlist, but I saved it for the holiday season—y’know, for “festive reasons.” And wow, it lives up to its reputation as one of the worst Christmas movies ever. Even at a mere 79 minutes, 10 of which are devoted to end credits, it’s still a slog from start to finish. This movie earns every second of its place at the top of that list.
I’d even question whether this qualifies as a “movie”. It opens with Kirk Cameron playing himself, sitting in front of a Christmas tree, listing everything he loves about the holiday. And he loves a lot. The presents, the tree, the cookies, the fire—every tiny detail—so much so that it becomes genuinely nauseating… and we’re only two minutes in.
This excruciating scene sets the tone for the rest of the “film”, which mostly unfolds in and around his house, with his family and, most notably, his brother-in-law Christian. At first, Christian seems like the most relatable person in the room—everyone else is so evangelical they can barely talk about anything except Jesus. He comes across as a bit of a grouch at the holiday gathering, but soon it becomes clear: he’s just as religious as the rest of them. He simply believes Christmas is celebrated all wrong—with its presents, trees, and festive trimmings—all “pagan inventions,” apparently.
So Christian is sitting in his car on the driveway, being a grump, and Kirk comes out… to “talk” to him about his feelings. By “talk,” I mean deliver sermons. The bulk of the movie is two men sitting in a car, with Kirk essentially playing minister, explaining to his brother-in-law—and by extension, the audience—how every little part of modern Christmas is directly connected to the Bible, rather than, you know, other cultures or traditions. And that’s pretty much the whole movie, which makes it hard to even call it a movie.
By the time Kirk has delivered his 45-minute crash course in Christmas theology, there are still 25 minutes left to pad the runtime. This filler mostly consists of occasional cuts back to the party, where other guests engage in religious-themed chatter and there’s a musical number from the God Squad Dance Crew—one of the whitest things you will ever see.
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas is easily one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. I don’t believe in God, Jesus, or any of that mumbo jumbo, so maybe it was never for me. But I genuinely can’t imagine a devout viewer finding joy in watching Kirk Cameron give a 45-minute sermon in a car—because that, and nothing else, is this movie.
