Hallmark For All Seasons

The season of new movies is over, but I’m still catching up even from Thanksgiving weekend!  Last night I finally watched “The Christmas Contest,” starring Candace Cameron Bure and John Brotherton, which premiered on November 28 during 2021’s Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark Channel.  It was the finale of the Thanksgiving weekend marathon.

Joie Botkin wrote the screenplay, with Paula Elle directing.  This is the first Hallmark Channel directing project for Elle, although she’s done another Hallmark-adjacent movie for Canadian tv.  Botkin is a popular Hallmark writer, having previously written 2017’s “Miss Christmas,” My One and Only, and Her Pen Pal, among many others. It took place in Denver, Colorado but was filmed entirely in Vancouver, Canada.

This movie poster is cute.  It’s got a dash of Christmas with his red shirt and her green dress, along with the present, without being over the top Christmas-y or not Christmas-y enough.  I approve!

In a nutshell

I liked this one more than I expected to, but it took me a long time to get into it.  Over the top sitcom acting, never-ending background music and a contest that in NO way could actually take place as presented were almost too much to bear, but in the end it won me over.

The Plot of “The Christmas Contest”

Exes Lara and Ben compete in a Christmas contest to win money for the charity of their choosing. The city watches them battle and choose what is more important, victory or love. 

Actors & Chemistry

So, I am not a “Full House” fan.  Or a “Fuller House” fan.  I’m not someone who is likely the intended audience for the pairing of CCB and John Brotherton.  As such, in the beginning of the movie, when Brotherton so clearly thought he was participating in a sitcom versus a romcom, I did NOT like his character one bit.  He was more caricature than character, which was frustrating because once he settled down and made Ben more natural, Brotherton’s performance was really good.  CCB was solid AND, I daresay, the scene where she breaks down after she realizes that Ben is retreating was very well done and I felt genuinely awful for Lara in that moment.

The rest of the cast was great – from Barbara Niven as Donna, a not-always-nice mom to Lara, to Jennifer Higgin as Ben’s grandmother and faithful Hallmark alum, BJ Harrison as one of Donna’s friends who joined Lara’s team. Our Polaha connection comes from Keenan Tracey, who played Ben’s friend and helper Chuck.  Tracey was on an episode of “Backstrom” back in 2015.

Tropes

I was surprised at the lack of tropes in this movie.  Sure, there were some, but not as much as I’d expect in a CCB movie scheduled as the big Thanksgiving weekend finale.  We had exes who dislike each other, we had a workaholic lead character that’s not a fan of Christmas anymore, and we a cute kid.  We had tree decorating, dessert baking, and gingerbread house making.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

My main issue was the contest itself and how it was presented in the movie.  The movie implied that most of the events were practically DAILY until they had a winner.  So those contestants took time off from work every day to participate?  And not just the contestants but their teams as well? Not only that, but Lara’s boss, knowing that there was a Q4 report deadline, was okay with her COO not taking care of business during the week?

And WHY is Barbara Niven’s character – who is clearly in her 50s/60s – hanging out at a retirement community?

The whole first half of the movie, when Brotherton was severely overacting, I kept thinking, “There’s no way this COO workaholic would ever been with someone so immature and childish for four days much less four years.”

Hallmark needs to realize that while I do watch TV using captions almost all the time, it’s not because I have to have them.  But occasionally when watching a Hallmark movie, the music is so non-stop and in your face that captions are required.  While the music this time around was not louder than the dialogue it was CONSTANT and used to make a point (this line was funny! this character is quirky!  this scene is serious!) to the point where I almost muted the movie entirely just to avoid it.

Feelgoods

The fact that Lara was hanging out with the older ladies as her team was great.  When I was a teenager I’d go spend time with my grandmothers during my summer break, and one grandmother in particular had a wild group of friends that I called ‘the bitties.”  See Lara interact with the bitties in this movie made me smile and miss those teenaged days spending time in central Virginia reading Harlequin novels and going to drive-in movies with her small town church’s youth group (who loved my grandmother).

Re-watchability of “The Christmas Contest”

I don’t know.  I could go either way with this movie.  The first half was annoying because it played like a sitcom. But once it settled in and got down to storytelling, I was interested in seeing how it would end. I think I might be willing to finish watching the movie if I tuned in and saw it was halfway through. The second half of the movie was much stronger than the first half.

The Ranking

“The Christmas Contest” is literally in the middle of the pack for the year.

1. An Unexpected Christmas (air date: Nov 26) – 736 pts – weighted score: 123.0 (86.3%)
2. A Dickens of a Holiday! (air date: Dec 11) – 735 pts – weighted score: 122.3 (85.8%)
3. The Santa Stakeout (air date: Oct 24) – 730 pts – weighted score: 122.3 (85.8%)
4. A Christmas Family Tree (air date: Nov 14) – 730 pts – weighted score: 121.9 (85.5%)
5. You, Me and The Christmas Trees (air date: Oct 22) – 716 pts – weighted score: 121.3 (85.1%)
6. Crashing Through The Snow (air date: July 10) – 705 pts – weighted score: 118.1 (82.8%)
7. The Nine Kittens of Christmas (air date: Nov 25) – 690 pts – weighted score: 116.5 (81.8%)
8. One December Night (air date: Nov 13) – 695 pts – weighted score: 116.3 (81.6%)
9. A Mrs. Miracle Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 688 pts – weighted score: 116.2 (81.5%)
10. Every Time a Bell Rings (air date: Nov 1) – 687 pts – weighted score: 116.2 (81.5%)
11. Boyfriends of Christmas Past (air date: Oct 23) – 673 pts – weighted score: 116.1 (81.5%)
12. Next Stop, Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 682 pts – weighted score: 114.7 (80.5%)
13. It Was Always You (air date: Feb 27) – 668 pts – weighted score: 114.2 (80.1%)
14. The Christmas Promise (air date: Oct 30) – 675 pts – weighted score: 114.1 (80.0%)
15. Gingerbread Miracle (air date: Nov 5) – 671 pts – weighted score: 114.0 (80.0%)
16. Christmas In My Heart (air date: Oct 23) – 675 pts – weighted score: 113.9 (79.9%)
17. A Kiss Before Christmas (air date: Nov 21) – 671 pts – weighted score: 111.9 (78.5%)
18. Open at Christmas (air date: Nov 12) – 658 pts – weighted score: 111.6 (78.3%)
19. You Had Me At Aloha (air date: June 5) – 675 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
20. A Christmas Together With You (air date: Nov 20) – 645 pts – weighed score: 110.9 (77.8%)
21. Five More Minutes (air date: Nov 21) – 645 pts – weighted score: 110.8 (77.7%)
22. Sweet Carolina (air date: May 15) – 648 pts – weighted score: 110.1 (77.2%)
23. A Very Merry Bridesmaid (air date: Dec 4) – 644 pts – weighted score: 109.5 (76.8%)
24. Taking a Shot at Love (air date: Jan 2) – 641 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
25. Christmas in Tahoe (air date: Nov 28) – 653 pts – weighted score: 108.7 (76.3%)
26. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (air date: Mar 27) – 636 pts – weighted score: 108.5 (76.1%)
27. Christmas at Castle Hart (air date: Nov 27) – 639 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
28. Right in Front of Me (air date: Apr 18) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
29. As Luck Would Have It (air date: Apr 10) – 638 pts – weighted score: 107.7 (75.5%)
30. Her Pen Pal (air date: June 19) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.1 (75.1%)
31. Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas (air date: Nov 27) – 638 pts – weighted score: 106.8 (74.9%)
32. The Baker’s Son (air date: June 13) – 637 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
33. The Christmas Contest (air date: Nov 28) – 628 pts – weighted score: 105.9 (74.3%)
34. South Beach Love (air date: Oct 9) – 615 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
35. Love Strikes Twice (air date: Oct 2) – 608 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
36. A Holiday in Harlem (air date: Nov 7) – 628 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
37. Christmas Sail (air date: Oct 31) – 606 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
38. Christmas in Harmony (air date: Oct 29) – 605 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
39. A Christmas Treasure (air date: Nov 7) – 625 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.4%)
40. A Winter Getaway (air date: Jan 23) – 620 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.3%)
41. A Godwink Christmas: Miracle of Love (air date: Dec 11) – 610 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.2%)
42. Coyote Creek Christmas (air date: Oct 30) – 614 pts – weighted score: 104.3 (73.2%)
43. Love, For Real (air date: July 31) – 607 pts – weighted score: 103.6 (72.7%)
44. Christmas CEO (air date: Nov 26) – 596 pts – weighted score: 103.5 (72.6%)
45. Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone (air date: Oct 1) – 595 pts – weighted score: 103.0 (72.2%)
46. Mix Up in the Mediterranean (air date: Feb 20) – 590 pts – weighted score: 102.5 (71.9%)
47. Advice to Love By (air date: Oct 16) – 599 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7)
48. Two For The Win (air date: Jan 16) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
49. Taking the Reins (air date: Sept 28) – 574 pts – weighted score: 101.2 (71.0%)
50. Raise a Glass to Love (air date: Sept 18) – 590 pts – weighted score: 100.7 (70.7%)
51. Eight Gifts of Hanukkah (air date: Dec 3) – 590 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
52. Nantucket Noel (air date: Nov 18) – 585 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
53. Chasing Waterfalls (air date: Mar 20) – 570 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
54. Roadhouse Romance (air date: Sept 11) – 571 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
55. Sweet Pecan Summer (air date: ) – 576 pts – weighted score: 97.3 (68.3%)
56. Sand Dollar Cove (air date: June 26) – 557 pts – weighted score: 96.8 (67.9%)
57. Hearts Down Under (air date: Apr 24) – 547 pts – weighted score: 95.2 (66.8%)
58. Fit for a Prince (air date: Mar 6) – 546 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
59. A New Year’s Resolution (air date: Jan 9) – 516 pts – weighted score: 90.5 (63.5%)
60. Finding Love in Mountain View (air date: ) – 504 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
61. A Little Daytime Drama (air date: Aug 21) – 511 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
62. Baby, It’s Cold Inside (air date: May 8) – 495 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.0%)
63. Playing Cupid (air date: Feb 13) – 466 pts – weighted score: 82.6 (58.0%)
64. Beverly Hills Wedding (air date: Feb 6) – 431 pts – weighted score: 80.6 (56.5%)
65. Journey of my Heart (air date: ) – 450 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)
66. Snowkissed (air date: Jan 31) – 402 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

What did you think of “The Christmas Contest”?  Comment below and let me know!