Love at the Christmas Contest Plot Summary
A woman enters a Christmas tree decorating contest that her mom always dreamed of winning, only to discover she will be competing against her old flame.
Starring: Samantha Cope and Ross Jirgl
My Movie Grade: C
Image: Great American Media
What's Enjoyable About this Movie
Romcom enthusiasts have seen it all, which is why we appreciate even the slightest variation to the typical movie formula. Love at the Christmas Contest offers a few fresh particulars.
Angie Waldron runs her family's nursery, taking the place of her mother who has passed away. She gives names to all of the Christmas trees she's raising and reflects on the special occasions on which they were planted. It's quirky and fun. "Geraldine" needs extra T.L.C., so Angie gifts her to Gabby, her old flame's daughter, who promises to take care of the fragile sapling.
Gingerbread contests are superabundant in romcoms, but GAF ups the ante. Angie's father, Richard, spends his time building gingerbread houses based on real-life landmarks and giving them gingerbread names, like Stoneginge for Stonehenge. The viewer anticipates his next masterpiece, including the nomenclature it will include.
Building a snowman is a typical ingredient in winter movies, but GAF even manages to make it slightly less ordinary by naming the snowman "Toasty" and giving him a pickle for a nose, olive eyes, and a mouth made of ketchup.
Finally, a Christmas tree decorating contest that spans three separate rounds is a less common trope that adds a lot of whimsy to the movie.
Round one is each contestant's choice. Angie and Blair select Flight of the Bumbletree for their theme, which is very inventive, and it's fun to see the bees and musical notes festooning the branches. David and Gabby show their American spirit with a red, white, and blue tree constructed to resemble a firework.
The preselected theme for round two is Angels and Evergreen, piquing the viewer's curiosity as to how the competitors will incorporate the requirement into their motif. Samantha and Blair choose to feature the "angels" within their own town who conribute to the community in some capacity.
Round three centers on The Meaning of Christmas. This would have been a great opportunity for GAF to include elements of faith, like nativity ornaments, but they let the moment pass. Angie decorates the tree with roses, since they were her mom's favorite flower, and David and Gabby make ornaments reflecting all the activities they've done together this Christmas.
None of these fresh spins are enough to save the movie.
Love at the Christmas Contest is Disappointing
The major flaw with the movie is the subpar acting. Samantha Cope shows promise at the outset, but as the movie progresses, her energy dimishes with each scene until she seems to be quietly muttering the majority of her lines.
Likewise, Ross Jirgl is a handsome leading man, but his performance lacks charisma, making him very forgettable.
The conflict in the movie is also redundant and stale. How many movies are going to be about one character planning to leave thanks to a job promotion pending in another state?
The worst part of the movie's tension is the complete irrationality of it. David decides to turn down the promotion and stay, but Angie thinks he plans to leave. She rushes off in a huff, and David catches up to her. He has every opportunity to quickly explain the confusion, assuage her fears, and clear up her misconception, but he stands there looking at her helplessly as if he's been struck mute. It's ridiculous.
Angie is also 30 years old. Why is she still living at home? She can run the family's nursery without continuing to live with her father. How embarrassing.
It's a running joke that the annual town contest has a ridiculously long name. The characters in the story keep joking that the name needs to be changed. It's supposed to be amusing to watch everyone try to repeat the mouthful of words when making contest announcements, but it's far more annoying than funny.
It's sweet that Gabby's only Christmas wish is to receive a bouquet of sunflowers, which were her mom's favorite, in order to honor her memory. But sunflowers? Sunflowers belong in fall movies, not Christmas ones.
Did You Notice the Wedding Ring?
Who forgot to tell Samantha Cope to remove her wedding ring while the movie was being filmed?
Many romcom actors are married, but they ditch the wedding ring in front of the camera.
Maybe Cope is too much the newlywed to bear parting with her ring from her celebrity husband whom she wed in May of 2022. Cope married former child star, Joey Lawrence, who played in the 80's sitcoms Blossom and Gimme a Break! Cope is Lawrence's third wife, and the couple announced in September 2022, that they are expecting their first child.
Notice the wedding ring on her hand is the same one from the movie.
Although Love at the Christmas Contest contains some enjoyable moments, it's still mediocre. Let's hope for better in the future.
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