“Saving Christmas” Podcast Movie Review
12/24/19 • 54 min
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas (2014; Darren Doane) – D are Daniel Podcast Episode 55
“It’s not putting the Christ back in Christmas, it’s putting the ka-ching back in Christmas.”
Just in time to save your Christmas, faith-based hip-hop dance crew members Daniel Barnes and Corky McDonnell celebrate Bible-sanctioned materialism with the smirking evangelicals of Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas. The film wants to honor “the reason for the season,” but the real miracle is that this chintzy home movie ever made it into theaters.
From the ska-punk version of “Silent Night” that plays over the opening credits to the 10-minute end credits sequence filled with bloopers and beatboxing, this is a 79-minute film that feels like it will never end. This condescending and monomaniacal movie wants to safeguard Christmas for the children, while also convincing those children to reimagine Christmas trees as bloody crucifixes. According to Cameron, mere ambivalence about the commercialization of the holidays is “a slap in the face to the true meaning of Christmas.” That’s his level of crazy.
Elsewhere, Daniel and Corky discuss hot cocoa fetishes, prideful trees and the mysterious disappearance of Baby Jesus.
NEW DARES
The Cat (Doug Glassman)
Knowing (Courtney)
SAVING CHRISTMAS FACTS AND FIGURES
U.S. theatrical release date: Nov. 14, 2014
Domestic box office gross: $2.8 million (production budget: $500,000)
Critic scores : 0 on Rotten Tomatoes; 18 on Metacritic
This week’s darer: Gav from the Films on Trial podcast
Why did Gav dare Daniel and Corky to watch Saving Christmas? “Hi, guys! Listening to you heathens hilariously bash that Bible-bashing classic God’s Not Dead, I thought that you may want to review a real test of willpower, in the form of the cinematic turd that is Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas. I stumbled upon it last year, and I still haven’t fully recovered. I guarantee that if you watch it in December, it will ruin your Christmas. Apologies a thousand times. I hope we can still be friends after this?”
IMDB synopsis: “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 holiday.”
This week’s referenced movies: Dark City; Gods of Egypt; I, Robot; Left Behind (2014); The Legend of Hercules ; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Transformers: Age of Extinction; the Saw movies; Loose Change; Lord of the Rings movies; The Jerk; It’s a Wonderful Life; A Christmas Carol; Coming to America; Breakin’; National Lampoon’s Animal House; Zero Dark Thirty; Hollywood Shuffle; Ultraviolet; The Warrior and the Sorceress
Ratings for Saving Christmas: Daniel – Double Dare; Corky – Double Dare
RELATED CLIPS
Original theatrical trailer for Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Family Force Five hip-hop dance sequence
Christmas cups and conspiracy theories
Follow Dare Daniel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to listen, rate, review and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts,
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas (2014; Darren Doane) – D are Daniel Podcast Episode 55
“It’s not putting the Christ back in Christmas, it’s putting the ka-ching back in Christmas.”
Just in time to save your Christmas, faith-based hip-hop dance crew members Daniel Barnes and Corky McDonnell celebrate Bible-sanctioned materialism with the smirking evangelicals of Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas. The film wants to honor “the reason for the season,” but the real miracle is that this chintzy home movie ever made it into theaters.
From the ska-punk version of “Silent Night” that plays over the opening credits to the 10-minute end credits sequence filled with bloopers and beatboxing, this is a 79-minute film that feels like it will never end. This condescending and monomaniacal movie wants to safeguard Christmas for the children, while also convincing those children to reimagine Christmas trees as bloody crucifixes. According to Cameron, mere ambivalence about the commercialization of the holidays is “a slap in the face to the true meaning of Christmas.” That’s his level of crazy.
Elsewhere, Daniel and Corky discuss hot cocoa fetishes, prideful trees and the mysterious disappearance of Baby Jesus.
NEW DARES
The Cat (Doug Glassman)
Knowing (Courtney)
SAVING CHRISTMAS FACTS AND FIGURES
U.S. theatrical release date: Nov. 14, 2014
Domestic box office gross: $2.8 million (production budget: $500,000)
Critic scores : 0 on Rotten Tomatoes; 18 on Metacritic
This week’s darer: Gav from the Films on Trial podcast
Why did Gav dare Daniel and Corky to watch Saving Christmas? “Hi, guys! Listening to you heathens hilariously bash that Bible-bashing classic God’s Not Dead, I thought that you may want to review a real test of willpower, in the form of the cinematic turd that is Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas. I stumbled upon it last year, and I still haven’t fully recovered. I guarantee that if you watch it in December, it will ruin your Christmas. Apologies a thousand times. I hope we can still be friends after this?”
IMDB synopsis: “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 holiday.”
This week’s referenced movies: Dark City; Gods of Egypt; I, Robot; Left Behind (2014); The Legend of Hercules ; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Transformers: Age of Extinction; the Saw movies; Loose Change; Lord of the Rings movies; The Jerk; It’s a Wonderful Life; A Christmas Carol; Coming to America; Breakin’; National Lampoon’s Animal House; Zero Dark Thirty; Hollywood Shuffle; Ultraviolet; The Warrior and the Sorceress
Ratings for Saving Christmas: Daniel – Double Dare; Corky – Double Dare
RELATED CLIPS
Original theatrical trailer for Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Family Force Five hip-hop dance sequence
Christmas cups and conspiracy theories
Follow Dare Daniel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to listen, rate, review and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts,
Previous Episode
“Love Actually” Podcast Movie Review
https://daredaniel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/DareDanielE054S01.mp3
Love Actually (2003; Richard Curtis) – D are Daniel Podcast Episode 54
“She wants the PM to slide into her DMs!”
In this week’s episode, Daniel, Corky and a special guest kick off the Christmas season with some “solid gold shit.” These days, the war on Christmas is actually fought over Love Actually, a rancid rom-com that became a beloved holiday tradition. Naturally, the Dare Daniel Podcast is ready to take up arms. Real-life British person Gav from Films on Trials lends his expert opinion to this episode, recorded live from the dodgy end of Wandsworth.
Love Actually may have its defenders, but our wasted hearts will always hate this horrible movie. The film exhibits a real soft spot for sexual predators, while also promoting the notion that Christmas is the perfect time to publicly dump your love on the near-stranger you’re tenderly stalking. Writer-director Richard Curtis sets the treacle bar in the opening minutes with a casual 9/11 reference. However, that bit of emotional blackmail barely plumbs the depths of Curtis’ horndog shamelessness.
Elsewhere, Daniel, Corky and Gavin discuss wedding flash mobs, turtleneck sweater budgets and “wee motherless mongrels.”
NEW DARES
Mr. Brooks (Mike Dub)
Hercules in New York (Michael Bagamery)
LOVE ACTUALLY FACTS AND FIGURES
U.S. theatrical release date: Nov. 7, 2003
Domestic box office: $59.7 million (production budget: $40-45 million)
Critic scores : 64 on Rotten Tomatoes; 55 on Metacritic
This week’s craft beer: Almanac Beer Company‘s Love Hazy IPA (6.1% ABV)
This week’s darer: Heather Smith
Why did Heather dare Daniel and Corky to watch Love Actually? “It’s that magical time of year when every person checks into Facebook to share they are watching Love Actually. A true turd-fest full if cringe-y dialogue, vapid, horrible characters, and one of the more embarrassing dance scenes I can recall. It bewilders me that this movie has sustained such love through the years. It’s like Lifetime wrote a Christmas movie, but could afford better actors. Merry Christmas!”
IMDB synopsis: “Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.”
This week’s referenced movies: Bula Quo!; God’s Not Dead; Renaissance Man; Battlefield: Earth; Stay Hungry; Pumping Iron; Four Weddings and a Funeral; Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers; Pulp Fiction; An American Werewolf in Paris; The Music Man; Heaven’s Gate; the Bridget Jones movies; Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978); The Long Good Friday; Die Hard; The Princess Bride; Rear Window; Driller Killer; Titanic (1997); Ghostbusters (1984); Say Anything; Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Bugsy Malone; The Quiet Man
Ratings for Love Actually: Daniel – Dare; Corky – Double Dare; Gav – Double Dare
RELATED CLIPS
Original theatrical trailer for Love Actually
Follow Dare Daniel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to listen, rate, review and subscribe to the show onNext Episode
“God’s Not Dead” (2014) Podcast Movie Review
https://daredaniel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DareDanielE039rerunS01.mp3
God’s Not Dead (2014) – Dare Daniel Podcast Rerun 2
“Is God dead? Better listen to the episode and find out.”
It’s a New Year, but an old episode. Daniel Barnes and Corky McDonnell are still recovering from the holidays, so they posted this rerun of Dare Daniel’s most popular episode of 2019. Back in May, Daniel and Corky reviewed God’s Not Dead (2014), the inspiring story of a baby-faced fascist who slaughters through atheist strawmen like an evangelical John Wick.
The hosts will be back in two weeks to review the film’s even more misbegotten sequel, God’s Not Dead 2. Until that deuce drops, enjoy this replay of the Dare Daniel review of God’s Not Dead.
GOD’S NOT DEAD (2014) FACTS AND FIGURES
U.S. theatrical release date: March 21, 2014
Domestic box office: $60.7 million (production budget: $2 million)
Critic scores: 13 on Rotten Tomatoes; 16 on Metacritic
This week’s craft beer: Dust Bowl Brewing Company‘s Hops of Wrath (6.6%)
This week’s Darer: Mike Dub
Why did Mike Dub dare Daniel and Corky to watch God’s Not Dead (2014)? “I don’t know if this movie will be the outright worst you’ve watched, at least not in terms of fundamental cinematographic ineptitude. It sounds like it would be tough to top, say, Theodore Rex in that sense. But I do think God’s Not Dead has a good chance of being up there with the most grating and frustrating movies you’ve watched. I hope it’s as torturous as I think it will be.”
IMDB synopsis: “College philosophy professor Mr. Radisson’s curriculum is challenged by his new student, Josh, who believes God exists.”
This week’s referenced movies: Theodore Rex; the entire Fifty Shades movie trilogy; God’s Not Dead 2; God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness; The Inconvenient Truth; Crash; Cutthroat Island
Ratings for God’s Not Dead: Daniel – Double Dare; Corky – Double Dare
RELATED CLIPS
The Newsboys have a very special message
Follow Dare Daniel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to listen, rate, review and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PlayerFM, Listen Notes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and more. New episodes come out every other Tuesday! Help support the show by clicking the Donate button on the Dare Daniel homepage, and send us your movie dares. Read more of Daniel’s movie reviews at Dare Daniel and Rotten Tomatoes.The post “God’s Not Dead” (2014) Podcast Movie Review appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fod...
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