Trivia / Saving Christmas

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• Creator Killer: Kirk Cameron has faded into obscurity as a result of this movie and what he tried to do to save it.
• Dear Negative Reader: Cameron was fairly upset at the negative reviews and begged fans to improve the fan rating on Rotten Tomatoes to combat the bad critical reviews. This became a disaster, as the Audience Rating score fell from 94% to 63%. In other words, he attracted the attention of the general public, when previously only dyed-in-the-wool fans had been voting. Oops. It bottomed out at a 31% audience rating and a 0% Critic rating, and the Streisand Effect spiral had the added effect of winning Cameron several Razzies to go with the lower scores.
  • There's also the grounds of his crusade against the critics; he was convinced that the movie's universal panning by the Internet couldn't possibly be because of its erratic fourth wall breaks, nor because of the argumentative lunacy it subjects the audience to or the horrifically forced Dance Party Ending. No, it was obviously because of a conspiracy by Reddit pagans and atheists to cover up the fact that the film is in fact beloved by all.
• Descended Creator: Director Darren Doane plays Bridgette's husband Christian.
• Looping Lines: In one notorious scene, two characters hold coffee cups over their lips while all of the dialogue is ADR'd. It's not very convincing.
• No Budget: It seems like the production was filmed during an actual Christmas get-together in 2013, with what seems to be unscripted parts featuring overlapping dialogue, while the scripted dialogue is wooden and forced. Consider this: the film has, on paper, a $500,000 budget. So there was at least a bit of money available for the production. Did they spend it all on the best ham and the richest butter?
• No Export for You: Judging by IMDB, the movie was never shown outside the U.S.
• Real-Life Relative: Cameron's sister Bridgette appears as herself.
• Star-Derailing Role: This film finished off what was left of Kirk Cameron's career post-Growing Pains. After the cancellation of his short-lived sitcom Kirk in 1996, Cameron, whose born-again religious conversion during production of Growing Pains led to many of that show's late-period troubles, retreated to making religious films to keep his career afloat and began stoking controversy for his statements regarding homosexuality and the theory of evolution. Then came this film, which ended up getting negative reviews for its poor production values and its questionable messages. The film's failure turned Cameron into a laughingstock by the general public and evaporated whatever goodwill he had left from the Christian Right. He's still making films, but he has not had the same impact prior to making Saving Christmas, now considered one of the worst films ever made.
• Streisand Effect: The result of Cameron trying to get his fans to give the film positive scores on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb resulted in a backlash that drastically lowered the critic score. This also earned him a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple with his "ego". His attempt to bend Rotten Tomatoes also became one of the factors that led to Saving Christmas earning the Worst Picture of 2014 Golden Raspberry Award.

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