3 stars of heartwarming teen drama/romance.
Christmas Crush a.k.a. Middleton Christmas is an American family drama film written by Suzanne DeLaurentis (10th and Wolf, D-railed) and Tricia Aurand and directed by Dale Fabrigar (Lonely Boy).
“What you’re proposing is anarchy. We allow Deck the Halls in September and what’s next? Fireworks in March? Pumpkin Spice Lattes in April?”
Max (Michael Varde – Hollow Creek) is a teenager who has moved to the small town of Middleton with his father Johnny (Michael Paré – The Lincoln Lawyer, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich). An army veteran, with serious commitment issues, he has applied for a job at the local high school, Middleton prep. The Dean of the school Alana (Eileen Davidson – 7 Days to Vegas, Hell and Mr. Fudge) decides to give him a chance.
Max soon meets her daughter Sam (Kennedy Tucker – The Nanny Murders), a cheer leader with whom he is immediately taken. Unfortunately she already has a boyfriend, Lucas (Trevor Stines – Riverdale, Purity Falls), a member of the football team.
Two teenagers and two single parents, where could this possibly be heading?
Not as well off as the other students, Max takes a job working for Nick (Tim Abell – I Am That Man, After Midnight) at the local garage, something for which he gets plenty of stick from the jocks, much to the annoyance of Sam.
He begins to get to know Sam through working on her car and when it turns out that the school needs extra funding they begin working on the holiday show together.
Everything is changed one day when a family tragedy strikes, forcing everyone to reevaluate their priorities and take a look at their lives.
“You should be in here. You love Christmas. This is our final holiday show and with just a little bit of help from you we could make it the best one ever.”
Christmas Crush is a well written, if predictable tale of teenage romance, set in a town that could exist only in an ideal world. It’s nice to watch something wholesome for a change, where people are actually good to each other and the world isn’t covered with graffiti and litter.
The acting performances are also pretty good, my only complaint would be that the characters are portrayed by actors who are clearly far older than high school students, it would have made more sense in a college setting. I’m not entirely sure how accurate it is medically speaking, but it works well for the purposes of the story.
It does feel a little like the Christmas element was an afterthought and the film as a whole doesn’t feel particularly festive. We don’t really get to that side of things till right at the end of the film, a little bit disappointing as from the title I was hoping for much more glitz and tinsel. There is however plenty of the spirit of Christmas on offer and a healthy message about family and caring for one another.
Not necessarily a Christmas film as such, but still an enjoyable watch, family friendly and sweet and sure to make the whole family feel good.
“You did an amazing thing for me, but I need you to do one more thing, wake up.”
Signature Entertainment presents Christmas Crush on Digital Platforms 1st November
| Director | Dale Fabrigar |
| Genre | Family, drama, romance |
| Starring | Michael Paré, Eileen Davidson, Kennedy Tucker, Trevor Stines, Michael Varde |