Movies You Might Have Missed Monday - Christmas with a Capital C

I realize it isn’t quite December yet, but it is after Thanksgiving, which in my book means all things Christmas are fair game.

So this week’s pick is a Christmas movie, one I watched on Netflix at the suggestion of my Daniel who went to high school and college with the film’s writer! So cool seeing her name in the credits. The best part is, though, that this movie’s worth watching!

It’s called Christmas with a Capital C, which according to the credits is based on a song with the same title by Go Fish (see sidebar!).

A small town in Alaska, Trapper Falls, is looking forward to the Christmas season including the church pageant, the annual Christmas Cup ski race, and displaying its nativity scene on the courthouse lawn. Just as they’re getting started, a blast from the past shows up, Mitch Bright. He also just happens to be the mayor’s old high school rival in sports, student council, academics, even the same girl (who ended up marrying the mayor).

Anyway, Mitch has come back to stir the pot. He files an injunction to prohibit the nativity from being displayed on government property. This starts a fight with those for and against his argument that church and state should remain separate. Once again, the mayor and Mitch are butting heads.

But an all-out war is circumvented when some people in the town, like the mayor’s wife and daughter, peek under the surface of Mitch’s tough exterior, which leads to the discovery of Mitch’s true reasons for coming home.

Christmas with a Capital C is a great discussion piece for those political talking heads that like to debate the Christian origins of the Constitution and the freedom of religion and speech. It also encourages a compassionate, humble response to those claiming to be against religion of any type. It shows a loving way to stand for a belief system without alienating a contender. It reminds us that Love is the Reason for the Season, not ideology or a set traditions.

But this story isn’t all business either. It’s fun, and funny. Brad Stine, Christian comedian, plays the mayor’s brother, and adds a great deal of relief from the seriousness of the subject. The setting is beautiful, as it was filmed in Seward, Alaska. And the outcome is right in line with Christmas cheer and spirit.

If you like getting to the end of a movie, smiling and exclaiming, ‘That was so good!’ then Christmas with a Capital C is for you!

Happy movie watching, Dry Ground friends!

27 days until Christmas! Yeah!

(photo by photobucket.com)