Featuring a high production and a wonderful story, Paula Elle’s “The Christmas Contest” is a holiday film I recommend! Also, for those who want to catch Bure’s last holiday film for the Hallmark Channel. Recommended!
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TITLE: The Christmas Contest
FILM YEAR: 2021
DURATION: 83 Minutes
CHANNEL: Hallmark
Directed by Paula Elle
Teleplay by Joie Botkin
Producer: John McCarthy
Executive Producers: Jamie Goehring, Jim Head, Jane Porter, Michael Prupas
Creative Executive: Emily Merlin
Music by Graeme Coleman
Cinematography by Tyler Walzak
Edited by Mark Adams
Casting by Jackie Lind
Costume Design: Barbara Gregusova, Nicole McCormick
Starring:
Candace Cameron Bure as Lara
Barbara Niven as Donna
John Brotherton as Ben
BJ Harrison as Martha
Doron Bell as Marty Grayson
Keenan Tracey as Chuck
Matteus Lunot as Jayce
We are eight days away from Christmas and for day 47, I am watching “The Christmas Contest”, which is Candace Cameron Bure’s final holiday film for Hallmark Channel before moving to GAC.
It was no doubt a surprise to see Candace Cameron Bure leaving the channel, considering how much work she has done for Hallmark but her and number of people moved over to Great American but there is enough competition to go around and while I have not watched any GAC holiday films yet (there is a GAC Family Christmas Movie Collection but it hasn’t gone on sale yet, like the $1 a holiday film sales we see on Vudu).
The film is directed by Paula Elle (“The Song to My Heart”, “Shrink-Wrapped the Web Series”) and written by Joie Botkin (“Project Christmas Wish”, “Her Pen Pal”) and stars former Holiday Film Queen Candace Cameron Bure (“Full House”, “Fuller House”), Barbara Niven (“Chesapeake Shores”, “North to Home”), John Brotherton (“Fuller House”, “Furious 7”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”) and more.
“The Christmas Contest” is a film about COO Lara (portrayed by Candace Cameron Bure), a successful business woman and during the holidays, her mother Donna (portrayed by Barbara Niven) wishes her daughter would have the same Christmas spirit she had when she was younger. So, she encourages Lara to take part in a Christmas competition in which a large amount of money would go to the charity of their own choice.
So, Lara decides to go for it. But she is unaware that her ex-boyfriend Ben (portrayed by John Brotherton), a former pro baseball player is participating.
And Lara wants nothing but to defeat Ben (as he broke her heart), but for Ben, he always has loved Lara, but he always felt that she deserves better than him (for a guy who seems confident, he has low confidence when it comes to Lara).
And as the Christmas competition is televised, the audience starts to love watching the competition between the exes.
For the most part, being the last holiday film from Candace Cameron Bure, she gives one of her most emotional performances seen in a holiday film. She’s a woman who has it all, but she doesn’t have love and her biggest love was Ben, and since he broke her heart, she has pushed herself to becoming a strong, independent businesswoman but deep inside, she wants to fall in love. And being with Ben hurts her so much, you can literally feel that emotion through Bure’s performances.
It’s actually one of her better holiday films which I have watched. She has a lot of entertaining holiday films but this one was one of her most emotional performances and seeing her together with her “Fuller house” castmember, John Brotherton, was pretty cool!
Featuring a high production and a wonderful story, Paula Elle’s “The Christmas Contest” is a holiday film I recommend! Also, for those who want to catch Bure’s last holiday film for the Hallmark Channel. Recommended!
