By Geno McGahee
Christmas is tough for many financially and that point is brought home in the 2013 film CHRISTMAS FOR A DOLLAR. It takes place during the Depression, which I didn’t realize right out of the gate. I was wondering why every dude was wearing a stupid hat, but they wore stupid hats during the Depression. I suppose they did. According to this film they did.
William Kamp (Brian Krause) is a dad that is struggling to make ends meet after the death of his wife. His oldest daughter, Verna (Danielle C. Ryan), is taking on the role of the mother, doing the cooking and cleaning. Warren (James Gaisford), Russel (Ethan Hunt), Ruthie (Ruby Jones) and Norman (Jacob Buster) make up the rest of the family. This is how families were back then. They didn’t have all sorts of distractions like we do now. They parents just screwed each other and had babies. That’s the way it used to be. The good old days indeed.
The two oldest children are trying to help their dad make things work, but it’s not going very well. Warren wants to work for a mechanic, but William will not have it. He insists that his son must tend to his home chores. I didn’t see him doing too many chores though. Verna is doing everything. Warren just comes home, eats, and then just hangs out.
I felt bad for Brian Krause as I watched this. I think he had a new makeup artist. They really piled it on. In one scene, it looks like he was wearing lipstick. Now, I might be missing something. With his wife dying, William may have worn her clothing and makeup during his mourning process. They really didn’t get into it, but I guess I can accept that instead of throwing the makeup artist under the bus.
Norman is the youngest member of the family and is the most troubled. He is crippled with a bad left leg and left arm. He spends a lot of time fantasizing about being a cowboy. That used to be a thing. Even when I was a kid, cowboys and Indians was still something, but during the Depression, the cowboy thing was trending big time and Norman was very much into it.
All of the kids, no matter the age, went to the same school. I wonder how that works. Are you still teaching the 17 year old Warren basic math? I cannot see how that would work. I know the teacher, Miss Mayfield (Heather Beers), put some things on the chalkboard, but I didn’t pay attention. Maybe the youngsters are advanced. I guess it doesn’t really matter, but I found it strange.
Each family member has something to do. Ruthie is trying to win a charity box by doing the most good deeds. Warren is trying to convince his dad to allow him to take the mechanic job. Norman wants to ride a horse. Verna wants to go to college. Ethan, the middle son, is the only character that has nothing to do. So all these things are going on and poor Ethan can only hang out and is very forgettable.
As this movie went on, I began to wonder if it was a mini-series. I was convinced that it was at least three hours long, but it was 1 hour 41 minutes. It was really slow moving and the conflicts within were very minor. I wanted to shut it off, but I hung in there. It’s not a bad movie. It’s just very slow.
William dresses up in a suit and gathers his family to make an announcement. He had saved up a dollar and distributed to his family so that each could buy one member a gift. They all went crazy, realizing that there will be a Christmas after all. I looked it up. A dollar then was worth about twenty dollars now. That isn’t shit for all those family members. Why was he wearing that stupid suit? He also had a big smile on his face. The kids were definitely afraid to burst his bubble and smiled widely.
The kids all figure out their conflicts and Warren even gets a girl, even though he’s super reluctant. What the fuck was his issue? Helen (Melanie Stone) is throwing herself at him and he just keeps running away. She was the only woman in the class that was his age and she was super attractive, but he keeps ignoring her. Eventually, he makes a move and buys her a bar of soap. Why she wasn’t insulted is beyond me.
CHRISTMAS FOR A DOLLAR is a very slow mediocre film that fails to capture the Christmas feel. It has a good message without question and they paid great attention to detail with the costumes and setting, but it’s just boring. The cast did well and it was shot well, but it was difficult to get through. I don’t recommend it.
