Author: Christian Sauvé

  • Spirit Untamed (2021)

    Spirit Untamed (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, December 2021) Paradoxically, the reason Spirit Untamed interested me is also why it left me wanting. My daughter being the right age for it, I ended up seeing the majority of the Spirit Riding Free TV show — a rather pleasant and fun computer-animated series about three girls growing up in a small Western town, with plenty of horses to ride along the way. It was better than most family shows I have seen over the past few years. So, the news of a new Spirit movie based on the series was the kind of thing to become mandatory viewing in my household. Except that… well, Spirit Untamed essentially retells the beginning of the series with similar (but different) characters, except with a bigger budget, some “name” voice talent and a better understanding of where the story could go. It’s not badly made — the computer animation quality is significantly higher, even if not up to the standards set by most theatrically released computer-animated films. It’s likable enough: the lead character is a plucky young woman, she’s surrounded by other good supporting characters and the film runs through the motions of a series-pilot adventure well enough. But why should we bother? The six seasons of the series are still there, and the visual style of the film isn’t that different from the series — so why does it exist? It’s neither a sequel nor a complete reboot, and I’m not even measuring it against the original 2002 film. “It’s okay, I guess” is a stupefyingly low bar to clear for a film these days, and Spirit Untamed barely justifies its own existence.

  • Saturn 3 (1980)

    Saturn 3 (1980)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (TubiTV Streaming, December 2021) I barely recall Saturn 3 from my childhood, but considering the racy violent content, it’s probably less for remembering the story than because it was a science-fiction film at a time when I was really interested in those. Ironically, the film’s plot is the kind of thing better suited to undemanding young audiences than anyone with the slightest appetite for complexity or subtlety. The most amazing thing about it for a middle-aged cinephile is probably the cast and (some) of the crew — featuring no less than Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett as a “don’t ask questions about their 31-year age difference” couple of scientists whose existence is disrupted by a dangerous man (Harvey Keitel!) and his homicidal robot. Saturn 3 is also directed by musical legend Stanley Donen, from a script by acclaimed novelist Martin Amis and Academy-Awards-winning Star Wars production designer John Barry. That’s one spectacular pedigree, but the difficult making of the film was reportedly an adventure that barely explains the mess on-screen. The story feels remarkably cheap and redundant, once reduced to the most basic gibberish of a killer robot attacking a young woman. The production design is terrible, with robots not even passing the indulgent muster of early-1980s special effects. Some of the early world-building is intriguing, but the script feels like a race to the known value of a killer-robot conclusion. Douglas, Keitel and Fawcett look embarrassed (something confirmed by Keitel’s later comments about the film) and by the time the film ends, the audiences won’t feel any prouder. So much talent for so little result — Saturn 3 is the kind of naïve Science Fiction film that makes the good one look so much better in comparison.

  • Red Notice (2021)

    Red Notice (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Netflix Streaming, December 2021) Clearly, Netflix now has the money to buy not only a constellation of low-end independent movies, but the kind of audience-friendly high-budget releases that used to be the bastion of Hollywood studios. Sporting multiple shooting locations around the world, a very audience-friendly quippy script, copious special effects and (more importantly) three authentic stars with clear screen personas, Red Notice couldn’t be better titled — a notice to Hollywood that the big red N is out to eat their lunch. Acquired after a bidding war, Red Notice is also a further reminder that the universe of serious buyers for expensive film projects now includes not only the major studios, but a bevy of tech giants primarily looking for a stream of content rather than any affinity for cinema, let alone artistic ambitions. As a project, Red Notice is a good sell — the kind of standalone action/adventure skirting the edges of comedy, driven by characters that lean into the screen persona of likable stars. Dwayne Johnson plays a taciturn muscleman, Ryan Reynolds quips his way through the film and Gal Gadot looks gorgeous — you can’t really ask for much more in terms of audience appeal. Put these three into a broadly accessible plot about con artists, thieves, precious relics and action sequences and Red Notice looks a lot like the platonic ideal of a tentpole summer release, before shared universes and superhero films took over everything. Despite the formula, it’s easy to like — competently written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, a three-time Johnson collaborator whose projects keep getting better and better, Red Notice hits just the right spot for Netflix, for audiences and for its stars as well. Compared to previous Thurber/Johnson collaboration Skyscraper, it’s considerably funnier, smoother, and more compelling. Some great cinematography helps accelerate the pacing, and the special effects help in creating expansive action sequences. The plot certainly doesn’t hold up to scrutiny with its cumulative betrayals, but this is about as close as we’ve gotten to a National Treasure 3, so there’s that to consider. Let’s not bet against sequels — aren’t they the logical next move from Netflix?

  • Cruella (2021)

    Cruella (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Disney Streaming, December 2021) I’m not at all happy about the recent trend of Disney remaking its animated films, or the subgenre of giving extensive relatable backstories to their biggest villains. In other words — I was not looking forward to Cruella, and not surprised to realize that I enjoyed the film most when it went as far as it could from its source material. Emma Stone stars as the young Cruella de Vil (birth name Estrella), going against Emma Thompson as the even-worse Baroness. (Meanwhile, Mark Strong gets a small but significant supporting role, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste gets an eye-catching role leading to the sequel.)  Director Craig Gillespie benefits from a budget large enough to accommodate a lavish recreation of the London fashion world of the 1970s, along with enough CGI to enable a dynamic, pop-song heavy style. Which may be the film’s biggest strength, actually — Cruella is never as good as when it zips through period detail, fashion shows and CGI tricks best showcased in impossible clothing. But the film falters whenever it tries to tie itself to the 101 Dalmatians legacy — the bumbling criminals, the convoluted web of secrets and lies behind the protagonist’s origins and the winks and nods, reminding us that there’s a corporate intent behind the film’s unarguable strengths. Stone is not bad, but again she’s far better when she’s off doing her own thing rather than ape the previous instances of the Cruella character. Wishing that the film should have been a completely standalone title is useless, of course: it would not have been greenlighted, and even less at that budget. Hence the truth about large-scale films at the beginning of the 2020s — it has to be tied to an established property, or else not be allowed to exist.

  • The Suicide Squad (2021)

    The Suicide Squad (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, December 2021) Considering that the house brand of both the Suicide Squad as a concept and writer-director James Gunn as a filmmaker is being provocative, it makes no sense to complain that The Suicide Squad is alternately gross, gory, profane and vulgar. That’s all true. But unlike a number of similarly down-and-dirty movies lately, this one is actually funny, entertaining and a sharp improvement over the 2016 David Ayers Suicide Squad. Going into the film completely cold, I was pleasantly surprised by an opening sequence that really messes with audience expectations, then goes on to introduce the real characters. Consciously aiming for the bottom of the barrel of DC universe villains, Gunn does feature more than the usual fare. At the exception of fan favourite Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis and Joel Kinnaman, the only elements judged salvageable from the previous film, the film focuses on new characters and sends them into a Central America situation somewhat reminiscent of 1980s action movies. But Gunn clearly intends to surprise audiences because nothing (from the opening sequence onward) ever goes to plan. Perhaps the film’s highlight is Harley Quinn’s reaction to being attracted to another bad boy — a perfect relationship that she nonetheless recognizes as being terrible for her. Margot Robbie once again steals the show, but she has a lot of competition — not necessarily from Idris Elba’s rock-solid performance as a professional killer, but John Cena once again grabbing the spotlight. The change of scenery to a fictional Central American capital brings a lot of colour and flavour to the film, and allows a city-smashing climax to feel different from North American metropolises. As usual whenever R-rated Gunn movies are concerned, I have a number of issues with some specific aspects of the execution — the gore, the coarseness, the quasi-nihilism. But The Suicide Squad works well in spite of them, even though I would be wary of recommending the result to anyone but a jaded viewer. I was expecting much worse anyway from a soft reboot of a film few people even liked.

  • A Rich Christmas (2021)

    A Rich Christmas (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, December 2021) As far as Christmas films go, the BET-original A Rich Christmas is both conventional and slightly off formula. It helps that much of the story could take place perfectly well at any other time for the year, as a spoiled heiress is forced to help a local shelter after some legal shenanigans. That’s where, obviously, she’ll learn some basic human values, discover what she’s good at, and put on a fabulous fashion show as a way to save the orphanage shelter. It’s a movie that understands its audience — see the rich girl pay her dues, see the spoiled brat learn better, and have everyone look really good while doing it. Tyler Abron is beautiful but is almost unbearable early on as the spoiled bratty protagonist — fortunately, she gets better with time. Brandee Evans is substantially better in an easier role, while Vanessa Williams walks right on cue as exactly the character that we expected her to play. (The film doesn’t show her face during her first scene, but from the credit sequence it’s easy to guess who she is.)  You do have to evaluate this film by BET+ standards, and Christmas BET+ movies at that — the low budget clearly shows, the script does what it can to convey the essentials without having what’s needed for credibility, and the roughshod script barely papers over its biggest incongruities. The bit where our heiress decides that her best course of action is having her rapper boyfriend help in stealing from her father is… special, to say the least. And so is the very sanitized portrait of life in a shelter. And so, for that matter, is how the film lands on a high-class fashion show (organized within days, no less) as the centrepiece of its climactic sequence. But again — grading on a curve, A Rich Christmas lands in the honest average for BET+ movies. Nothing special, nothing too bad either. And it will probably play just as well in July — the title kind of shoots the film in the foot considering how little of it has to do with Christmas itself.

  • Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)

    Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On Cable TV, December 2021) There’s a subgenre of Christmas movies that I call the Santa Procedural — a film where a good chunk of the running time is spent discussing how Santa came to be, how he manages to deliver those presents, and/or try to fit him in the real world. The Santa Clause, Klaus and Arthur Christmas all have various elements of those, and I suppose that it’s my fault for somehow not seeing the 1985 Santa Claus: The Movie as a predecessor to all of those. Starting in historical times, this is a film showing us how the various elements of the Santa Claus mythology came together, then moves to the 1980s to show the Claus legacy threatened by a renegade elf and an amoral businessman intent on replacing Claus by the toy industry. (What young readers don’t know is that this is a documentary… wait, am I kidding?)  While Santa Claus: The Movie does have a few noteworthy names in the cast (notably Dudley Moore as an elf and John Lithgow as the businessman), the result remains more interesting than good. The use of dull fantasy elements and kids’ movie contrivances such as the “Super-Duper Looper” weakens the result, while the pacing is inconsistent. Santa Claus: The Movie, limited by a common-denominator script, inconsistent set design and the state of mid-1980s special effects technology, doesn’t quite convince and doesn’t quite create a nostalgic sentiment either. Still, it can be worth a look for the more engineering-minded viewers, especially when you measure it against later and better works in the same procedural subgenre.

  • No Time to Die (2021)

    No Time to Die (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on Demand, December 2021) As a James Bond fan, I’m not entirely satisfied with No Time to Die — but hasn’t that been the case for much of the Daniel Craig era? A strong introduction in Casino Royale led to the lows of Quantum of Solace, then a once-in-a-generation high in Skyfall, immediately followed by a frustrating return to the norm in Spectre. But just as No Time to Die makes it obvious that the Craig era is a self-contained story, it also marks a very definitive end for Craig-as-Bond. Oh yes; this review will contain spoilers because spoilers are where the film is most interesting. Building on the frustrating legacy of the previous film, this follow-up sees the Bond character developed well beyond the norm, all the way to being retired, becoming a father and, eventually, concluding his legacy as a man of action. It’s not what we expected of Bond despite the film’s frequent action sequences, island lair and megalomaniac villain — but then again, the Craig cycle has been an awkward attempt to impose a dramatic arc to a character who, until now, barely had one. The attempt is audacious, but the result in No Time to Die often disappoints: despite the slickness of the execution, the script seems undercooked with a dull villain who does not earn the distinction of what happens to Bond late in the film. The doubling-down on the least satisfying elements of the previous films (including the bland and featureless Léa Seydoux as the Bond Girl who manages what other Bond Girls never did) shows how an episodic structure can sabotage later entries. There are highlights, mind you: a great one-shot staircase fight scene; a forest car chase sequence with a mean finish; a terrific motorcycle jump; Ana de Armas as a not-so-junior “secret” agent; the liquidation of two Craig regulars; and Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes all further developing their stock characters. But, perhaps best of all, Lashana Lynch as a new 007 who goes toe-to-toe with Craig’s character and doesn’t blink — now that we’re looking for a new Bond, maybe we don’t have to look all that far. While we’re free to admire all the ways No Time to Die attempts to break the formula and wrap things up, the result falls short of satisfying everyone. Like a few other long-running franchises (Game of Thrones, Star Wars, The Matrix, etc.), the intention to do something new often overpowers the skill in which this change is executed, leaving formula skeptics to hail things that formula fans will find botched. So it is with No Time to Die, which solicits dramatic heft without quite making the case that it’s warranted. Hopefully, the Bond producers, having now completed this experiment, we can look forward to a new Bond and a return to the formula.

  • Merry Switchmas (2021)

    Merry Switchmas (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, December 2021) There isn’t a whole lot of Christmas in Merry Switchmas, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While much of the film takes place as an upper-class holiday reception, the focus here is on a scheme by two twin sisters (one studious, one wild) to switch places for the duration of the reception, with the goal of telling people things that they wouldn’t be able to say if they were themselves. Or something like that — it’s one of the early warnings about the film’s quality that the motivations behind the big switch are either lame or unbelievable. Still, if you go with it, there’s a modest amount of fun to be gathered from the rest, especially when the twins’ boyfriends, also twins, realize what’s happening well before everyone else. I was surprised to be surprised that the lead characters are actually played by twins — Hollywood has done such a number on my reviewer’s brain that I expect twins to be played by one person and a special effects team. But not here—Rachel and Rebekah Aladdin look terrific as the twin sisters, while Joel and Joseph Harold get some good lines in as their twin boyfriends. Contrivances are the name of the plot twists here as professional, romantic and familial complications all come to the fore. What I like about Merry Switchmas, ironically, is that it’s not that good of a movie: the script is a slap-dash first-draft affair with more ideas than skill in executing them. Unconvincing plot elements are brought up, never integrated, barely developed, and quickly abandoned in such a way to make us wonder if we’ve missed anything. Nothing builds on anything else, except for a subplot involving a drunk aunt (a playful Sherrice Eaglin) that seems to be taken from another film and added without fitting. Director Christopher Nolen does what he can with the threadbare elements at his disposal, but can’t do much more than bring the script to the screen in an efficient matter. The ending relies on familiar bromides about the importance of family. Merry Switchmas is clunky and cheap and, in a way, that’s why I’m oddly fond of the result: it feels as if someone pulled together a movie with the barest elements, making elementary mistakes along the way. It’s got, in other words, a bit of character and roughness at a time when Christmas movies are all slick and polished to a single formula. More broadly speaking, that’s why I’m progressively watching nearly all of the BET-broadcast movie roster: the actresses are fine, and the movies are flawed in ways that simply aren’t found in bigger and better productions. It gives my movie reviewer’s brain something to do, and the failure point of less-than-perfect Christmas movies is still something fun and heartwarming. No, Merry Switchmas is not worthy of a recommendation unless you’ve used to the BET+ house style — but I liked it all the same.

  • Bando [Peninsula] (2020)

    Bando [Peninsula] (2020)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Google Streaming, December 2021) No follow-up could match Train to Busan’s originality and intensity — even by the high standards of mainstream South Korean cinema, it was a rare treat in an overpopulated zombie subgenre. Loose follow-up Peninsula picks up four years later, in a future where the zombie outbreak has somehow been contained to the Korean peninsula and somehow the zombies haven’t all rotten away in the interim. Finding amusing parallels with quasi-contemporary Army of the Dead, the plot has to do with a very valuable gold shipment ripe to be extracted from the zombie zone. As our heroes assemble and enter enemy territory, various complications arise from the fact that the peninsula is not entirely populated by zombies, and everyone wants a slice of the treasure. After an intriguing setup, writer-director Yeon Sang-ho unfortunately loses himself in uninteresting shenanigans between human villains, captured zombies, “good” protagonists and anti-heroes. It all becomes curiously familiar and dull, but then the videogame segment starts: a very lengthy car chase from the heart of the zombie zone to the extraction point, executed with special effects that are both plentiful and substandard. It’s a terrible and preposterous sequence in many ways, especially if you judge it by the photorealism of big-budget Hollywood movies, but it’s easily what Peninsula has to distinguish itself. The chase lasts a surprisingly long time (especially considering the teeming hordes of zombies and the urban decay of four years of non-maintenance) but it involves light spots, car bouncing around without regards for physics and a climactic rain of zombies freed from a glass barrier. It’s not much, but it’s something. The ending sequence lasts too long after that, and doesn’t manage to make us feel much about the surviving characters. Frankly, if you’re looking for another South Korean zombie film, have a look at #Alive before you tackle Peninsula — if you refuse, prepare to fast-forward through much of it.

  • The Dissident (2020)

    The Dissident (2020)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (TubiTV Streaming, December 2021) Like anyone paying attention to world news, I knew the facts of the Jamal Khashoggi assassination before watching writer-director Bryan Fogel’s The Dissident — the affair was front-page news for a very long time, and the nature of the events — a state-sponsored assassination deliberately carried out in an embassy—was horrifying, as was the lackadaisical reaction of the United States to the whole sordid affair. But, as usual, there’s always a difference between living the revelations in real-time over weeks and seeing it all methodically laid out in less than two hours. If you’ve been lucky enough to remain unaware of the facts of the case, or managed to forgot them, part of The Dissident will feel like a horror film — the transcript of Khashoggi’s assassination and dismemberment is bad enough, but the jocular banter between the perpetrators, the methodical way it was executed, the luring of the victim looking for a marriage license, the suggestion that a videoconference link was open while this was being carried out in an embassy meeting room, the strong suggestion that the remains were cremated on-site in an oven otherwise used for cooking… ugh. But it doesn’t stop there. As The Dissident explains by way of context, this event is at the nexus of a vicious power play between Saudi crown princes, a state-sponsored intimidation of expatriate and influential foreign figures (including the rather amazing suggestion that the personal cell phone of Jeff Bezos —richest man in the world!—was infiltrated by Israeli-bought malware personally sent by a Saudi prince!), and deliberate cyber-warfare waged on social media. That last element actually explains why I ended up watching the film:  In a rather revelatory section of the documentary, it describes the power plays between the Saudi-employed “flies” attacking opponents of the regime and the dissident “bees” fighting back. (Any Canadian paying attention back in August 2018 saw the flies at work — After a Twitter spat between both countries, social media was suddenly overflowing with anti-Canadian sentiment, all repeating the same cheap shots.)  Well, no one will be surprised to find out that The Dissident itself became a skirmish between both groups. Go to IMDB, and you will find not just a suspiciously polarized distribution of votes between the ones and the tens ratings, but a far, far higher total of votes than is the norm for a documentary — a voting total high enough that it landed The Dissident on my list of films to watch. A fine example of the Streisand effect at work — thank you flies (?), thank you bees. Curiously, or predictably enough, The Dissident is nowhere to be found right now on the major streaming platform — you’ll have to head over to the lesser-known niche/educational platforms to find it. It’s worth the effort, but you’re not going to be comforted by the conclusion of it all. The murderers still run free, so think twice about accepting an invitation to a Saudi embassy.

  • WolfWalkers (2020)

    WolfWalkers (2020)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (YouTube Streaming, December 2021) I’m not that fond of Irish mythology (both in the sense of “mythology originating from Ireland” and also “look how wonderful Ireland is”), but WolfWalkers is a deft animated fairytale that looks quite unlike most other animated films and manages something new, while remaining faithful to the principles of the form. It’s not exactly coming from anywhere — it’s clearly kin to director Tomm Moore’s previous The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, but it seems stronger and more self-assured in its storytelling. Much of the story revolves around the young daughter of a hunter hired to clear the forest around Kilkenny circa 1650. But our heroine makes surprising discoveries that blur the distinction between human and wolf, hunter and hunted. It’s all gorgeously illustrated through 2D imagery that harkens back to Celtic iconography, but with enough of a fun modern twist to make it immensely accessible. The protagonist is quite likable, and the film effortlessly touches upon environmentalism, authoritarianism and family values as pillars of what the film has to say. It’s quite lovely, and I can think of far more objectionable family films being far more widely circulated. WolfWalkers will never become a mass hit, but it will endure a long legacy of favourable word of mouth and recommendations.

  • My Spy (2020)

    My Spy (2020)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Video on-Demand, December 2021) As far as mainstream family action comedies go, My Spy hits pretty much all of the high notes. Action-focused actor looking to broaden his appeal to younger audiences? Dave Bautista! Perfunctory plot meant to act as scaffolding for the fun and games? CIA agents sent to keep watch over the ex-wife of an international terrorist! Young audience stand-in? The rather wonderful Chloe Coleman as a protagonist putting a professional spy through her paces. Comic relief? Have Kristen Schaal in a prominent supporting role and Ken Jeong as a shouting boss. Eye candy for the boys? Parisa Fitz-Henley. My Spy’s script is clearly put together according to the usual formula, but it works well — the idea of a nine-year-old girl besting a secret agent is amusing (one sequence is even inspired by Mossad training), and the screenwriters aren’t above poking fun at the thought that viewers are savvy enough to understand the game being played. From the likable gay couple revealed to be something quite different (yet the same) to characters wondering who would build an airfield next to a cliff right before an action sequence making good use of that contrivance, the film knows what business it’s in, and clearly relishes it. It amounts to a perfectly watchable film, perhaps a bit confused about its age rating but still entertaining enough not to disappoint. You know what to expect, and My Spy delivers.

  • Soul Santa (2021)

    Soul Santa (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, December 2021) I’m watching all of the BET-broadcast Christmas movies this year, and while the films themselves are not particularly good, I’m surprised at how the network doesn’t simply churn out endless variations on the same tired Hallmark formula. They could, and, in fact, did for a few movies, but their films tend to go in other directions… to the point of sometimes almost not being about Christmas. You can’t say that about Soul Santa, though — as a film in which the protagonist takes on the role of a mall Santa to make some much-needed money while on the run from organized criminals, it’s clearly a film that could only take place at Christmas. David Mann is not bad in the lead male role, as he runs to his ex-wife’s house in Connecticut to escape gambling debt in New York City, and finds himself pressed into service to replace Santa at the mall she’s working for. (She’s played by his real-life wife, singer Tamela Mann — who does get to belt a song before the end of the film.)  The protagonist’s first attempts at SantaClausing are terrible — you don’t constrain someone like David Mann in a jolly white man’s job—but the film works itself to a reconceptualization of Santa Claus and the mall is saved — whew! Along the way, even a stereotypical Karen mom-from-hell is rescued from racism and intolerance, so that’s cool too. (I’m being too harsh in my sarcasm — the about-face for that character, who could have remained a cheap joke, is one of the better aspects for the film.)  In many ways, Soul Santa is not a good film — clunky, low-budget, with unexplainable plot development and even poorer justifications. It exemplifies the kind of underdeveloped, underfinanced projects that BET should think twice about greenlighting. But it has just enough to it not to be a painful watch — or rather, it’s put together in such a way that even its shortcomings become part of the charm. At the very least, it’s not about a woman going back to her hometown and falling in love again with her high-school crush, which is already a relief.

  • Christmas Belles (2019)

    Christmas Belles (2019)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, December 2021) Ask any cinephile about the films made by The Asylum, and you will get near-unanimous retching — it’s a low-budget studio that specializes in making cheap copies of blockbuster films with near-identical titles in the hope of drawing an easily fooled public, a business model that survived intact from the DVD to the streaming paradigm. (Oh, and they did the Sharknado series.)  Now imagine my aghast reaction and sinking expectations at seeing “The Asylum presents” as the title card of a Christmas romantic comedy broadcast on BET. But waaaait — I may have found the best Asylum movie of all times. In fact—and you may want to hold on to something solid and reassuring for my next few words—Christmas Belle may be among the better original movies broadcast on BET recently. I know, I know — that’s not exactly a very high standard to begin with. But under Terri J. Vaughn’s direction and especially Chad Quinn’s witty screenplay, it quickly becomes obvious that the film is punching above its weight through sheer better-than-average writing. Oh, it helps that the beautiful DomiNque Perry and Raven Goodwin have great BFF energy together as they compete for the same pastor’s attention— the way they go through their dialogue only makes it better. But there’s more than the usual BET romantic comedy going on here — some great lines, good comic moments, slightly racier humour than usual and decent breaks from the formula all help. (I knew that I liked the movie at the “Do you want to be gay? / Sure [beat] Naah, I’m done” exchange, which is innocuous and funny but well outside what other Christmas romantic comedies go for). The focus on friendship rather than romance (although there’s plenty of romance left) is also a welcome change of pace. Oh, I don’t want to let “better than BET average” be misleading: there are still plenty of odd plotting mistakes, missed opportunities and disappointing moments, alongside the very limited budget and consequently timid direction. But Christmas Belles is significantly better and more entertaining than many of its BET stablemates because it has understood one thing: if you’re stuck with a small cast, limited sets and a tiny budget, make those words sing. Dare something different. Offer something else. It does, and that goes beyond the can’t-dislike-Christmas, can’t-be-unhappy-at-romance feeling that many similar movies coast on. This is probably my favourite The Asylum production of all times, but once again let’s keep some perspective: director Vaughn is so outside The Asylum’s usual orbit that I suspect that the arrangement here is financial more than anything — The Asylum wanted to cash in on the Holiday movie market, so they paid for it. No matter how it happened, I’m happy with the result — this is one BET Christmas film that’s worth a look all year long.