For the last of my blitz of Christmas movies, I decided to go with another regionally specific film in Christmas on the Bayou (2013).  The others I have addressed include Christmas in the Smokies (2015) and Christmas in Mississippi (2017).  They are all, to one degree or another, rip-offs of Sweet Home Alabama (2002), though set around the time we are meant to be celebrating the birth of Jesus.  The ones that are set in the South at least do some justice to the true meaning of Christmas, or at least that is the case for Christmas in the Smokies.  The others, including Christmas on the Bayou, do less.  There is a Cross, I think, in one scene, so that is something.  Anyway, let us get this over with, the review that is, not the Christmas season.  The hope and light, the themes that Jesus brought into the world with his coming and people associate with the holiday without remembering this salient fact, all that should go on forever.

It is some twenty years ago, but it is Christmas on the Bayou in the little town of St. Martinville, Louisiana.  Running through it is a young girl named Katherine (Mary Katherine Oglesby).  She is hurrying on her way to the bonfire burning along the waterfront to light the way for Papa Noel (Ed Asner).  He is the swamp version of Santa Clause, his conveyance being a pirogue pulled by alligators.  What can I say but the South?  Waiting Katherine is Caleb (Colin Bates), a boy her age on whom she is evidently sweet.  Before they kiss, his attention is diverted by lighted boats passing nearby.  Jumping ahead twenty years and the grown-up Katherine (Hilarie Burton) is a successful executive living in New York City.  While she has enjoyed advancement in her career, her personal life has had its challenges.  She has a son named Zack (Brody Rose) to whom she is devoted, but her husband has divorced her.  In response, she has thrown herself into her work, but this means she is not as available for Zack as he would like.  With Christmas approaching, he seems to be retreating into electronic screens, asking mom to get him a new computer for the upcoming holiday.  She comes up with a different idea.  Calling her mom, Lilly (Markie Post), Katherine informs her that they will be coming to St. Martinville for the next two weeks.  Still, she does so only by promising her boss that she will stay on top of her duties while she is away.  After making the quaint decision to drive instead of fly (I have to give respect for that decision), mother and son arrive to a warm welcome at Lilly’s home.  Despite supposedly being on holiday, Katherine remains on top of her work, leaving Zack largely to his own devices.  This includes falling into the water near grandma’s house, only to be fished out by Nick.  This is Papa Noel, by the way, but with all the wooden toys in his waterside shack, he is not hiding the fact that he is Santa Claus.  Zack has trouble accepting this because the previous Christmas, following the split between his mom and dad, Zack wished for his father to return.  When it did not happen, he gave up believing in the magical gift giver.  In the times Zack does get to spend with Katherine, they end up going into town.  This proves eventful for Katherine in two ways.  The first is a chance run-in with the adult Caleb (Tyler Hilton), who also develops an easy bond with Zack.  Additionally, Caleb happens to be on his way to Mr. Greenhall’s (Randy Travis) general store.  We are in the twenty-first century, though I am not sure what else to call this establishment.  Whatever it is, Lilly sells herbs from her garden in Mr. Greenhall’s shop, which is why Katherine enters.  Caleb goes along under the pretense of needing items, but it is really to rekindle things with Katherine.  Over Katherine’s protests, who worries about bringing a parade of potential men in and out of Zack’s life, is Lilly’s support of Caleb, a longtime favorite for her daughter.  Indeed, without telling Katherine, Lilly invites Caleb to dinner.  When Katherine objects, she comes to a temporary agreement that they stay out of each other’s parts of town.  However, Lilly keeps inviting him around, and Katherine shows her first cracks when they end up in each other’s arms during a late night frog hunt.  You may be incredulous of the romance of such a setting, but there is a charm to the sounds, at least.  Yet, the smooch is cut short by Katherine’s continued resistance.  Meanwhile, the bond between Zack and Nick continues to blossom.  The Swamp Santa encourages the boy to enter the upcoming Christmas pageant, giving him the song he should sing, too.  The first attempt ends in stage fright.  So, too, does the second, this time with Caleb taking him.  It is only by getting some further bolstering from Nick does Zack finally pluck up the nerve to perform.  After the official recital, Caleb tries another romantic gesture with Katherine.  She is touched, but once more refuses.  The next day, she gets a call from her boss telling her that she needs to be back in New York to complete a project that will definitely lead to a promotion.  The kicker is that she must return on Christmas Eve.  Zack is not happy.  She tries to mollify him by telling her son that this is a big opportunity that will lead to more money for them.  He angrily responds with saying that he does not want more money, he just wants more of her.  This brings Katherine up short.  To fix her son’s potentially breaking heart, she decides to take Mr. Greenhall up on his offer to work for him, especially after she had successfully turned around his business.  This means that they will be staying in St. Martinville, much to the delight of Lilly.  Another person pleased with this decision is Caleb, with whom Katherine shares a kiss at the bonfire as the film closes.

While Christmas on the Bayou wanders around its plot structure during its short run time, there is still value in it from a Catholic point of view, even if it does not speak to the birth of Jesus.  I would refer you back to what Zack tells Papa Noel as the reason for why he stopped believing in Santa Claus.  This is a tough way to learn this truth, and it parallels how many lose their faith in general.  Often it involves them asking God for one thing, usually something they believe they need immediately.  The more dire the request, the more distinct will be the break with the belief system that let them down.  Please note the use of the phrase “belief system” because it is not God that has failed them.  That is, by definition, impossible for God to do, otherwise He would not be who He is, the God of love.  Also, being God, He understands our needs before we ask them, and better than we do ourselves.  There is no doubting that Zack wanted to be with his dad on Christmas.  It is understandable.  Yet, because we have free will, He cannot make people do whatever it is He wants them to do.  He can show them signs, or communicate with them in other specific ways, but we are able to follow our own devices.  This is what makes faith such a precious gift.  It also makes the idea of Santa, at least how he is portrayed in movies like this, so offensive.  It is a complaint I have made in other reviews, but he is often depicted as having god-like powers, knowing things beyond typical knowledge and having the ability to make the incredible happen.  These are things reserved to the person whose birth is the reason we have any of this, not just the holiday, but existence itself.  It is all well and good that Zack learns a lesson about wanting the things that are truly important in life, like more time with his mom, but the source of that transformation should be God and not a mythical figure.

I will likely be posting Christmas on the Bayou, the last of this series, well after the end of what most people typically associate as Christmas time.  Since Catholicism says the season goes on for weeks after December 25^th, it gives me the cachet to continue to post these reviews.  I hope you have enjoyed these reviews, but it is now time for me to move on to other films.  You can wait on watching this movie until next year.