The quest to avoid romantic comedies with a Christmas setting has led me to some pretty cheesy titles.  This fact set in about halfway through watching The Man Who Saved Christmas (2002) when I said out loud, “At least it’s not a romantic comedy.”  I should be more charitable, particularly with it being a new year.  The film is based on a true story, which is partially why I chose it, and we will get more into those details during the synopsis.  The main thing working against the film is that it is made for television, which, despite some recognizable faces in the cast, automatically gives it a certain level of cheese.  Overall, there are some strange filming choices, but otherwise it is just . . . okay.

You would not think that Alfred Carlton “AC” Gilbert (Jason Alexander) is going to be The Man Who Saved Christmas from his inability to sell his patented toys in stores on Christmas.  This is even more remarkable when you consider that those toys are what some of us might remember as Erector sets.  After an unsuccessful day of trying to get stores to put them on the shelves, he and his brother, Frank Gilbert (Ari Cohen), go to have Christmas dinner with their parents, Charles (Edward Asner) and Mrs. Gilbert (Jayne Eastwood).  Charles is hard on AC, the dreamer of the siblings, saying the inventor and magician should pursue a career in medicine as he had studied for in college.  On the other side of the argument is Mary Gilbert (Kelly Rowan), who thinks AC, her husband, should pursue his desire to entertain children with his inventions.  She also has an idea: he should display his built sets in store windows.  This proves to be the trick, and soon stores cannot keep his products on the shelf.  So successful does he become that even the conservative Charles, a businessman in his own right, decides to invest in Erector sets.  It does not take long for them to open a factory in order to produce their toys.  The generous AC and Mary treat their employees well, giving them large Christmas bonuses (against Charles’ council) and putting on magic shows for the workers and their families.  It is also helpful to have their children nearby to test out their ideas for new sets.  Things are going well until the United States enters World War I.  The first big change the conflict brings is that Frank is drafted to serve in the United States Army.  Everyone is sad to see him go, but they know that during such a conflict everyone will be called upon to do their part.  This includes AC.  Shortly after war is declared, he is summoned to Washington, D.C., where he is asked to convert his factory from making toys to weapons.  His response is to suggest that the government might as well cancel Christmas, an idea they find to be perfectly acceptable.  Their concern is that AC’s products will distract from people buying war bonds and thereby detract from the overall effort.  Though AC is unsure as to whether he should take his company in this direction, Charles is all for the switch, seeing his son as doing something serious with his life for a change.  Because AC has never had this kind of approval from his father, he accepts the government contract.  Besides, doing so and allowing in a state appointed manager means he can spend more time with his son, Al Gilbert Jr. (Jake Brockman).  This becomes frustrating, too, as Al is less inclined towards doing the fun things kids are typically into, and would rather come up with his own activities in his room.  As time goes on and the stress of a campaign against Christmas with his name on it continues, not to mention the fact that Frank goes missing on the Western Front, AC becomes increasingly alienated from his family.  The changes made at the factory hit the hardest, and Al and Charles see the toll this is taking on AC.  Therefore, they arrange for him to be reminded of what once impassioned him by getting him to read the letters children send him about his Erector sets and the impact he has on them.  It is enough to convince him to return to Washington, D.C., and persuade the government to allow him to produce toys once more.  He argues that his products can help with the war effort by getting kids to think about engineering, which will produce more prepared children.  The government agrees with his request, although he must continue to manufacture weapons in the factory.  In order to make the toys, he converts his home into a workshop, which is not unlike how his company had started.  Once the war is over, the Gilberts are able to settle down for another Christmas meal, and this is the final shot of the movie.

In case you are keeping score at home of the characters in The Man Who Saved Christmas, Frank comes limping into the dining room as they are sitting down for that last Christmas meal.  His appearance should not be unexpected.  My criterium for accepting a character’s death is to a see non-breathing corpse on screen, and even then there are movies where this has been subverted.  Anyway, the key word to knowing Frank’s return is inevitable is “missing.”  As for the criteria regarding whether this is a Christmas movie, it fails in the category of having anything to do with the birth of Jesus.  While there is no direct reference to the reason for the season, there is one moment with which this Catholic can work.  As AC is arguing for getting back to making toys, the politicians are wondering about the utility of such items when there is a war to be won.  Before launching into the speech discussed above where he extolls the virtues of playing with his toys, he talks about how one boy can change the world.  That “one boy” is supposed to be a stand-in for all children, but one can easily apply this to the coming of the Messiah.  A lot of this is based on interpretation, something the Church has been doing since the beginning.  Early Christians looked at what we today call Old Testament scriptures and analyzed them for how they could be applied to the Christ being born as He was in Bethlehem.  Please note that I am not suggesting that they made wild assumptions.  The ancient bases for Jesus are sound, and I strongly encourage you to do your own studies to discover this truth.  At any rate, they add up to one Boy being able to change the world.  What AC is doing is to try to inspire the youth to be positive sources of change.

Indeed, there is a positive message overall in The Man Who Saved Christmas.  At the same time, I was a little worried while watching that it would not live up to its title.  What little research I did about the film suggests that it takes several liberties with the history, which is a different way of not living up to the title.  The best thing that it has going for it is its brevity.