Every year from roughly Thanksgiving to New Years, it’s 12 hours of non-stop Christmas specials on the Hallmark Channel (channel 69 for Time Warner Cable subscribers in Buffalo).
And every year I manage to watch at least one of these hokey, low-budget holiday hallmarks (no pun intended). 2009 has been no exception, and my viewership was intrigued by a title called National Tree. Pressing the “info” button revealed enough to get me hooked, so I saved the next showing on the DVR and enjoyed.
Compared to other Hallmark Channel Christmas films, National Tree wasn’t half bad. It’s the story of a single dad and his technology, social-media, and film-obsessed son discovering their common bonds despite some hefty differences.
Corey Burdock (Andrew McCarthy) planted an evergreen in honor of the birth of his son Rock (Evan Williams). Seventeen years later, the tree has reached an astounding height, and Rock is reaching new heights as an amateur film producer and social-media guru.
A self-shot film of Rock and his tree earns the privilege of having the tree transplanted on the White House Ellipse, after a lightening strike had reduced the original to firewood. Only problem is the tree is located at the Burdock’s home in Oregon. A national toy store chain’s attractive marketing rep, Faith Russell (Kari Matchett), heads up the effort and sponsorship for the cross-country tour that this live tree has to make.
Watching a TV road trip is often the best way to take one: No aching back side, no worries about bathroom stops…but still all the beautiful scenery. While there were a few spectacular shots, most footage appeared to be stock content of double-barrel U.S. interstates.
One has to wonder if Toyota paid for some placement, though. Accompanying the father-son duo in the tree-hauling rig, Faith is seen driving a last-generation Prius bearing a “Wide Load Ahead” sign. “It wasn’t my first choice for a vanity plate…” she quips.
To generate buzz and keep the blogosphere riveted, Rock chronicles every move of the trip with his HD camcorder. Even his Grandma becomes a follower, and the toy store sponsor claims sales going through the roof as cyber buzz escalates for both the tree tour and the brand.
Time for me to nit pick. At one scene Faith is watching TV and the station is WQRY. This takes place somewhere in Utah/Wyoming territory. West of the Mississippi, don’t station call letters being with a “K”? Leave it to me to always find those silly little details.
Rock and Corey butt heads along the way, discover a mutual father-son bond of respect, and learn to enjoy each other’s differences. And what would a Hallmark Christmas film be without some romance? In the way of conflict, there’s not a whole lot, and the situations that do arise are easily overcome.
SPOILER WARNING:
The film concludes with a change of plans on behalf of the National Park Service. NPS is going to mount the tree, trim it, and then mulch it at the end of the season, rather than plant it as originally agreed. The toy store sponsor loved the buzz created by the road trip so much that it wants to repeat the media stunt.
Faith and the rest are naturally distraught and so a plan is hatched. In what looks like kinky games, a glowing Faith handcuffs Rock to the tree’s roots much to the amazement of spectators, news media, and park rangers. Eventually we see the backside of a black man pick up the phone…a NPS ranger confirms that the President has issued an executive order: the “pineroots” effort has paid off and the sitka spruce is to take root on the Ellipse.
National Tree is a nice, feel-good sort of Christmas film. It won’t stir your emotions, and it’s certainly not a Holiday mainstay such as A Christmas Story. However, it is a fun study in contemporary social media, buzz building, blogging, amateur video, and new media in general. Definitely a fun case study for anyone with a marketing and communications background.
Checkout Hallmark Channel’s official National Tree website for show times, trailers, cast interviews, and more.
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