Christmas Comes to Willow Creek (1987) (TV)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Richard Lang

Writers:

Michael Norell (screenplay)
Michael Norell (story)

Release Date:

20 December 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Drama

Plot:

Willow Creek, Alaska, is going through a depression because the local cannery has shut down putting many of the residents out of work...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Christmas | Holiday | Feud | Trucking

Cast

John Schneider	...	Ray
Tom Wopat	...	Pete
Kim Delaney	...	Jessie
Zachary Ansley	...	Michael
Joy Coghill	...	Charlotte
Anthony Holland
Hoyt Axton	...	Al Bensinger
Dwight Koss	...	Mayor Newman
Barbara Russell	...	Edna Mae
Ted Stidder	...	Doc
Robert Forsythe	...	Chief Cobb
Charissa Reeves	...	Sabrina
Geordie Needham	...	Thurgood
Robin Mossley	...	Cecil
Brian MacDonald	...	Dwayne

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

ITC Entertainment

Trivia:

The 'Alaska' town where the movie was filmed was chosen specifically due to the fact that snow stayed on the ground there continuously during the winter months. Ironically just days before filming, the town experienced an unusual winter warming trend and all the snow melted. Snow machines then had to be brought in to restore the wintertime appearance.

Not too bad, in fact pretty good.

Tom Wopat and John Schneider team up again -- post-Dukes of Hazzard -- for this made-for-TV movie. This time they play feuding brothers who both work for the same trucking company.

The owner of the company is a native of the small Alaska town of Willow Creek and each year he sends a truck of presents back to the folks at home. This year he plans on making the trip himself, but his health keeps him bedridden in sunny California. Ray (Schneider) is already scheduled to make the run with him, but the owner insists that Pete (Wopat) go along too.

Along the way the two face many obstacles that force them to think over their differences. Pete is the older, dependable, sensible one (think Luke Duke), while Ray is the younger, undependable, irresponsible one (think Bo Duke). Finally they work their differences out in time to bring the Christmas spirit to Willow Creek.

Wopat and Schneider fall easily into their roles and turn out admirable performances. Schneider is at his best as his character grapples with giving up the carefree, reckless life for doting fatherhood. Notice the dramatic turnaround his character has made by the end of the movie. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the rest of the cast, especially the Willow Creek townspeople. Their characters are underdeveloped and overacted, bringing the movie down with them. The story is a good one, but the miserable performances of the supporting cast destroy the impact the movie could have achieved.

Still this movie is a must for any die-hard Dukes of Hazzard fan. It is the only project Wopat and Schneider have done together that isn't related to The Dukes. And it is a good family film. It has the nice happy ending, with the re-affirmation of the importance of family that makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy.