Silver Bells

From Thanksgiving until Christmas those bell ringers and their pots are seen in all kinds of public places. Silver Bells has nothing to do with that familiar Yuletide favorite that Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote for a much better film. You'll note hear a note of it in this film Silver Bells.

The film is a rather sappy salute and huge commercial plug for the Salvation Army and the good work they do. As a group that is notorious for discriminating against LGBT people I'm loath to say a good word for a film that plugs that organization.

Bruce Boxleitner is a sports reporter on a local TV station in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and he's a most competitive guy and instills that in his kids Laura Spencer and Kenton Duty. One night at one Kenton's basketball games he gets into it with a referee and he's arrested and gets community service with the Salvation Army over the Christmas shopping season.

As this is a Christian film there are certain parameters and they are most strictly observed. The guy in charge of the local Salvation Army is Antonio Fargas, best remembered back in the day for playing Huggy Bear on Starsky&Hutch. I still remember Fargas calling them 'honorary soul brothers'. I thought that was as condescending a line as I ever heard on either the big screen or the small.

Fargas like the rest of us is a little older and slower. He's also the only one who has an interesting character in the story.

Couldn't they get the rights from Paramount to play Silver Bells at least.