Naughty or Nice (2012 film)
Naughty or Nice is a 2012 Christmas-oriented Hallmark Channel Original Movie directed by David Mackay, and starring Hilarie Burton, Matt Dallas, Danneel Ackles, and Michelle Hurd.
| Naughty or Nice | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama Fantasy |
| Written by | Rickie Castaneda |
| Directed by | David Mackay |
| Starring | Hilarie Burton Matt Dallas Danneel Ackles Michelle Hurd |
| Theme music composer | Russ Howard III |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | John Murlowski |
| Cinematography | John Murlowski |
| Editor(s) | Daniel Raj Koobir |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Johnson Production Group Maple Island Films |
| Distributor | Hallmark Channel |
| Release | |
| Original network | Hallmark Channel |
| Original release |
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This film reunites Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross, who both starred in the television series Family Ties. Burton and Ackles starred together on the television series One Tree Hill.
Plot
Krissy Kringle (Hilarie Burton) is named after Santa Claus and lives on Candy Cane Lane (although she notes that the street only got that name after she moved in). A real career woman, Krissy does not enjoy the Christmas season, partially due to the attention she receives because of her name. She has a steady job at a firm and hopes to marry her boyfriend Lance (Matt Dallas) sometime soon. Her life gets turned upside down when she is suddenly fired by her cold boss Helen (Michelle Hurd). That night, she visits her parents Walter (Michael Gross) and Carol (Meridith Baxter), who arrange for her a demeaning job as an elf in a gift-wrapping department of the local mall. There, she is put down by her boss Justin (Tony Cavalero), but quickly befriends her fellow elf Marco (Gabriel Tigerman).
One day, Krissy receives a package in her mail- due to her address, she ends up receiving most of the letters addressed to Kris Kringle- and finds herself in the possession of Santa's naughty or nice book, which was apparently left behind when he visited a little girl. By calling out their name, Krissy can now see in the book what naughty deeds people have done. Krissy first uses the book on Justin after being put down for the hundredth time, by revealing that he has stolen money from the company, and blackmailing him into allowing her more freedom. At home, she is bothered by her dominant neighbor Debbie, who is constantly at her lips for not decorating her house for the local competition. Through the book, Krissy finds out that Debbie has been stealing decorations from her neighbor, and reveals her seemingly true nature at the election, causing the neighborhood to turn on her.
Meanwhile, Krissy is having difficulty with her boyfriend constantly working late. Encouraged by Marco, she questions the book about Lance, and is told that he has had a one-night stand with Jill (Danneel Ackles), her former colleague and friend. Outraged, Krissy dumps her boyfriend and turns her anger to one of the children at the mall. This incident was filmed by bystanders and is put on YouTube, causing Krissy to become a media sensation. Devastated, Krissy turns to her parents and finds out that the book has two sides, and that she has only been focussing on the naughty-part. She finds out that Debbie has been donating a lot of money to good funds anonymously, Lance has not been cheating on her but had the fling with Jill while they were broken up in the past, and more importantly, that Jill stabbed her back by pushing Helen to fire her. With the help from Lance, with whom she reunites, they reveal Jill as a spy for a rival company. Jill is fired on the spot, and not only is Krissy rehired, she gets a big promotion. To further atone, Krissy helps Helen arrange a Christmas celebration at the mall, but once the children leave, she is visited by the true Santa, who requests his book back, but assures Krissy that he was always aware that she had it, and he allowed her to keep it in order to teach her a lesson about seeing the other side of things.
At the conclusion of the film, Lance proposes to her as an acceptance of her apology, and Krissy comes to terms with the Christmas spirit.
Cast
- Hilarie Burton as Krissy Kringle
- Matt Dallas as Lance Leigh
- Danneel Ackles as Jill Rhodes
- Gabriel Tigerman as Marco Webb
- Michelle Hurd as Helen
- Dana Barron as Brenda Weir
- Tony Cavalero as Justin Reid
- Steven Christopher Parker as Peter
- Michael Gross as Walter Kringle
- Jessica Tuck as Debbie O'Brien
- Meredith Baxter as Carol Kringle
- Googy Gress as Santa Claus
- Hannah Dawn Madigan as Debbie's Assistant
- Elizabeth George as young Krissy Kringle in screaming Santa photograph