Trivia at St. Nick's

7.1 stars.

Not as bad as I thought it would be. The trivia aspect is literally the main theme of the story, so it threw me off as the film was about half way through and it was still about trivia. On the other hand, the lead male is really interesting in this, because he seems to play a nonchalant guy pretty well. He isn't the best actor for serious, and you'll see almost all of his roles are laid back, carefree characters. This is no different. The lead female is off balance at times, like she was unable to capture the personality of her character very well, but sometimes she was okay. The only negative was her negativity, which really pervaded the role, almost as if she was genuinely feeling morose while she acted the part.

But it's a somewhat entertaining movie for the supporting cast and the competition and how the relationship forms. Something was done right, not sure what, but I liked it enough for 7.1.

This Hallmark holiday film offers little in the way of surprising developments or surprising dialogue. Still, it follows some traditional Hallmark story lines.

Celeste (Tammin Sursok) looks forward to the annual Christmas trivia tournament at a local bar. She really wants her team to win, so when their ringer---a two-time Jeopardy champ---has other plans, she is despondent. The new offensive coordinator of the university's football team is added to the roster solely to meet the requirement of six players. Celeste harbors resentment toward the football team, because she feels it receives undue attention, whereas her department (Astronomy) and academics, in general, is underappreciated.

New team member Max (Brant Daugherty) turns out to be a nice guy, so he gradually grows on Celeste. As the tournament progresses, they share various experiences and she realizes he is more than a dumb jock.

Comedic chemistry between the two leads is adequate, but any romantic chemistry feels mostly manufactured. Two cleverness points for naming the female lead Celeste, which means "heavenly".

The story and performances are average. The sound engineering is terrible, with fluctuating volumes of speech and soundtrack making it impossible to set a comfortable listening level without having to constantly adjust up and down. It was initially so annoying that we came close to stop watching. From blaring music to hushed whispers, some of the dialogue is even missed. Unlike some Hallmark rom-coms, this will not be one we will watch again. The unique hook in this movie are the actual trivia contests. Viewers can play along and perhaps learn from some actual Christmas trivia questions and answers.

I don't know what the hate is. I loved this movie. The trivia was so clever and fun to play along with, especially the Hallmark movies in the end! I knew the answers! I thought it was great to see Brant in a different, more silly role. He's one of my favorite Hallmark actors and he never disappoints. And Tammin had a lot of funny moments too. It was a different movie for Hallmark and I appreciated that. Lots of little Easter eggs for the Hallmark fans in the trivia. I enjoyed the whole trivia team, especially the older couple. Lots of laugh out loud moments for me and my teenager. Loved watching it together.

When students all flee an elite university in Vermont for winter break, the locals and faculty hunker down for their favorite time of year - the annual Christmas Bar Trivia Tournament. For Celeste (Sursok), a Type-A astronomy professor, this event combines the magic of Christmas with her greatest comfort in life: knowing the right answer. But when her colleague drops out of the tournament to do a month-long lecture tour in Asia, Celeste's team must adopt Max (Daugherty), the football team's new offensive coordinator. To Celeste, Max seems like nothing more than a grown-up class clown - though he brings an undeniable knowledge of sports trivia (a category their team has always fallen short in). Initial clashes between the two eventually turn into mutual appreciation as the team enjoys scavenger hunts on campus, decorating the international house with Christmas lights, baking Christmas cookies, and advancing toward the championship trivia game.

First off, this is the exact same formula as all Christmas and romance films, so don't expect anything new on that front. However, this film does have a very christmassy feel to it, with great decorations, great sets, great costumes and a general christmassy buzz about it. That alone makes it good to me because christmas films should primarily be about christmas, no matter what else is going on. And what else is going on? Well, nothing much. The behaviour of the actors is pretty much the same as a bunch of 12 year olds. If they are making films for an adult audience or a family, I'd expect some more mature scenes and lines. Also, the two leads have zero chemistry even when they actually kiss. Luckily, the lack of romance doesn't hurt it too much because as I said, it's got a great christmas vibe that carries it along no matter what.

I'd never watch it again but it was a great christmassy mood for an hour and a half so I gave it a 5 for that.