The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Catch a Christmas Star
Family · Romance · TV Movie · 2013
Nikki Crandon is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. Whether she's singing the National Anthem or promoting her latest album, everyone knows who she is—none more so than New Jersey high school basketball coach and widower Chris Mitchell, who was Nikki's first love in high school. When Chris' 10-year-old daughter Sophie finds out her dad still has feelings for the singer, she takes matters into her own hands. With her 8-year-old brother Jackson in tow, Sophie succeeds in reuniting the two. But when a misunderstanding and the growing glare of the public spotlight threaten Chris and Nikki's happiness, one can only wonder: will fame get in the way of a Merry Christmas?
Movie details
Catch a Christmas Star
2013 Family · Romance · TV Movie 1h 24m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.2 / 10
2K votes
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Nikki Crandon is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. Whether she's singing the National Anthem or promoting her latest album, everyone knows who she is—none more so than New Jersey high school basketball coach and widower Chris Mitchell, who was Nikki's first love in high school. When Chris' 10-year-old daughter Sophie finds out her dad still has feelings for the singer, she takes matters into her own hands. With her 8-year-old brother Jackson in tow, Sophie succeeds in reuniting the two. But when a misunderstanding and the growing glare of the public spotlight threaten Chris and Nikki's happiness, one can only wonder: will fame get in the way of a Merry Christmas?
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Catch a Christmas Star?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Brimming with Love
TV Movie · 2018
Allie is an aspiring journalist who meets Sam, a coffee shop owner who plays matchmaker for his customers. Allie agrees to be matched but going though Sam's process causes her to see that her perfect match might just be the matchmaker himself.
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby
Romance · 2019
Christmas brings the ultimate gift to Aldovia: a royal baby. But first, Queen Amber must help her family and kingdom by finding a missing peace treaty.
A Royal Christmas
TV Movie · 2014
A young working girl with a blue-collar background is surprised when her new fiancé announces he is actually a prince of a small sovereign country in Europe. After the couple quickly takes off to spend the holidays at his family’s sprawling, royal castle, she must work hard to win over her disapproving and unaccepting future mother-in-law—the Queen—and find out if love truly can conquer all.
Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa
Family · 2018
Lisa's trip home to Evergreen for the holidays finds her shepherding an effort to save the town's beloved general store, fulfilling the wishes of a Christmas past and finding a romance full of Christmas magic.
A Christmas Prince
Romance · 2017
When a reporter goes undercover as a nanny to get the inside scoop on a playboy prince, she gets tangled in some royal intrigue and ends up finding love - but will she be able to keep up her lie?
The Perfect Christmas Present
TV Movie · 2017
Tom Jacobs is Mr Christmas! He's built an entire business around helping clients find the perfect gift. But what happens when he falls for one lucky recipient?
A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
TV Movie · 2019
Hotel manager Willow returns to her stunning Virginia hometown to help her sister plan a Christmas wedding at the inn her family once owned. She must work with current owner and single dad David, who wants to let go of the past.
Grounded for Christmas
Romance · 2019
When a winter storm hits Cleveland and grounds flights, the nearby hotels quickly fill up with stranded travelers. Nina, a pilot, reluctantly agrees to let her arrogant but charming fellow pilot, Brady, stay at her nearby parents' home. But when they discover her family is hosting a tree trimming party that night and that her ex will be there, Brady pretends to be her boyfriend to help her out.
Poinsettias for Christmas
Romance · 2018
It’s just weeks before Christmas when Ellie gets a call to return home to help her father on the family’s poinsettia farm. The family business is on the line to deliver tens of thousands of plants for the town’s annual parade. The problem is — the poinsettias have yet to turn red! As Ellie searches for the solution, she is reminded of where her heart truly lies as she falls in love with both her roots and a local botanist.
Mr. 365
TV Movie · 2018
When workaholic reality TV producer Sophie starts working on a holiday-season show about Will, a wildly sexy guy who celebrates Christmas every day of the year, she finds herself falling for her mysterious, unlikely new star, renewing her long-lost faith in Xmas in the process.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Bradshaw
Written by
Rickie Castaneda
Shannon Elizabeth
Nikki Crandon
Steve Byers
Chris Marshall
Julia Lalonde
Sophie Marshall
Kyle Breitkopf
Jackson Marshall
Doug MacLeod
Mark
Maria Ricossa
Shelley
Billy MacLellan
Jason
Court is in session
Put Catch a Christmas Star on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.