Christmas | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
On Nov. 23, a Lifetime movie entitled “Christmas in the Spotlight” made its debut to the public. Loosely inspired by pop star Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce, this film certainly leans into the cheese.
Visible strings
Christmas in the Spotlight” never shied away from drawing parallels to the famous pair it is based on and fully embraced their story as part of its marketing.
As a result, it is hard not to play spot-the-difference while watching the film. While there certainly are differences between the real-life couple people know and love and the on-screen version, it is easy to see the comparisons.
First, viewers meet Bowyn Sykes, a blonde female pop star worth about a billion dollars who is said to be too famous to go out in public. At the start of the film, she is at the top of her career, happily single, running her own life and about to release a Christmas album.
The male main character is Drew Gonville, a football player for his hometown team the “Bombers” alongside his older brother. Drew is a wide receiver and a nine-time MVP award winner. He is known to the public as a player, but spends all his time with his niece.
These characters have quite a bit in common with their real-life counterparts, but they are also unidentifiable in a lot of ways. The film is low-budget, so it can be hard to buy into the fame aspects of the characters.
Full Arrowhead
In the story, Bowyn’s fans are called “Arrows,” which is a clear parallel to real life’s “Swifties.” A big thing in this fandom is to do an archery move, which is based on a dance move Swift does when she performs her song “The Archer.”
By the start of the film, Drew’s niece is so obsessed with Bowyn that she has, according to her mother, who is played by TikTok star Haley Kalil, “gone full Arrowhead,” which is a comment on Swiftie fandom’s dedication, but also a reference to the Chief’s home stadium, where Kelce often plays and where many of the couple’s public appearances have been.
This is not the only reference, but is one of the most obvious and, since it works as a nod to both stars, this is the perfect example of the type of humor that can be found in this film.
Notably, part of the reason Drew wins Bowyn over is because she sees him do the arrow move that is a signature of her fandom after he makes a successful play in his game.
To watch or not to watch?
Overall, whether you are a fan of Swift or Kelce or not, it is probably okay if you skip this one. However, there are still some aspects of the film that could lead people to lean one way or the other.
If you are looking for a movie that you can truly hate-watch, then you might want to look into this one. It is available on Hulu, and can be rented for $2.99 on Amazon Prime, which will give viewers more than enough time to get secondhand embarrassment from watching Swift’s lyrics be forced into dialogue.
Additionally, if you have a child who is interested in pop and football stars, this could be something that they would enjoy. It is rated TV-PG, so it would be best for slightly older kids.
If the reason this film piques your interest is that you have a love for Kelce and Swift’s relationship, then you would definitely be better off rereading articles or watching edits, because this film does not quite capture the magic of the relationship.
However, it is still a somewhat funny and sweet holiday film.
