Trivia at St. Nick's

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.

Brant Daugherty and Tammin Sursok, who play Celeste and Max, have wonderful chemistry together. They initially meet and don't hit it off...the astronomy teacher vs the football coach until Celeste's trivia team, The Quizmas Elves, is desperate for a sixth and with his sports knowledge and team building expertise, Max is the perfect fit.

Celeste has the need to study and get everything right while Max is more go with the flow, enjoy the process...but both want to win in the end. They especially want to beat the young whippersnappers "we came to sleigh". The competition is for bragging rights and the beloved "Stan" trophy. After some initial struggles, Max kind of takes over with some team building exercises that end up giving them the competitive edge in trivia, in addition to being fun. The whole process has Celeste reevaluating her process and well...Max

I loved the Christmas activities....and the "It's a Wonderful Life" references. This was fun, funny and had some decent writing. The first kiss needed a little work...but the rest was a Christmas romantic's dream. I highly recommend.

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.

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.

When students go home for Christmas break at a university in Vermont, those sad souls left behind (or just live there), participate in a 45-year tradition of Christmas trivia at Nick's Bar. Celeste (Tammin Sursok) is obsessed with winning the trivia tournament, but is thrown when her ringer bails and she's stuck with Max, a football coach (Brant Daugherty) as their sixth and required member of the trivia team.

Trivia is fun, but this movie was absurd and not in a funny, laugh at yourself way. There are some funny one-liners, but it's certainly not enough to carry the contrived story line that somehow tries to be funny and sincere, but fails at both.

One liners -I'm a football coach, not a wheel magician!" When he can't change a tire.

-"If you'd like, I'd be happy to share my syllabus..." Professor, keep your pants on. Really a dick joke?

-After asking a nun to be on the trivia team, the nun replies, "I will pray for you. Hard." Wow, the nun thinks you're silly.

-"Belay! You gotta Belay!" Best rock-climbing advice ever.

Goofy notes -A whole week of trivia nights is a bit much, even for die hard trivia buffs.

-This movie was filmed on location in Connecticut. Why was it placed in Vermont?

-Shouting your trivia answers in a crowded bar is a great way to lose to other people who can hear you.

-Everyone drinks different colorful holiday beverages - no one has any ice.

-The Stan trophy had to be worth at least $7, but no more.

-And who was Stan in the photo? They show him like an inside joke. Help us out.

-When they eat cookies, the sound department didn't add the ever-present crunch, like every other Hallmark movie. This is the right decision.

Measuring Christmas Magic: None, except the super meta final trivia category - Hallmark Christmas movies! Nice work there.

Cast Kudos: Brian McCarthy who plays Nick the Quiz Master. Nick dons a different holiday outfit each night, which helps show the different events, and is a nice running joke. Give Nick a movie.

Alternative Titles: The Greatest Trivia Tournament Ever; Trivia for the Lonely; Just go home for the Christmas holiday.

Aired on Hallmark on Nov 8, watched Nov. 9.