Trivia at St. Nick's

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.

Plot tropes that avoid the typical Hallmark romance cliches, especially the Christmas movie cliches, are welcome. No small towns threatened by developers. No old boyfriends suddenly appearing. No big city girl returning to her small town roots.

This story takes place on a college campus and the surrounding town, as several teams of six participate in a six-day pub trivia tournament.

The female lead starts out a bit too overbearing as anal retentive and too tightly wound/focused. She starts out with a big dislike for a coach on the school's football team, who--of course--winds up on her trivia team, against her wishes.

The story progresses well from there, and we enjoyed how their relationship grew, and also the scripted trivia competition. The only thing I wish they'd done is present more of the trivia questions. LOL We knew a lot of the answers ourselves. ;-)

One thing: They were a bit too impressed by a "two time Jeopardy Champion". Two day winners on Jeopardy are a dime a dozen. ;-)

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.

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 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.