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Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
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Wikipedia article
'Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!' (also known as 'Good Luck Charlie: The Road Trip Movie' in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is a 2011 Christmas film based on the Disney Channel Original Series 'Good Luck Charlie'. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and written by Geoff Rodkey, and stars Bridgit Mendler, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Bradley Steven Perry, Mia Talerico, Eric Allan Kramer, and Jason Dolley as the Duncan family. The Disney Channel Original Movie follows the Duncan family on their road trip to Amy Duncan's parents' house for Christmas. It premiered on December 2, 2011 on Disney Channel ten years after Disney Channel's last Christmas-themed original movie, 'Twas the Night' in 2001.
Plot
The Duncan family plans to go to Amy's parents' new condo in Palm Springs, California for Christmas. However, they are separated en route when Teddy makes a snap decision to give up her airline seat for a free ticket to prove to her parents she can go to Florida for her spring break with her best friend Ivy. Unwilling to let her daughter travel alone, Amy also disembarks the plane, only to discover that the next flight to Palm Springs departs after Christmas. When Amy tries to attack the woman at the desk, they are thrown out of the airport by security. Meanwhile, the rest of the family arrives in Palm Springs, but things aren't any easier as Bob tries to care for Charlie under the watchful eye of Amy's mother Petunia, who strongly dislikes Bob and blames him for Charlie's misbehavior and the other kids' mishaps; PJ gets a bad sunburn after accidentally using suntan oil instead of sunblock; and Gabe quickly realizes the downfalls of teaching Grandpa Hank how to play his favorite video game, Galaxy of Death, after Hank becomes more addicted to it than he is, causing his hair to be full of mints at one point.
Stranded and in desperation, Teddy and Amy find unconventional ways to get to Palm Springs before Christmas, while keeping in contact with Bob via cellphone. On their journey, they try to ride a bus but Amy's antics on the bus gets them kicked out. When they try to rent a car from a guy who bought out the owner, they end up going downhill with one windshield wiper and no brakes or headlights and the car gets destroyed when trying to adjust their seats in the morning. Amy reveals that she is pregnant again when they hitch hike with an elderly couple who are part of an alien abduction group. When they arrive in Las Vegas, their luggage gets stolen when they weren't looking, and they get into another argument. Amy blames Teddy for getting them lost in the first place, and Teddy retorts that Amy's ego combined with her pregnancy has been more hindrance than help. Losing her patience, Amy accidentally blames Teddy for ruining Christmas when she disembarked the plane. Teddy disowns Amy as her mother and runs off in tears while Amy becomes ashamed over her actions. Hungry, the mother and daughter perform Christmas carols mixed with staged fights to get money for dinner. In a restaurant, they find Jordan, the girl who had stolen their luggage, and confront her. She breaks down in tears and explains how she has been stranded after running away from home to go to a music festival cross-country, which her mother forbade her from attending. Sympathizing with Jordan, Amy calls Jordan's mother and smooths things over, and Teddy gives her plane ticket to Jordan to get her home for Christmas. This gesture helps Teddy and Amy reconcile from their previous arguments, and Amy finally acknowledges that Teddy is responsible.
Meanwhile, PJ, Bob, and Gabe drive to Las Vegas to pick up Amy and Teddy, but get lost in the dark and are mistakenly kidnapped to participate in a paintball match based on Galaxy of Death in order to return to their car. Gabe wins the match using his knowledge of the game and even meets the game's creator. Out of gratitude for them wearing the colors of his team, the creator gives the trio a free helicopter ride to find Teddy and Amy at a diner that the two had arrived at after biking all night from Las Vegas. Hank and Petunia then arrive with Charlie by car, and the entire family is finally reunited. Amy admits not only that they finally got the Christmas vacation they wanted, but also that this was the best Christmas they've ever had. She then reveals that she is having another baby, much to the happiness of the Duncans and Blankenhoopers.
In the epilogue, on the way back to Denver from their Christmas trip, Gabe attempts to take the Stone of Mitrios (a souvenir from the paintball match) on the plane ride back, but it is taken away by a flight attendant. Another flight attendant then announces the offering of a free plane ticket, which Teddy quickly accepts once again. Amy says to Bob, "Your turn" and Bob obediently goes after Teddy, jokingly promising Amy that they will be back by New Year's. Amy smiles in response and says that she knows they won't. A short blooper roll follows the epilogue during the end credits.
Cast
* Bridgit Mendler as Teddy, the older sister of Charlie who makes video diaries.
* Leigh-Allyn Baker as Amy, Teddy's comedic and headstrong mother.
* Bradley Steven Perry as Gabe, Teddy's mischievous younger brother.
* Mia Talerico as Charlie, the toddler the diaries are for.
* Debra Monk as Petunia, Amy's mother.
* Michael Kagan as Hank, Amy's father.
* Eric Allan Kramer as Bob, Teddy's father.
* Jason Dolley as P.J., Teddy's goofy and airheaded older brother.
* Raven Goodwin as Ivy, Teddys best friend in Denver.
* Abbie Cobb as Jordan, a lost girl whom Teddy and Amy encounter in Las Vegas.
* Pamela Dunlap as Sue, an older woman who allows Teddy and Amy to hitchhike with her.
* David Wells as Stan, Sues husband.
* Joey Nader as Daryl, a car dealer.
* E.E. Bell as Lenny, a car repairman.
* Ernie Grunwald as Walter, a bike shop owner.
Production
The film was executive-produced by Sheri Singer along with three executive producers of the series, Dan Staley, Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen. The script was written by Geoff Rodkey and directed by Arlene Sanford. The film was shot in Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah from March 2011 to September 2011. The Gateway complex in Salt Lake City was used to film scenes that were set on the Las Vegas Strip. Other filming locations included the Pirate Island pizza restaurant in Orem, which stood in as a Las Vegas buffet; and the Salt Palace convention center, which was transformed to look like the Denver Airport. Filming also took place at Skull Valley.
Music
"I'm Gonna Run to You", performed by Bridgit Mendler, was released as promotional single on November 18, 2011. It was written by Bridget Mendler and Jamie Houston and produced by Houston. "Jingle Bells", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "Deck the Halls" were also performed during the movie.
Ratings
It was watched by 6.9 million viewers, the premiere also delivered 3.3 million kids 6-11, 2.4 million teens and 1.4 million adults 18-49. The movie became no. 1 live-action cable movie of 2011 in total viewers and the no. 1 live-action scripted telecast across all TV in kids 6-11. In Australia it was watched by 111,000 viewers and in the United Kingdom there were 562,000 viewers.
Broadcast
The film aired worldwide on Disney Channel. It premiered on December 2, 2011 in Canada, on December 16, 2011 in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It aired in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines on December 24, 2011.
Home media
The movie was released on iTunes on December 6, 2011. An exclusive edition of the movie was released on DVD only through Walmart on October 23, 2012.
See also
* List of Christmas films
References
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