Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage is a 2008 Christmas biopic directed by Michael Campus, the first film he had directed in more than 30 years. It stars Jared Padalecki as painter Thomas Kinkade and features Peter O'Toole, Marcia Gay Harden and Aaron Ashmore.
The film was originally intended for release theatrically in 2007, but due to final edits and music rights its release was delayed until the following year. The film's official painting was created throughout 2007, alongside the film's production. The film was eventually released direct to video in the United States on November 11, 2008.
In 1977, Thomas Kinkade (Jared Padalecki, dressed in an assortment of knitted accessories), a fine arts student at UC Berkeley, leaves his girlfriend (and semi-nude model), Hope Eastbrook (Gina Holden), to go home to Placerville, California for Christmas break. With his brother Pat (Aaron Ashmore), he drives home on a motorcycle with a sidecar that serves as the only operational family vehicle for the duration of the story.
When they arrive at the family homeâÂÂa charming but ramshackle yellow cottageâÂÂthey find out that their mother, Maryanne (Marcia Gay Harden), is facing foreclosure of the family home. If she doesnâÂÂt come up with more than $3000 by New Yearsâ Day, this will be the last family Christmas in Placerville.
To her sonsâ chagrin, she stoically insists that she doesnâÂÂt want to burden them with her troubles. Knowing thereâÂÂs no way they can raise all of the money, the boys nonetheless seek out Christmas-break jobs. Tom lines up a job for $500 to finish painting a mural of Placerville to coincide with the tree-lighting ceremony where Ernie (Chris Elliott, wearing a dark, curly wig) plans to boost tourism by declaring Placerville the âÂÂChristmas Tree Capital of America.âÂÂ
Initially, Tom thinks the mural is beneath him, but soon heâÂÂs inspired to include many of the quirky townspeople who make up the fabric of the town, including:
Tom visits his mentor, the painter Glen Wesman (Peter OâÂÂToole), who is in declining health and hasnâÂÂt been able to paint because his hands donâÂÂt work the way they used to. He inspires Tom to take even this meaningless mural seriously. Glen is full of wise pronouncements and tells Tom, âÂÂ[Art] can introduce men to their souls.âÂÂ
Tom calls GlenâÂÂs San Francisco art dealer Sidney (Ed Asner) to see if thereâÂÂs still a market for GlenâÂÂs paintings, but also to ask if he could sell any of his own paintings. Sidney tells him his work isnâÂÂt anything specialâÂÂyet.
TomâÂÂs brother, Pat, helps cranky neighbor Big Jim (Richard Moll) with his over-the-top Christmas display. Big Jim has an unfriendly rivalry with his neighbors over who has the most extravagant decorations. Unfortunately, Big JimâÂÂs enthusiasm for electricity doesnâÂÂt match his skill with wiring.
Desperate to save the family home, Tom calls his father, Bill (Richard Burgi), to invite him to Placerville for Christmas. Although he abandoned the family many years earlier, he arrives in time to disappoint: he doesnâÂÂt have any money to offer and spends his time drinking, smoking, and scheming.
Tom discovers that Maryanne was laid off from the insurance company months earlier, which explains her current financial predicament. Although she continues to look for a job, Placerville isnâÂÂt exactly bustling, which is why so much rests on boosting tourism. She spends her time caring for other people, but she herself has too much pride to take charity.
TomâÂÂs âÂÂbig cityâ girlfriend, Hope, comes to visit and is dismissive of his mural and the small town. The town makes a bad first impression when the tree-lighting ceremony goes badly: Big JimâÂÂs lights short out and explode in a comical fashion.
When they attend the Christmas pageant together, itâÂÂs a disaster on multiple levels: the scenery that Tom painted melts under the lights, and Hope leaves in a huff because Tom wonâÂÂt go back to Berkeley with her. The silver lining is TomâÂÂs father finally steps up and defends him against the criticism of the audience.
After the pageant, the townspeople come out of the church and, one by one, they are drawn to the mural, uplifted by TomâÂÂs vision.
However, still feeling low after the pageant disaster, Tom visits his mentor Glen. ItâÂÂs hard watching someone he loves fade away. He begs Glen to paint again and not to give up. The outpouring of emotion is what Glen needs to get up and paint again.
For Christmas, the boys give their mother the money they scraped together, which will at least give her a new start. Their celebration is interrupted when the townspeople all come to help Maryanne fix up the house, which, considering the impending foreclosure, is at least a touching gesture for someone who always gives and never receives.
Meanwhile, Glen motivates to produce one final painting. Enduring an arduous walk through the snow, Glen delivers the painting to Maryanne so she can sell it to save the house. Instead of Nicole, he paints the light through the leaves and tells Tom to âÂÂPaint the light.â Glen dies the next day.
Maryanne sells GlenâÂÂs painting, which, along with a new job, saves the house and sets her up for life.
At the end, the real Thomas Kinkade appears painting one of his signature works of the Christmas Cottage.