The message of “Saving Christmas,” featuring “Growing Pains” star Kirk Cameron, is that celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ can be found hidden inside some of the traditional imagery of Christmas — Santa Claus and decorated trees, for example.

The film, which celebrates “the reason for the season” and does a pretty good job explaining the relationship between the secular and religious aspects of the holiday, falls short cinematically and thereby fails in its overall mission of educating the public.

“Saving Christmas” is constructed a lot like the documentary “America: Imagine the World Without Her” by Dinesh D’Souza. Both films rely heavily on re-imagined accounts of historical events to help accentuate the points made in the film.

However, in both features, these re-enactments are often distracting and visually jarring, especially early in the films before explanation is given as to their necessity and meaning.

It’s unfortunate that the film will largely miss its target audience due mainly to an uneven screenplay and poor time management. As a 60-minute, direct-to-DVD release, “Saving Christmas” would work incredibly well and would likely be received much better than it has been.

But in its current form, with unnecessary hip-hop dance sequences and multiple endings that don’t really end, “Saving Christmas” misses the mark and keeps audiences at bay.