12 Days of Watching (2024) #2: Bob Hope Christmas Special: "A Snow Job in Florida"

Well, I said I would do it. I said I would watch this, most likely on my own, when I mentioned the recent upload on our Facebook group. This is the December 1987 Bob Hope Christmas Special, A Snow Job in Florida, complete with original commercials:

So there are several ways to approach this. You may love Bob Hope and watch the show that way. You may also think that title is funny in and of itself. You may just love Christmas and tradition and enjoy seeing familiar faces. You may enjoy reliving the Eighties!

I am a mixture of all of that, but I have to admit that A) I watched this alone as Wife of the Show Laurie does not share my admiration for the Bob Hope persona and B) this special is not great without the nostalgia/showbiz love aspect. The 84-year-old Hope is showing his age in this hour, and the format is showing its age, too--maybe more so.

I won't apologize for liking the whole thing, though it's not nearly as good as, say, the special we covered on the podcast. The time capsule experience is too good to pass up. It begins with a long monologue that features topical references galore: E.F. Hutton, Imelda Marcos, Jesse Helms, Again, if you like the "Snow Job in Florida" title, you will appreciate much of this without irony, but Bob seems off for much of the segment, like he needed a bit to warm up.

The rest of the program is a typical mix of music and comedy sketches. I think the musical highlight is the duet Reba McEntire and Bob perform of "Silver Bells," which works despite (or maybe because?) they call attention to the artificial environment and simulated snow. There's a certain charm to this that just works.

Most of the comedy is uneven at best, with familiar faces like Brooke Shields, Morgan Fairchild, and always-game Tony Randall showing up. The All-American college football stars appear for the traditional sequence, and that's pretty much what you expect, too. The Rose Queen does a bit with Bob, and we see Bob at the event know as the Beach Ball in Florida.

It's all a bit scattershot, but there is enough holiday cheer in that traditional showbiz way to keep things moving, if just barely. There's something to be said for tradition, but at this point it's clear we're at the end of the line of Hope's remarkable career in entertainment.  The only problem is, there were 5 more years of official Hope specials, Christmas and otherwise, after this! 

Right now, let's not think about that, but let's kick back and enjoy some Hope and even some vintage commercials. Yes, Texaco is featured, though not with Bob as spokesman. Would you accept an appearance by short-lived Energizer pitchman Jacko?