One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is watching holiday movies. This year I realized Netflix had released a lot of new Christmas movies. Some were good and others were not, so I decided to give a review on all of them to let you know if you should see it or skip it.
The first movie I watched was “Hot Frosty”. The movie’s protagonist is Cathy, played by Lacey Chabert, who is a widow who runs a diner. At the start of the movie she gives lunch to nearby shop owners, who in exchange give her a scarf that they hope will encourage her to start dating again. She walks through a snowman-building competition and decides to give a handsome snowman the scarf. Once the snowman receives the scarf he comes to life and decides to call himself Jack. This movie follows Jack as he learns to become more human and discovers new things along the way, while Cathy learns how to love again. If you like a cheesy, unrealistic Christmas rom-com this movie is for you. In general, I thought it was pretty good, a little bit silly, but I say see it to “Hot Frosty”.
The next movie I watched was “The Merry Gentlemen”. This movie focuses on Ashley, played by Britt Robertson. The story starts when Ashley gets told she is too old to continue being a Jingle Belle on Broadway, a knock-off version of the Rockettes. After she gets fired, she decides to go home to visit her family during the holidays. She ends up literally bumping into the town handyman Luke, played by Chad Michael Murray. She ends up finding out her parent’s bar “The Rhythm Room” is going out of business. She enlists Luke’s help to save it by forming an all-male dance group to raise money through their shows. In my opinion, this movie was decent. However, I did feel that the romance was underdeveloped because the focus was more on the dancing. It seemed like they rushed the love story just to give more screen time to Chad Michael Murray’s moves. I would say this movie isn’t a must-watch, but if you have some spare time and are in the mood for a fun Christmas movie, it would be good to watch. Overall, I say see it to “The Merry Gentlemen”.
Up next was the movie “Meet Me Next Christmas”. We meet our main character Layla, played by musician Christina Milian, in the airport at Christmas. Her flight has been delayed and she ends up in the first-class lounge where she meets a man named James. James tells her that if she is single next Christmas, she should go to the Pentatonix concert on Christmas Eve so they can meet again. Fast forward to the next Christmas, she gets cheated on, so she decides to hunt for a ticket to the sold-out Pentatonix concert. I liked the main characters in this movie for the most part. My only problem with it was the plot. The plot of the movie felt a little strange to me, especially since it seemed unrealistic that a Pentatonix concert was entirely sold out. I thought the search for the ticket dragged on a bit too long, and some of the stops could have been shortened. The appearances by the Pentatonix members felt somewhat awkward and didn’t seem entirely necessary. As a whole I think I would say skip it to “Meet Me Next Christmas”, unless you are a big Pentatonix fan. If so, this is the movie for you.
After that, I watched “Our Little Secret”, starring Lindsay Lohan. I was honestly very excited to watch this movie because I had seen a preview, and it looked like my type of movie. The movie begins by telling the story of Avery and Logan. Who have known each other their entire lives and are very happy together until Avery lands a job in England. A rushed proposal ultimately causes them to break up. Then, the movie flashes forward 10 years into the future. Avery and Logan are now both in new relationships and seem “happy” with their current partners. During the holiday, they return home with their significant others, only to find out that their significant others are siblings. Avery and Logan decide to keep their past relationship a secret, so the movie follows their attempts to hide it from their partners and their partners’ parents. I liked the plot of this movie and found it interesting. I liked the characters’ chemistry and had a good time watching it. I definitely say see it to “Our Little Secret” because I thought it was an enjoyable Christmas romantic comedy.
The only movie I’ll give a definite skip it to is “A Paris Christmas Waltz”, and let me tell you why. This movie stars Matthew Morrison, famous for his role on Glee, as Leo who is a professional dancer. This movie follows Emma, an accountant who gave up on her career to pursue her dreams in Paris. There, by a stroke of sheer luck, she becomes a dance partner with a famous dancer, Leo. I thought the movie was slow, the plot was lacking, and overall just kind of boring. I also didn’t find either of the main characters likable. I felt like the romance wasn’t there, and it seemed like Emma was just throwing herself at Leo the whole time. It was also confusing how unbelievable it seemed that Emma was able to become a professional dancer, considering she wasn’t very good – and her training was as an accountant. If you’re a fan of ballroom dancing, you may enjoy the dancing and music. But, I give a skip it to “A Paris Christmas Waltz”. It was by far the worst Christmas movie I have watched this season.
I am a big fan of Christmas movies and can’t wait for more to come out. You can always find something to love about a Christmas movie whether it’s the characters, the decorations, or the cheesy small-town charm.