Baking cookies, shopping for gifts, putting up your Christmas tree; all of these are staples of the holiday season. One of the things that makes this time of year extra special is the movies. No matter what genre you prefer, there are many holiday-themed movies to choose from. Just like how every singer has to have a Christmas album, every actor or actress seems to have appeared in a Christmas movie at some time in their career. I have seen quite a few Christmas movies and would consider myself well-versed in the art. So what did I do? Over the course of a few days, I watched five of the most popular Netflix Christmas movies so that you don’t have to. As I watched, I ranked them from my least favorite to my favorite and wrote about my feelings on the movie. Read more about my opinions on Netflix shows/movies here! I would like to preface this by saying that all of them were cringe-worthy holiday rom-coms, but there was little else to choose from when I searched “Christmas movies” on Netflix. So sit down, pop some popcorn, maybe make a pot of hot chocolate, and read all about my opinions on how well Netflix does Christmas. And then you should go watch some of them for yourself. Merry Christmas!
- The Merry Gentlemen
*Watched third*
Summary: Ex-professional dancer Ashley attempts to save her parents’ small-town bar by starting an all-male Christmas-themed revue.
Well, this movie was…something???? We are not starting this list off strong. I am not going to sit here and lie and say that I didn’t watch it in one sitting. Or that I didn’t enjoy it, to a certain extent. However, I am not sure who is responsible for some of the atrocities committed in this movie. I have to ask, what was her wig about? Why did the main character’s actress, Britt Robertson (a natural blonde), have to wear a poorly fit blonde wig? Another issue I had was the dancing. Before she is fired, Ashley is a Broadway dancer for a Christmas show called the “Jingle Belles.” And let me just tell you, the “Jingle Belles” performance that we saw? It looked like a group of girls performing at a middle school talent show. If my simile is not enough to convince you, I must share with you a review left on Google: “The movie starts with our lead protagonist and her wig (which will almost certainly distract you through the whole movie) doing some average dance moves in a cheap knock-off of The Rockettes. Sadly, she is fired, allegedly because of her age, and not because her moves have not improved in 12 years.” Thank you, Lynn Fraggle, I couldn’t have said it better myself. I am going to safely assume that the people in charge of casting simply overlooked Chad Michael Murray’s glaring lack of dancing abilities for his well-known face and chiseled abs. If this is not the case, then I am forced to question who Netflix is paying to cast their movies. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s supposed to be about a group of guys who have never danced before. In the movie, over the course of a few weeks, these scantily-clad middle-aged men and their atrocious dance moves manage to bring over $30,000, enough to pay off the bar’s debt and save it. If this movie were real, I would be seriously concerned for our society if there were so many women who enjoyed these shows that someone managed to make a whopping $30,000 from them. There is just no way that these men would be able to pull any of this off realistically. I am not even joking when I say that I had to pause the movie numerous times while watching just to take a break from the millennial cringe I was experiencing. Okay, that’s enough complaining. I genuinely didn’t hate it, even though it may appear that way. Would I watch it again? Absolutely not. Do I regret watching it? No, not necessarily. While there were quite a few bizarre choices made during the production of this movie, it was oddly entertaining and kept me interested. So, if you are in search of a PG-rated Christmas version of Magic Mike, then look no further, The Merry Gentlemen is perfect for you!
- A Christmas Prince
*Watched fourth*
Summary: Aspiring journalist Amber is finally given what seems like her big break: go to the country of Aldovia and cover a press conference from the King-to-be, Prince Richard. Easy right? Until he refuses to do the press conference so she decides to sneak into the castle posing as his younger sister’s new tutor.
This movie wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was so boring. There was zero chemistry between the two main characters and I’m not sure if it was just because the actors lacked chemistry or if it was because they didn’t have enough scenes together. The rare scenes that they had together felt disconnected and unromantic. They didn’t know each other at all, especially because she was quite literally pretending to be someone that she was not. It just felt so lacking and it disappointed me. I think I needed more plots or maybe a whole different one because I was not invested in the small side plots that they had going on. However, I do think that if I had not just watched a movie exactly like it two days before (The Princess Switch) then I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. I probably wouldn’t watch it again, but I do think that it was a better movie and there is a greater chance of me rewatching it than The Merry Gentlemen, which is why I put it at 4. If you are in search of a Christmas movie with a prince, I would recommend The Princess Switch over this one. Either should satisfy your craving, but this one is a harder watch. And I can’t even begin to think about her style. I know the movie was made in 2017, but that is no excuse for the amount of ankle-height Converse…and her outfits made her look like a 40-year-old mother of three from 2013. The costume directors need to be fired. If you can stomach horrible outfits and are in search of a mediocrely cute Christmas movie then A Christmas Prince might just be your cup of hot chocolate!
- The Princess Switch
*Watched first*
Summary: A baker from Chicago gets selected for a baking competition in the country of Belgravia. She and her best friend/sous chef set off to the competition, where she meets the prince’s fiance, who happens to look identical to her. The two decide to switch places for two days…..
I am only slightly embarrassed to admit that I absolutely DEVOURED this movie. Any time I had even a minute of free time, I was watching this movie. It started super fast which I loved because I hate when movies take a long time to build up to the actual plot, but this one got started right away. I was healthily curious about where it was going from the start and then towards the middle I could not put my phone down. Now, listen. It’s not like this movie is going to win any awards, but it was so fun. Usually, Netflix movie acting is horribly cringy and wholly unbearable, but this has Vanessa Hudgens. Enough said. It was a quick, fun, and cute holiday watch that I would recommend to anyone looking for something to cheer up your seasonal depression. The Princess Switch is perfect for those who like fun Christmas rom-coms and the *slightly* unrealistic civilian-becomes-princess trope.
- The Holidate
*Watched fifth*
Summary: Sick of being single on the holidays, two strangers agree to be each other’s platonic plus ones to holidays, only to catch real feelings along the way.
I would like to start this by saying that picking which movie would be number one and which would be number two was incredibly difficult. I enjoyed both of them and the only justifiable reason I had to put Our Little Secret above this one was because that one was a little more Christmas-themed. As I was searching for my fifth and final Christmas movie, one of my friends said to me, “Oh my gosh, you have to watch The Holidate!” Skeptical, I watched the trailer and thought about it. Study hall came around and it was time to get to work. I started it and I. could. not. put. my. phone. down. If you ask me, “What was so special about it?” I would laugh because I am not even sure. It was incredibly entertaining and so stupidly funny. I would be watching it in a silent classroom and I would have to pause it to hold in my laughter. It wasn’t even laugh-out-loud, Will Ferrell kind of funny, it was just stupid rom-com giggly and you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I loved Jackson’s Australian accent, I loved the fact that they knew each other for a whole year, rather than two weeks like some of the other ones I watched, and I loved the aunt. Again, is this an award-winning movie? Not by a long shot. Did it give me something to enjoy and laugh about on a chilly Monday morning? Heck yes, it did.
- Our Little Secret
*Watched second*
Summary: Avery and Logan were best friends. And then they fell in love. And after a botched proposal, they never saw each other again. That was 10 years ago. Present day, both have partners with whose families they intend to spend Christmas with. They arrive at their respective Christmas parties, only to realize…….their partners are siblings. And yes, they are at the same party. Awkward.
YAY NUMBER ONE!!!! Wow. This was shockingly good for a Netflix movie. It was hilarious and THANK YOU Savannah Hoculock for forcing me to watch it!! I was immediately hooked by the drawings in the beginning. They were so cool and creative and I felt like I was in the movie theater rather than at school watching Netflix in Ms. T’s room. The pacing of the plot was the perfect speed. I think that’s what makes corny Christmas movies so great; they don’t have the time or budget to waste with all the boring, unnecessary build-up, instead, they just get straight to it. I loved how funny Avery and Logan’s tense, argumentative relationship was. Lindsay Lohan and Ian Harding ate up their roles and there isn’t much else I can say about it. It rommed the holiday com and commed the holiday rom like nobody’s business. I do have to say, however, that seeing Lindsay Lohan so much older is so weird. The Parent Trap was THE movie of my childhood. My sisters and I had such a bizarre obsession with it and I just can’t believe that she isn’t like 12 years old anymore. On a similar note, Kristin Chenoweth (who plays the mother of Avery and Logan’s significant others) also played Maleficent in Descendants and I just could NOT unhear Maleficent’s voice. Although I guess it’s lowkey fitting because I was not a fan of the mother, she was basically the evil mother-in-law. I was perturbed when one of my friends came up to me and said “What was that movie that you liked? Our Little Secret? Yeah, I watched some of it and it was bad. I didn’t like it.” And you know what, nobody is perfect, and having that opinion surely isn’t. But who knows? Maybe you’ll be like me and think it was highly enjoyable and perfect for the holiday season. Or maybe you’ll agree with Lily Crowley and you won’t like it. There is only one way to find out. Our Little Secret is perfect for holiday rom-com lovers and all those who need a little bit of holiday cheer and a good laugh.
