Director: Mary Lambert
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Cast: Heather Graham, Brandy Norwood, Jason Biggs as Rob Sanders, Matt Cedeño, Wyatt Hunt, Madison Skye Validum, Abby Villasmil
Duration: 81 minutes
Now streaming on Netflix
It is officially Christmas movie season! While we have made fun of Hallmark movies and their usual Christmas plotlines, they remain a good way to get cheap feel-good escapism. Best. Christmas. Ever! does not fall in the Hallmark-esque category though. Netflix gives it a maturity rating of 10 years and above but I would give it at least 15 years.
In the movie, Charlotte (Graham) and Rob (Biggs) receive the latest newsletter from their friend, Jackie (Brandy Norwood). The newsletter does not amuse Charlotte because it is giving show-off and too-perfect-to-believe. She expresses her displeasure and a desire to verify Jackie’s stories. Their son, Grant (Hunt) misunderstands her and the family ends up at Jackie’s house. There, we meet Jackie’s picture-perfect family. Her hot husband, Valentino (Cedeño) and brilliant children. Thanks to a snowstorm, Charlotte’s family gets stuck at Jackie’s and the friends are forced to confront their thoughts and feelings.
The first half of the movie is all over the place. It cannot seem to decide if it is going for comedy or heartfelt family moments. We can see what the writers were trying to achieve but the scenes just do not fit together as seamlessly. If you hang in there and get to the second half, you will get to see the better part. It is more nuanced and gets to the heart of what we have come to associate with Christmas movies – family and thanksgiving.
The movie is a bit of a letdown because of the cast and writers. Seeing the names attached to these roles raised high expectations. It may not be the best Christmas movie ever, but it is also not the worst.
–Grace Kenganzi
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