I am always on the look out for Christmas movies, and have even been known to take in one of the cheesy offering on Christmas 24 this time of year. So, I thought I would see what new options Netflix is giving us.
The obvious place to start was with The Christmas Chronicles Part Two. The original was a big hit last year so a sequel was inevitable. Kurt Russell returns as Santa with Goldie Hawn’s cameo last time is expanded into a more significant role. Darby Camp also returns as Katie and she again teams up with Santa, this time to thwart an attempt to permanently cancel Christmas. I was not a big fan of The Christmas Chronicles. It had a pleasing 80s throwback feel and some amusing in jokes, but felt very derivative. The sequel is much worse however. It lacks any coherence, has few funny moments, a terrible song and dance scene and one of the worst villains in recent memory.
It is, though, much better than Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. An eccentric toymaker (Forest Whitaker) has an invention stolen and it is up to his grand daughter to save the day. It totally lacks wit, the songs are formulaic and the whole thing is headache enducing. For very young, very undiscerning kids only.
Holidate uses a well worn plotline – two single people agree to be each other’s date for a year of holiday festivities – and therefore, is only partly about Christmas. This was done much better by the funnier and sharper Plus One earlier this year and leading man, Luke Bracey was pretty charmless. Having said that, Emma Roberts and Kristen Chenoweth add a touch of class, and make the film watchable.
That’s more than can be said about A New York Christmas Wedding. This lacklustre take on It’s a Wonderful Life features a woman who is about to get married on Christmas Eve. Her doubts are amplified when she meets an angel who shows her what her life would have been like if she stayed with her ex-girlfriend. It feels like writer/director Otoja Abit was so pleased with himself for getting a mainstream Christmas film made about a bisexual character that he did not bother to write any relatable characters or engaging situations.
Another film using a familiar plotline is Midnight at the Magnolia. Two hosts of a radio show fake being in a relationship to try to further their careers but start to have real feelings for each other. There are no surprises as the movie unfolds exactly as you would expect but the performances are fine and it moves along breezily enough.
Finally for Netflix is Operation Christmas Drop. An ambitious congressional aide (Kat Graham) is sent to an air force base in Guam just before Christmas. She is charged with looking into closing the base down but things get complicated when she falls for Andrew (Alexander Ludwig), a Captain at the site. The setting is not exactly Christmassy and the ending is both completely expected and utterly implausible. However, the chemistry between the two leads is great and there are some nice twists to a familiar story.
For my final one in this batch, I switched over to Amazon Prime for easily the best of the bunch. My Dad’s Christmas Date stars Jeremy Piven as David, a single Dad to a 16 year old girl, Jules (Olivia-Mai Barrett). They live together in Yorkshire. Since his wife’s death, he has withdrawn into himself so Jules creates an on line dating profile for him without his knowledge. That sounds like a fairly bland synopsis to a knockabout comedy, and with some other obvious faults – the overly touristy view of York and a terrible accent from Joely Richardson in a prominent supporting role – I might have found the film so so at best, However, the main focus is on the relationship between father and daughter, and that is really well observed by writers Brian Marchetti, Jack Marchetti and Toby Torlesse. Also Piven, as expected, and Barrett are really impressive in this surprisingly effective and touching movie.
Christmas Chronicles Part Two: 5 out of 10
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey: 3 out of 10
Holidate: 6 out of 10
A New York Christmas Wedding: 3.5 out of 10
Midnight at the Magnolia: 5.5 out of 10
Operation Christmas Drop: 6.5 out of 10
My Dad’s Christmas Date: 7.5 out of 10