A couple weeks ago I saw that Netflix was beginning to advertise their holiday movies and my tummy gave a little tickle! I love this time of year and you all know how much I LOVE the cheesy holiday rom-coms! I text the co-creator of this blog and we decided it was time to resurrect My Two Biddies. I have already had people asking for my recommendations this year so here we go- the first official holiday review of the 2018 season!
Holiday Calendar begins with our main character, Abby working in a cheap photo studio. It doesn't seem like the worst job ever but her parents are constantly pressuring her to join their law firm where she will inevitably suffocate from lack of creative outlet. As a surprise, Abby's best friend Josh turns up in the photo studio fresh off 18 months of travelling around the world writing a travel blog. They are 'strictly friends' but we all know things aren't going to stay that way.
At her family's Christmas decorating party Abby's grandpa gives her a giant wooden advent calendar and you just know that thing has some sort of holiday magic that is going to change everything about her life. If there is one thing I know about holiday movies it's that no gift from a stranger/grandparent/homeless person is ever what it seems.
On the first day of December the advent calendar pops out a boot. Random, yes but just a mere few hours later Josh gifts Abby with a pair of boots he bought her in Italy. Let's not think about how long he must have been carrying a pair of boots around the world. He obviously has some feelings for her that go above and beyond 'just good friends'.
The next day the advent calendar pops out a Christmas tree. One her way home from work a car passes Abby and an ill-tied-down Christmas tree comes flying off the roof. She slams on her breaks and the other driver stops. Out steps the hunkiest guy you've ever seen and the flirting game gets out of control. At this point I have a feeling every day the advent calendar is going to push her in the direction of another hunky model. Not that I would be complaining about that.
Over the next few days more and more mysterious toys pop out of the advent calendar, Abby spends more and more cozy time with Josh (whom she remains indifferent to while he obviously falls for her), and continually runs into hunky tree man Ty (who happens to also be a hunky doctor!) I have to say, this is one solid love triangle. Usually there is at least one point of the triangle that is obviously a terrible person but I found myself no knowing who to root for until we were pretty deep into the movie. I don't want to spoil anything so you will have to watch and see who the advent calendar ultimately shows Abby she should end up with.
Something I found refreshing and a little surprising about this movie is how ethnically diverse it is. Typically these types of movies are whiter than snow drifts. Holiday Calendar however, features a multi-racial lead and a whole cast of supporting actors from African American, Latino and Indian backgrounds. Good on Netflix for making something more diverse than we usually see!
Overall, I would say what this movie lacked was any real pizzazz. For a while there it seemed like the love triangle collapse would have to be pretty dramatic but it just sort of quietly fell apart. There was no real moment of excitement or surprise and I have to say, the two characters that ended up together really lacked chemistry. Now, I know that this could be said of almost every movie in the genre but this one had such potential and I think it let itself down. On a scale of one to ten I would give it a 5.5.
What new movies are you excited to watch this year? Which ones are your old standards that you never miss during the holiday season?
Comments
Post a Comment