The holiday season is one full of love, giving, family…. and horribly cheesy rom-coms. Cold weather just makes you curl up in a blanket with some hot chocolate and put on a good movie, but sometimes picking one is really hard! That’s why I’m here to give you my real thoughts on some of the best and worst picks of the season.
Starting off strong, we have Falling for Christmas, a story set deep in the snow. The plot is basically that of Overboard, in that a young and spoiled rich girl (Lindsay Lohan) hits her head, resulting in amnesia. Of course, a single, small town dad finds her and takes her into their cozy little bed and breakfast while she recovers and tries to remember who she is. Like I said earlier, I’m going to be honest—the acting was not the best. However, there were some moments where my family and I laughed out loud. If you liked the character of David from Schitt’s Creek, then there will be some similar humor for you. While there were some cringe moments, it added to the overall humor of the movie.
Next up is Best. Christmas. Ever., a new movie just released a few weeks ago. It should be renamed “Worst. Christmas Movie. Ever.” because it was just that bad. To be fair, there were some unexpected plot points that I didn’t see coming, but none were anything groundbreaking. I love the bad Christmas movies totally, but this was just the worst of the worst. From the acting to the random singing to the costume design that made some of the adult characters look like a child playing in their mother’s jewelry, nothing was good about it. I think you’ll be fine if you skip this one!
To lighten up the mood, let me introduce Elf, although I’m sure you’ve heard of it before. If you haven’t, however, the story follows a man who was raised by elves at the North Pole, on his journey to find his birth (human) father in New York City. This movie is a family classic that makes people of all ages laugh out loud. It came out 20 years ago, but unlike other “old” movies, it has remained a classic through the time.
The Princess Switch has to be one of my all time favorites. This is a trilogy about a young woman and her platonic male best friend (who’s also a single dad) that own a bakery together. The two get chosen to go to Belgravia for a competition, and in the bathroom, the young woman meets the arranged and engaged princess, who looks exactly like her! The two of course switch places and fall in love with the men, and it creates the problem of switching back and forth. These movies are so cute and sweet, and yes, a little cheesy (but in the good way).
Love Actually is a holiday gem that follows separate individuals on their path to romance. Each story is slightly connected to another, creating a loose connection between them, while also maintaining their separate story lines. In my opinion, one of the main reasons this movie is so good is because it’s not all “happily ever after”, and it shows real-style relationships and struggles.
A California Christmas was filmed largely in Petaluma. It follows a young man from the city, who starts working on a farm with a girl. He has to learn how to do things the rough way, of course while also falling in love with the country girl he’s working for. This is one of those movies where it’s so incredibly cheesy it’s also… good? For a person who loves the cheese, I enjoyed watching it and laughing at the stupidity of some parts, but if you’re one who gets annoyed easily at this, then maybe put this movie on your skip list.
Although these are just a few, the list for the movies in total is infinite. Regardless of what genre is your favorite, I’m sure there is some type of holiday film for you.
