Christmas and Netflix is a relationship so utterly festive, the producers are laughing themselves to the bank as single people around the world cry heavy tears through some of the most cliched festive film-making in the industry’s history. The stories are so similar that one could watch the first half of one and the second half of another and not notice the difference. And we all end up watching them to feed that fairytale hungry heart inside us. Festivities can be lonely and Netflix seems to have found the most lucrative balm. We typed in ‘Christmas’ in the search box and watched our screen erupt in shades of red and white with original movies and shows that are everything but original! It almost feels like with each passing year, the number of movies are increasing in geometric progression. We loved shame-watching them and here we bring you a list of those movies so you can take your next movie-watching session alone curled up in bed, in a wiser direction.
Watch The Holidate for the charm and the sad attempt at ingenuity of plot Sourced by the correspondent
1. Holidate (2020)
6.1 on IMDB
Emma Roberts, a supremely hot Luke Bracey and his even superior Australian accent make up this Christmas special that Netflix dropped this year. Watch it for the charm and the sad attempt at ingenuity of plot as the protagonists Sloane and Jackson find their way to love. Sloan is a recently dumped single woman whose family members seem to all happily be with a plus-one, making her painfully aware of her singledom. A relentless mother hounds her with numbers and details of single men who might be suitable for her. Jackson is a professional golfer who is traumatised by his encounter with his girlfriend’s family on Christmas, after two months of dating! The stress of the holidays get to the two as their paths collide at a mall in Evanston. Thus begins the journey of being each others ‘holidates’ — a date for the holidays without the pressure of a relationship. What begins as a fairly innocent friendship limited to the holiday seasons slowly begins to get complicated. What possibly could go wrong with two adults spending every festival together, drinking and making merry with their families? You might have to watch the movie to find out (sarcasm intended).
Why Watch It: The crackling chemistry between Luke Bracey and every object he interacts with in the movie and a few laughs at Roberts’ acute moments of embarrassment.
Holiday in the Wild: There is a love story unfolding within the foliage and that too during the festive time of Christmas Sourced by the correspondent
2. Holiday in the Wild (2019)
6.1 on IMDB
Since her days with Sex and the City, Kristin Davis has mourned the loss of one relationship after the other and she continues to do so in this holiday special, Holiday in the Wild. Davis plays Kate, a rich wife of New York whose son leaves for college and as she springs a second honeymoon plan on her husband, she finds out that he wants to leave her. Kate embarks on her honeymoon alone to Zambia only to encounter Derek (Rob Lowe). For Parks and Recreation fans, taking Lowe seriously might take little bit of time, you have been warned! The trip to Zambia changes course as Kate finds herself immersed in voluntary work at an elephant orphanage. Her increasing closeness with Derek as her husband couriers her divorce papers to Africa, makes for a great setting for this romantic Christmas film. As Kate keeps extending her trip indefinitely, she starts to fall more in love with the place and her work, and not just a bare-bodied Derek!
Why Watch It: The scenic tour of Africa, through the deserts and wildlife of Zambian forests is a surreal treat for the eyes. That there is a love story unfolding within the foliage and that too during the festive time of Christmas, is only an added advantage. Plus Kristin Davis is always a joy to watch!
A still from Christmas Inheritance Sourced by the correspondent
3. Christmas Inheritance (2017)
5.7 on IMDB
The Langfords are rich and they have strange Christmas traditions and understanding of what responsibility really is. So when crazy heiress Ellen Langford creates a scene at a social event, her father thinks it is time for her to prove herself before occupying the seat of CEO at the company. The task in hand? Delivering a handwritten letter to his ex-business partner uncle Zeke, to the town of Snow Falls with only 100 dollars on her. Needless to say there are snowstorms to combat, friendly townsfolk to deal with and a kind boy from town to spend time with — Jake (Jake Lacy). While the spoilt heiress struggles, we too struggled with the storyline which amounted to nothing really. But Ellen had a charming presence and the townsfolk has Andie MacDowall and we thought that was reason enough to indulge in this film.
Why Watch It: There isn’t any CEO-worthy business lesson to be learnt here, watching an heiress learn the gift of compassion and loyalty, but it’s cute and funny and makes for a great one-time watch. But that’s it, just once.
A Christmas Prince was so popular in 2017 that Netflix couldn’t bear to stop making it and gifted us two more of the same franchise Sourced by the correspondent
4. A Christmas Prince (2017)
5.8 on IMDB
A snooping journalist — check! A brooding prince — check! Rags to riches — check! A Christmas Prince was so popular in 2017 that Netflix couldn’t bear to stop making it and gifted us two more of the same franchise since, each progressively worse than the one before. However, this film definitely makes it to our list of guilty pleasures. Rose McIver plays Amber, a humble journalist who is being sent to Aldovia, a land of snow and Yuletide joy to snoop on the prince of Aldovia Richard (Ben Lamb). What are the odds that he happens to be on the lookout for a wife? Amber warms up to the prince’s young sister and makes herself at home, fighting the rumours about the prince’s character that seems to be rampantly found in the media. The girl-to-princess story definitely has our heart!
Why Watch It: The perfect movie to validate you looking over your shoulders hoping to run into your prince charming. If it can happen on a Netflix social, it can and will happen to you! Also, watch it for Lamb’s deep blue eyes, just them.
Operation Christmas Drop: A US air force operation from the 50s is loosely adapted into this romantic Christmas special film Sourced by the correspondent
5. Operation Christmas Drop (2020)
5.8 on IMDB
A US air force operation from the 50s is loosely adapted into this romantic Christmas special film starring Kat Graham and Alexander Ludwig. US military equipment is used to drop Christmas presents to over 30000 people living in small islands and Erica is a bureaucrat sent on a mission to investigate the efficacy of this humanitarian programme that is led by military man Andrew. Erica and Andrew have different beliefs but cliches after cliches eventually bring them together on a remote picturesque island of Micronesia where humanitarian efforts are underway to make Christmas special. Expect to find scenes where the heroine is asked to dance with abandon only to reveal herself as the worst dancer on the planet much to the shock of everyone around at the party. Each scene might feel like something having witnessed before in some other film. There is hardly any chemistry between the lead pairs but if a happy ending in a film is what you are looking for, you might not want to give this one a miss.
Why Watch It: The scenery compensates for the plot lines or the lack thereof.
A still from The Knight Before Christmas Sourced by the correspondent
6. The Knight Before Christmas (2019)
5.5 on IMDB
Brooke (Vanessa Hudgens) is a hopeless romantic looking for her knight in shining armour till she is actually handed a knight in shining armour. Literally! Her car crashes into a knight, Cole (Josh Whitehouse) who appears out of nowhere, claiming to be from the 14th century, out to fulfil his true destiny. What is considered amnesia and loss of cohesive thinking by the hospital is interpreted as a cry for help for Brooke. As she takes him under her wings, giving him clothes and a place to say, their separate destinies divided by time and space, slowly starts colliding. There is chivalry and technology being misinterpreted as witchcraft, leaving scope for bleak humour, unfulfilled.
Why Watch It: The knight in question is an English man from the 14th century. The accent and the language had us going till we realised we had sat through the entire film!
The modern day Parent Trap finds resonance in this Christmas movie Sourced by the correspondent
7. The Princess Switch (2018)
6.0 on IMDB
The modern day Parent Trap found resonance in this Christmas movie starring Vanessa Hudgens as Stacy and the princess of Belgravia Margaret. Baker Stacy runs a boutique bakery with her lifelong friend Kevin (Nick Sagar) and his daughter Olivia. On a quest to win a bakery contest in Belgravia, she crosses path with her lookalike, the princess who wants to live life as a commoner for just two days. The two switch places and as they say, the rest is history. The two increasingly start getting closer to the two men in each other’s lives while pretending to be each other. While Stacy is drawn to prince Edward (Sam Palladio), Margaret finds herself sharing moments of joy with Kevin, with little Olivia in on the secret.
Why Watch It: While Sagar makes for an almost edible protagonist who is kind and supportive, Hudgens does a great job in both the roles. Watch it for a few chuckles and a cute ending.
Let It Snow has a bunch of teenagers struggling and discovering romance in its various forms in a small town Sourced by the correspondent
8. Let It Snow (2019)
5.8 on IMDB
Another feeble YA reincarnation of Love Actually, Let It Snow has a bunch of teenagers struggling and discovering romance in its various forms in a small town on Christmas Eve. Adapted from the eponymous novel by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle, the story is a bildungsroman in a snowstorm, all building up to a great party at the local tavern. There is a popstar of great repute, there is a girl fighting between an ailing mother and a college scholarship, there are rude best friends and new discovery of love spread between multiple high schoolers. With conflicts and sadness and the poignancy of first love, we definitely believe this is one of the finest films to watch from this guilty list!
Why Watch It: The stellar cast who hold together the film which doesn’t have much to be written about. The cast includes Kiernan Shipka, Isabela Moner, Matthew Noszka, Liv Hewson, Odeya Rush, Shameik Bale to name a few! The YA royalty seems to have descended upon this film that is definitely worth your time.
Kat Graham stars in this 2018 film which contains a little bit of magic Sourced by the correspondent
9. The Holiday Calendar (2018)
5.7 on IMDB
Kat Graham stars in this 2018 film which contains a little bit of magic that is only fair in Yuletide joy and the assurance that your prince charming is almost always your best friend. Josh Barton (Quincy Brown) and Abby Sutton (Graham) are photographers and best friends when one Christmas, she receives an Advent calendar from her grandfather. The calendar seems to be giving her an object every day that turns her luck around. She soon meets Ty Walker (Ethan Peck) a doctor whose sole purpose in Abby’s life is to induce jealousy in Josh. Two perfect men and a common person of affection, recipe for a perfect Christmas movie.
Why Watch It: Two men fighting it out subtly with their charm and good looks, need we say more?
