Falling for Christmas Review: A Lukewarm Return for Lindsay Lohan on Netflix
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, George Young, Jack Wagner, Olivia Perez
Director: Janeen Damian
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
As we will see in our review of Falling for Christmas, this Christmas film follows all the clichés of the genre too faithfully, without going too far and without giving even the smallest twist. On the other hand, we find a great deal of holiday magic, good feelings and redemption. Some people are ready to celebrate Christmas from the first day of November. If you are one of these people, we are happy to inform you that Netflix has made available a romantic Christmas comedy. Yes, we know it’s November 10th. Nothing we can do about it. It’s called Falling for Christmas, is directed by Jeneen Damian in her directorial debut and is written by Jeff Bonnett and Ron Oliver.
There is still a month and a half until Christmas but Netflix, ahead of the schedule like every year, has already made its audience find the first gift under the tree, or rather, within its catalogue: the return of a long-awaited Lindsay Lohan. The actress, a symbolic face of the early 2000s, returns with a romantic Christmas comedy entitled Falling for Christmas, after an absence from the scene that lasted almost ten years, due to addiction and legal problems. While the film directed by Janeen Damian (in her directorial debut) is not exactly a restart with a bang for Lohan, we all hope that it represents only the starting point for the resumption of her career.
Falling for Christmas Review: The Story
Sierra Belmont (Lindsay Lohan) is a wealthy heiress about to spend the Christmas holidays at one of the luxury resorts of her father Beauregard Belmont (Jack Wagner), a hotel magnate. Her father would like a career in the industry for her daughter as vice president of Atmosphere, but Sierra dreams of a different future for herself: the girl wants to leave her mark on the world, with a career on social networks. In this, her boyfriend and top influencer Ted (George Young) comes to her aid and joins Sierra in the mountains to help her do a photo shoot in the snow. However, the two have an accident with the snowmobile in a dangerous off-track: in particular, Sierra loses his balance, slides down the mountain and bangs his head against a tree. Rescued by Jake (Chord Overstreet) – the owner of a small resort in disgrace, widower and father of a child – the girl wakes up in the hospital, without remembering anything about her identity and her life. Jake then decides to temporarily host her in her North Star Lodge, learning about a side of the girl hitherto unknown to most. The magic of Christmas will do everything else.
Falling for Christmas Review and Analysis
As you can guess from the beginning of the film, the goal of Falling for Christmas is to enhance the value of simplicity, which knows how to restore the meaning of gestures, places and things in general. This concept is embodied in the stark contrast between the Belmont luxury resort, a first-rate ski resort, and Jake’s more modest, family-run North Star Lodge. To further reinforce the idea, Jake himself says: “People like new resorts and flashy things but I believe there is something special about simple things like home-cooked meals, hot chocolate in front of the fireplace”. It is a pity that this “critique” of privilege and consumerism that it seems to boast about is very much in form and very little in substance; despite some declarations of intent here and there the film seems to want to focus more on the atmosphere of Christmas and the magical snow-covered scenarios. Even Jake’s much-professed financial woes seem a bit of an exaggeration given the opulence of food, decor and furnishings in his lodge; and in any case, nothing compared to the financial situation of most people in the world.
Falling for Christmas keeps exactly what its title promises: a love story that needs the magic of Christmas to take shape. The film directed by Janeen Damian brings to the screen all the ingredients that the viewer expects to find in a Christmas comedy, without skimping on any of these. We have good feelings in abundance, a sudden process of change on the part of the protagonist, a widowed father with financial problems – who always manages to keep his good heart – and the inevitable Christmas miracle, performed by a little girl making a wish. All this is seasoned with an overabundance of lights, snow, red and green. Nothing unexpected happens during the narration: the plot follows a linear and predictable thread, totally free of jolts and twists. All features make this film the perfect vision for those who, without big pretensions, want to get their fill of the Christmas spirit.
Let’s face it: after such a long absence, many of us were eagerly awaiting Lindsay Lohan’s return to the screen. If only to take a nostalgic blast from the past, when the American actress played the role of the undisputed protagonist of romantic comedies. The reappearance of her in the scene of her does not disappoint and does not surprise: Lohan seems exactly where we left her, terribly comfortable with her role that is a photocopy of many others but that fits her perfectly. On the other hand, her character almost shines when compared to the rest of the cast, particularly flat and banal even for such a film. That of the actress is, therefore, a long-awaited as well as lukewarm return of her, which she still manages to warm the hearts of fans who have never forgotten her and who hope for a revival of her career.
Falling for Christmas Review: The Last Words
A long-awaited and warm return for Lindsay Lohan, the protagonist of this Christmas film that too faithfully follows all the clichés of the genre, without overreaching too much and without ever giving even the smallest twist. Falling for Christmas is however the perfect vision for those who, without big pretensions, want to get their fill of Christmas spirit and good feelings.
