After an hour and so, you feel disappointed at them and sorry for them
Updated On – 11:45 PM, Fri – 17 November 23
The holiday season is about to start, and Netflix is being generous. The Over-The-Top platform has given its viewers something to look forward to in Best. Christmas. Ever!
Boasting of versatile actors, director Mary Lambert tries to give viewers a taste of Christmas miracles and how differences must be set aside.
The plot is very simple. We have the Sanders – Charlotte (Heather Graham) and Rob (Jason Biggs) and their children Grant (Wyatt Hunt) and Dora (Abby Villasmil). Charlotte is jealous of her friend Jackie Jennings (Brandy Norwood) and her husband Valentino (Matt Cedeño).
Charlotte receives the customary Christmas letter from Jackie and wishes to visit her unannounced and see through Jackie’s “lies”. The Sanders are on their way to visit Charlotte’s sister when Grant plays Columbus and changes the address in the GPS. They arrive at Jackie’s house and are awed by the reception they receive.
Charlotte tries her best to prove that Jackie’s perfect life is a facade. What follows is a bit of misadventure and a journey to introspect.
The main aspect in favour of the film is the run-time of 81 minutes. Luckily, not much time is spent on introducing the characters. Most plots don’t make sense. For example, the Sanders spend a whole day driving without realising they are heading to the wrong place and the scene where Grant goes missing questions the intellect of the viewers.
Even by standards of a Christmas film, this is a bit farfetched. The plot is predictable to a fault and is wafer thin. You have the usual mix of love, accepting what you have, jealousy and the likes thrown at you.
Heather Graham as the bitter Charlotte is very good in the emotive scenes especially during her monologue at the beginning where some women must sacrifice their dreams and live a mediocre life. Tragically, she misses the bull’s-eye by a mile when she must emote the jealous friend sequences. Brandy Norwood is too artificial but showcases her prowess in the emotive sequences. Both Jason Biggs and Matt Cedeño have nothing much to do.
It is nice to see that Jason Biggs has still got his comic timing in place. The saving grace of the film comes from unexpected quarters in the form of Madison Skye Validum as Beatrix, Jackie’s daughter. She delivers her part to perfection in the limited screentime she is given.
The film revolves mostly around the envious Charlotte and happy Jackie. Unfortunately, both Heather and Brandy fail to live up to the expectations. After an hour and so, you feel disappointed at them and sorry for them.
This is definitely not the best Christmas ever!
