The current cinema year has already offered me a few highlights, and shortly before the end of the year there are a few more films in the starting blocks that I am especially looking forward to – including the completely crazy-looking “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” prequel “Wonka” and Sofia Coppola’s indie biopic “Priscilla.” In addition to great films, unconventional films, important films, visually stunning films, eloquent films, highly interpretive films and films that made me think for a long time, But sometimes I also long for the opposite: movies where you switch off your brain, let yourself be entertained and just have fun.
For me, Christmas movies belong in this category Netflix, which the streaming service in the style of the American cable channel Hallmark has been producing or purchasing in abundance for several years, and which is flushed into all our Netflix feeds every year from the beginning of November.
My weakness for Netflix’s Christmas rom-coms probably stems from my great love for films like ‘Love doesn’t need a vacation” And “Actually… love”, which I have watched every Christmas since I was a child and which, despite all their clichés and sometimes problematic storylines, are somehow still one of my nostalgic favorite films to this day. Of course, the new Netflix rom-coms don’t quite reach this level, but they still give me a hint of this feeling and help me get in the mood for the Christmas season every year.
And so this year I’m really looking forward to spending many cold, probably rainy and hopefully snowy Sunday afternoons watching the 158th version of the story with a cup of mulled wine under a cozy blanket, as a woman in her late twenties returns to her hometown for Christmas, sees her childhood sweetheart again out of nowhere and therefore questions her entire life. Or the 236th story of a woman in her early thirties who quits her stressful job in the city to inherit an old bed and breakfast in the countryside, where she then falls in love with the silent farm worker – and then get angry about exactly this nonsense with a good dose of self-irony. In the wise words of Taylor Swift, “Tis the damn season.”
Dive into the Christmas period with lots of kitsch
Like many others, I was first really impressed by Christmas trash in 2017 and 2018, when Netflix released the first really great gems that can now almost be considered classics of the genre. We are of course talking about “A Christmas prince”, which would be followed by two sequels in the following years. Admittedly, after part 2 – “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding” – I couldn’t take it anymore and didn’t go for part 3 at all…
But it is these two films that opened the door for me to the Netflix Christmas movie universe, behind which films like ‘A Castle For Christmas’, ‘The Christmas Card’, ‘Holidate’ or ‘Angel Falls Christmas’ were waiting for me ( or In some cases they actually seemed more like “lurking”, because I didn’t find some of them terribly beautiful, just awful and terrible).
But among these films I also have a lot of favorites that I really enjoy (especially because they are sometimes so stupid) and that I would like to introduce to you in more detail before Netflix provides us with fresh material again this year.
My tips for Christmas films and series on Netflix
“Princess Change” is the first film in the lookalike trilogy with “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens, who takes on the roles of both Duchess Margaret and Chicago bourgeois Stacy. When the two different women meet, they immediately notice that they look like this They look very similar, and they exchange lives for a few weeks. Stacy falls in love with Margaret’s blue-blooded fiancé – and Margaret falls in love with Stacy’s best friend…
The surprising success of this stereotypical comedy was followed by two sequels that took us deeper into the world of Stacy and Margaret in part 3 even with another duplicate of Vanessa Hudgens waited. The final sequel in particular is like a car crash that makes you wonder why you’re watching it – but somehow you can’t look away.
Better than the ‘Princess Swap’ sequels “The Knight Before Christmas”which also stars Vanessa Hudgens. This time a knight from the Middle Ages washes her up at the Christmas market, which she records at home and introduces into the contemporary world. While knight Cole (Josh Whitehouse) actually wants to return to his past, one thing gets in the way: love. There is again a lot of kitsch in it, but if you are snacking, the film brings a nice Christmas feeling.
Besides Vanessa Hudgens, there’s probably one more actress who will be crowned queen of Netflix’s Christmas trash – and that’s Cat Graham. The ‘Vampire Diaries’ actress joined in “The holiday calendar” In 2018 it found its way into our Christmas hearts and followed in 2020 “Operation Kerstdrop” in a second comedy. Of these, I would especially like to recommend ‘The Holiday Calendar’, in which Graham, as a photographer, receives an antique Advent calendar from her grandfather, which seems to predict the future. Lots of Christmas magic and a cute love story await you here. Now I’m actually just waiting for the Kat Graham-Vanessa Hudgens Chistmas crossover – maybe in a love triangle… or as a couple? That would even be somewhat original…
Of “Single” In 2021, the queer community’s prayers were at least partially answered, as Netflix finally delivered its first Christmas movie with a gay couple at its center. Perennially single Peter (Michael Urie) brings his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to his family for Christmas because he’s tired of being pestered with annoying questions about his relationship status. The two start to wonder if they might not be more than friends after all… A special highlight here is the guest appearance of the star “The White Lotus”. Jennifer Coolidgewhich provides some extra laughs.
For the series fans among you, I also have two special Christmas recommendations on Netflix. On the one hand the coming of age series “Dash & Lily”, which was adapted into an eight-part feel-good series for the streaming service in 2020, based on the bestseller of the same name. In it, cynical Dash and Christmas-loving Lily begin an unlikely pen pal relationship over a bookstore notebook. Featuring ‘Euphoria’ star Austin Abrams and ‘Good Boys’ actress Midori Francis, the series exudes a lot of youthful lightness for the run-up to Christmas.
This is another highlight of the series in Christmas heaven for me the Norwegian series “Christmas at home”in which 30-year-old Johanne (Ida Elise Broch) embarks on dating life in early December in order to introduce her family to a boyfriend at Christmas after years. Johannes’ friendly dating escapades are now spread over 12 episodes in 2 seasons and contain a lot of dry Scandinavian humor.
A few newer Netflix movies include ‘Love Hard’ with Nina Dobrev and the worst ‘Die Hard’ (or ‘Die Hard’) pun I’ve ever heard, as well as 2022’s ‘Falling For Christmas’ with Lindsay Lohan and ‘ Glee’ star Chord Overstreet, where it was finally about a remote bed and breakfast again.
By the way, this year I’m looking forward to “Best. Christmas. Ever!‘ by ‘A Castle For Christmas’ director Mary Lambert, in which two old college friends try to outdo each other at Christmas. Starring Jason Biggs, Brandy Norwood and Heather Graham, and the film has been on Netflix since November 16. That sounds absolutely wonderful and almost calls for me to sit on the couch again as soon as possible with mulled wine and a blanket and be showered with Advent…