Not Your Average Nutcracker: Oh.What.Fun. is a masterclass in Holiday Realism
This year’s Christmas contribution from Prime offers emotional, unfiltered, unwrapped insight into the unseen labour of mums during the holiday season. Texas housewife extraordinaire, Claire Clauster (Michelle Pfieffer) plans a special Christmas for her family, as she does every year, but she finds herself alone, completely abandoned and forgotten by her family. When her husband Nick (Denis Leary) and the rest of her children and grandchildren finally realise she’s gone, she’s already half way to California chasing her own holiday adventure. All Claire wants for Christmas is for her family to nominate her for the Best Holiday Mom contest which includes an all-expense paid trip to Burbank, California to meet her idol, talk-show host Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria).
Her hints fall on deaf ears leaving Claire feeling underappreciated and disappointed. A series of disastrous events leave Claire spiraling through the pre-Christmas family fixtures and when her family leave without her for a holiday dance show, she breaks. She jumps in the car and drives away on Christmas Eve! Her journey cross country is reminiscent of Planes, Trains & Automobiles, complete with quirky characters and unfortunate complications adding to her frustration. The relief and joy she feels when she finally reaches the set of the Zazzy Show is truly uplifting — meanwhile, the Clauster family falls into complete disarray. The siblings squabble as they attempt to make their mum’s traditional feast and tension builds as Nick completely unravels at the table before the family visit the neighbours on Christmas morning and spot their mum on the Zazzy Show prompting them to travel to California to rescue her.
As a mum, this movie is a difficult one to watch. It is a “Feel Seen” rather than “Feel Good” film. The rage and disappointment that Claire feels is totally and completely relatable! We all know what it’s like to work your socks off to make the holiday special for your family, only to be rewarded with empty stockings or thoughtless gifts bought in a panic the night before. Eva Longoria’s monologue about the resentment that comes with being taken for granted during the holidays is brutally honest and validating. All in all, this film is outrageously good! It is emotional, brilliantly scripted, beautifully acted and shows us that it’s ok to not feel jolly during the holidays.
Our mums gave this film a very passionate 4 ½ Prosecco Glasses!
My Secret Santa: Netflix Served Us Complicated Feelings & Serious Mrs. Doubtfire Vibes in This Clumsy Christmas Tale
This Romantic Christmas Comedy tells the story of Taylor (Alexandra Breckenridge), a single mother who loses her job at a cookie factory on Christmas Eve, and her attempt to secure a highly lucrative job playing Santa Claus, at a luxurious local ski resort in an attempt to pay for her daughter’s expensive snowboarding camp. Rather than applying honestly, as a woman, she chooses to disguise herself as an elderly man, using prosthetics supplied by her brother and his partner. Along the way, she meets and falls for the sexy bad boy turned novice hotel manager Matthew (Ryan Eggold) and must juggle her dual identities. All the while, Natasha Burton (Tia Mowry), the ambitious Vice President of Marketing at the Sun Peaks Ski Resort, competes with Matthew, the resort owner’s son, for the General Manager position and plots to dethrone our precarious protagonist in order to secure her well-deserved promotion.
In the words of Becky, “there was a lot to unpack here.” This film feels so completely contrived that even the most devoted Christmas Rom-Com aficionado was left feeling underwhelmed. Let’s start with the main character of Taylor. She is a perfectly likeable single mom who abandoned her exciting life as the lead singer of 00’s girl punk band “The Screaming Kittens” to raise her daughter. However, she brings her over-protective and tediously boring humdrum- mum energy to her portrayal of Santa which came across as stale and irksome. Then there is Matthew, the billionaire bad boy turned corporate golden boy, who was more Will Ferrel than Colin Farral. To be perfectly honest, this was a casting issue. Ryan Eggold just couldn’t convince us of his rogue past and rebellious ways. He was the “Ritz Cracker of bad boys” and delivered one of the most buttoned-up portrayals of a bad boy we’ve ever seen. All in all, this film had enjoyable moments and was perfectly watchable, however it left our panel of mums disenchanted and unenthused. The story itself lacked originality as it was basically just the story of Mrs. Doubtfire repackaged and sold on as a Christmas story.
The ladies awarded My Secret Santa 2 ¼ Prosecco Glasses.
Hot Frosty: Swooning for a Snowman: Embracing the Absurdity
Two year’s after her husband’s death, Kathy (Lacey Chabert), from the charming town of Hope Springs, finds herself lost in melancholy with her life, and her house, in complete disarray. She receives a “destined” red scarf and wraps it around an unusually handsome and well-sculpted snowman, at the town’s annual Snow Sculpture Competition. Jack, (Dustin Milligan) is magically brought to life and sets out to find the beautiful woman who gave him the scarf.
Jack is very sweet, naive, wholesome and his “puppy-like” enthusiasm for home repair, helps to heal Kathy’s heart (and her house!) and help her to rediscover joy and laughter. The magnetic duo’s time together is at risk, and they must deal with the looming threat of Jack melting as the temperature rises.
The local policemen (Criag Robinson & Jo Lo Truglio) pursue Jack for various crimes/ misunderstandings; such as streaking and breaking into a shop to steal clothes. Poor Jack was “born nude” and didn’t realise he was doing anything wrong, after all, he was experiencing the world for the first time that fateful night.
After a fun-filled and romantic Christmas Eve dance, Jack is arrested by Sheriff Nate (Craig Robinson) and locked up in a warm jail cell. The townspeople rally together, donating enough money to pay Jack’s $2000 bail fee and demand his release!
When Jack is finally released and brought back outside in the cold snow, he is unresponsive and appears to have died. A devastated Kathy admits to her friends, and herself, that she has fallen in love with the frosty creature and once again wraps him in her magical scarf. This act of true love brings Jack, literally to life. He is no longer a snowman, but is in fact, a real-life, super chiseled man!
Our Imperfect Mum Panel found this film to be perfectly ridiculous, but ultimately entertaining and enjoyable. Despite its outlandish storyline and predictable plot, the acting was outstanding, and the script was surprisingly well-written. The unexpected takeaway, that this movie improves with time, and the more times you watch it, the better it gets. They were won over by Jack’s Joie de Vivre and of course, his affinity for “choreplay”.
The ladies awarded Hot Frosty 2 ½ Prosecco Glasses.
A Castle for Christmas is A Regal Fantasy: Embracing the Hollywood Version of the Highlands
Our Imperfect Mum Panel decided that this film was required holiday viewing, despite its 2021 release. A Castle for Christmas is from the Netflix Christmas archives and offers a charming holiday story about a complicated woman who escapes her imploding career to trace her family roots back to a Scottish castle. Sophie Brown (Brooke Shields) is a world-famous American author who finds herself drowning in scandal following a divorce and public outrage over killing off a beloved character from her popular book series.
Sophie suffers a minor on-air breakdown on The Drew Barrymore Show and flees to the Scottish village of Dunbar. She visits Dun Dunbar Castle, where her late father was raised as the son of a groundskeeper. Sophie meets Myles (Cary Elwes) the 12th Duke of Dunbar, who is intially prickly and reluctant to sell his family’s historic yet decaying home... to a foreigner. In order to purchase the castle, Sophie must commit to a trial period, and live in the castle with Myles through Christmas. His plan is to make her life miserable enough that she leaves. The pair butt heads, but over time they begin to bond, aided by the adorable villagers and the charm of Scottish traditions and scenic countryside.
On Christmas Eve, the pair throw a stunning Holiday Party for the people of the town at the castle. Bringing the community together leads Myles to apologise for his grumpy ways and admit his love for Sophie. The film ends with the two happily together and Sophie reigniting her writing career. It is delightful to see Brooke Shields on our screens again. She plays the role of the scandal-plagued author with grace, humour, and undeniable charm. Elwes is the perfect foil to Shields; he plays the boorish Scot to a tee, complete with a Scottish accent that actually holds its own.
The verdict from our Imperfect Mum Panel is in: A Castle for Christmas is a total delight. Filled with stunning Scottish scenery and a heartwarming storyline, it’s a playful film that we thoroughly enjoyed.
It’s a wholesome family film and earned a rating of 3 Prosecco Glasses.
A Sparkling Success: Why Netflix’ Champagne Problems Is the Most Refreshing Watch of the Year!
There are no flat notes here! Champagne Problems is pure joy; filling our flutes and our hearts with wanderlust, romance and vintage holiday charm. We are transported to the scenically seductive Paris and snow kissed vineyards of Reims Épernay when Sydney Price (Minka Kelly), a driven American executive is sent to France to secure the acquisition of Chateau Cassell, the prestigious but debt-ridden champagne house. On her first night in Paris, she sets off to fulfill a promise to her sister and see the sites. She finds herself in an incredibly chic bookstore where she meets the charming and enigmatic Henri (Tom Woznicka) who whisks her away on a magical, whirl-wind tour of the city. The following day, Sydney arrives at her meeting with Chateau Cassel to negotiate the deal, only to discover that Henri is in fact the son of the vineyard’s owner, Hugo Cassell. Sydney must balance her goal of acquiring the winery for her firm with her growing feelings for Henri.
Sydney grows close to Henri and her fellow bidding contenders during the events of the “bidding war weekend” in the Champagne region of France. Party animal Roberto Salazer (Sean Amsing) is quite possibly the BEST character in the film. His eccentric and friendly persona is a harsh and welcome contrast to the other bidders and adds comforting humour and silliness to the narrative. Our romantic couple make up and break up and throughout their rollercoaster weekend away at the Chateau, but the two finally come to their senses and reconcile at the very bookstore in Paris where they first met. We love a happy ending! This modernised, cosy, Hallmark-style film was a big hit with our Imperfect Mum Panel. Lissy and Heather were both so impressed they gave this film a perfect score of 5 Prosecco Glasses! They loved the script, the interesting characters and beautiful scenery. Becky enjoyed the film, but felt it was a little too long and dragged at times.
All in all, Champagne Problems earned a rating of 4.5 Prosecco Glasses!