The over-saturation of holiday rom-coms grows more with each year, Hallmark leading the charge from one formulaic venture to another. Though, as Hallmark has been at the forefront of churning out holiday-induced marathons of mistletoe, love, and Christmas cheer, Hulu and Netflix are not far behind. Yet, where Hulu broke the boundaries of classic holiday romance storytelling with 2020’s Happiest Season, Netflix’s Falling for Christmas leans into the classic Hallmarked tropes of Christmas love and redemption. And while it remains entertaining, Janeen Damian’s Falling for Christmas leaves much to be desired.
An Immediate Appeal
The immediate appeal of Falling for Christmas is Lindsey Lohan’s continued return to acting. Fans of The Parent Trap, Mean Girls, and Freaky Friday will find Lohan’s performance a welcomed one, nestled warmly within the glow of Christmas magic. And while it may feel rusty around the edges, there is a humorous authenticity she is immediately able to bring to Sierra, daughter of the esteemed and successful Beauregard Belmont (Jack Wagner).
The film knows this is the draw of its audience, immediately opening on Lohan’s Sierra waking up in the Belmont, the high-class ski resort her father owns. In a whirlwind of high-end influencer fashion, she is attended to by her glam team, all while quietly pondering the seemingly empty future her father has laid out for her. The beginning here works well to establish her position and power, as well as that of her father and influencer boyfriend Tad Fairchild (George Young). While immediately exaggerated and falling into classic holiday rom-com tropes, Falling for Christmas inflates each of these characters’ sense of self, purpose, power, and success, developing the contrast that will divide and merge the worlds of Sierra and the North Star Lodge owner Jake Russell (Chord Overstreet).
As we quickly learn, Jake and his family have been struggling with their ski resort, giving a last-chance attempt to garner investment from Beauregard Belmont. And as the reservations are canceled and repairs piling sky high, it seems the North Star Lodges’ days are numbered. That is until the highly predictable magic of Christmas enters the narrative – all guided by a cheery ol’ man in red.
It’s all about the mise en scène
Falling for Christmas will unfortunately not have its audience falling head over heels in love. It leans too heavily into all the predictable tropes and holiday hallmarks. Though, while far from a holiday classic, Falling for Christmas fits the bill of easy holiday entertainment, meeting the growing plethora of holiday fairy tales that leave a warm and cozy Christmas feeling in is wake.
Much of this feeling comes from the idea of holiday magic that viewers embracing these films continue to carry no matter the age – or the redundancy. Falling for Christmas satisfies this through its saturation of Christmas visuals, its set, and mise en scène – the true star of the film. The film is packed to the very edges of the frame with Christmas and holiday cheer, snow constantly falling both in the background and the foreground, and lights giving the feeling of warmth and cheer. And while this is not original to Falling for Christmas, it is one of the elements that keeps bringing audiences back.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a warm and cheery film propped by the predictability of Christmas magic, Falling for Christmas is the film for you. And while it only reaches the height of hallmarks set before, its infusion of modernized influencers and classic soap opera “amnesia” feel give it enough to be an entertaining holiday watch.
Falling for Christmas is now available on Netflix!
Watch Falling for Christmas
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