“Falling for Christmas” - Movie Review

Story posted November 18, 2022 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Kaitlyn Murphy

As soon as the clock struck midnight on Nov. 1st, the season of peppermint Starbucks drinks, Mariah Carey, and wholesome Christmas rom-coms was ushered in once again.

Netflix is no stranger to taking a page out of the Hallmark Channel’s book and producing dreamy snow-covered landscapes for a good holiday love story, and their latest project “Falling for Christmas” stars two 2000s fan favorites – Lindsay Lohan and Chord Overstreet.

After playing some of the most iconic teen movie characters of the early 2000s, Lohan stepped out of the public eye during an ongoing struggle with addiction. Fans were ecstatic to see her back on the small screen, alongside former “Glee” actor Chord Overstreet.

“Falling for Christmas'' follows Sierra (Lohan), a spoiled heiress who acquires amnesia after a nasty accident on a ski trip with her fiancé, Tad (George Young). While she lays helpless in the snow, a local bed and breakfast owner, Jake (Overstreet) finds her and takes her to a hospital.

Sierra forgets everything that happened before the accident, and doesn’t even remember her own name. The doctor tells her she can leave the hospital, as long as she stays in Jake’s bed and breakfast so he can watch over her recovery.

It’s the perfect set up.

Jake is a single dad who lost his wife to an unidentified illness, and his young daughter made a Christmas wish at the town market that he would find someone to love this holiday season. The magical town Santa saw her write down her wish, and with a smile and twinkly sound effect, the audience knows it will come true by the end of the movie.

Since “Falling for Christmas” is simply a feel-good fluffy holiday film, there is not much of a plot to discuss. It is filled with a medley of classic tropes found in every Hallmark and Lifetime movie, which makes it a bit unbearable to watch at times.

The script falls flat on many occasions with cliche one-liners that do nothing to create character development or connect with the viewers in the slightest.

At one point, Jake’s mother-in-law tells Sierra, “You make him smile. He hasn’t done that in a long time.”

Wow, never heard that before.

While she stays at the bed and breakfast, Sierra learns how to do typical household tasks such as doing laundry, making her bed, and cooking breakfast that she had no idea how to do before.
She messes them up at first and cries with frustration, and Lohan’s acting abilities are not as sharp as they once were. Her tears seemed forced on multiple occasions throughout the film, making it even harder for viewers to connect with her character.

Overstreet did well enough in his role as the scruffy mountain man with a heart of gold, but his chemistry with Lohan was desperately lacking in every one of their scenes.

In the wholesome plot-less Christmas rom-com genre, it is important that the main couple has at least some semblance of chemistry to make it worthwhile. Unfortunately this film could not even give audiences that much.

There is a town tree lighting, toy drive, mini caroling session, and a Christmas party at the end of the film where Sierra’s father and fiancé finally find her.

She goes home with them, only to realize how much the small town feel resonated with her. Gone were the days of living a spoiled life of luxury, so she reunites with Jake for a magical snowy kiss in the final scene.

It was certainly refreshing to see Lindsay Lohan back on screen after everything she’s been through, especially in a film that is meant to bring joy to the audience.

However, “Falling for Christmas” had too many tropes packed into the hour and a half run time to give it any substance at all, and was not one of Netflix’s stronger holiday releases.

Rating: 1.5/5

Kaitlyn Murphy is a first-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email kvm6255@psu.edu.