“I’ve spent my entire life looking for the perfect guy. But there’s perfect, and there’s perfect for me.” – Natalie (Love Hard).
As corny as it is, the holiday season approaches America in full force and Netflix has once again dropped a series of Christmas themed movies. They center around love, drama, and that unmistakable bright Christmas tree shining in the background of every scene. This year, Netflix hit it out of the park with multiple releases of new Christmas movies such as “Holidate,” “Love Hard,” “The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star,” “A Boy Called Christmas,” and so many more. Each movie has its own unique way of approaching the idea of Christmas and its celebration. Plotlines range from needing a companion for the holidays due to loneliness, to a dramatic thievery performance of the Montenaro royal family. As much as Americans love the idea of movies being centered around the holidays, some of these movies are worth watching, while some are not.
Dating, online or not, is heavily associated with holidays and also a crucial ingredient to either a cringe or drama filled Christmas movie. If such a reader of the Wolfpacket is looking forward to watching a scandalous yet heartwarming story that’s filled with many swear words, “Holidate” and “Love Hard” are the go to for this season. The two movies are very similar in taste and both end in finding true love. While one is focused on the outcomes of online dating, the other is focused on the shortcomings of being single at the age of 30.
“Love Hard” featured Josh Lin (Jimmy O.Yang), a novice in online dating who set up a fake profile that may or may not have unintentionally catfished Natalie Bauer (Nina Dobrev). “I had my profile up for a year, and guess how many matches I got? Three. And one of them was my old English teacher. She’s 70 now, and has a pacemaker. Having s*x with her would literally kill her.” – Josh Lin (Love Hard). The two engaged in a disastrous Christmas plot that teaches watchers many lessons, including to never change oneself for the benefit of others. But if such a reader is perhaps looking for a more well-known cast, Emma Roberts’s “Holidate” is also a movie to consider watching. Just hitting almost 30, Sloane (Emma Roberts) seems to be struggling at finding a companion that isn’t too hot for her level. Therefore, ever the creative woman that she is, Sloane decides to accept the idea of a “Holidate”, and this storyline spirals down its own hill.
Unlike the two almost-adult movies up there, The “Princess Switch” movies are suited for a more family setting that can be watched alongside parents without feeling judged. There is also more than one movie based on this generic plot that centers around the royal family. Three movies in total, the story revolves around three people that look strangely similar to each other. Although it might initially be confusing, these movies are a classic to watch on holidays, whether during Christmas or not. Netflix did make it more convenient for the watchers of holiday season movies though, by releasing one “Princess Switch” movie every single consecutive year during the holiday season. Of
course, just like any other Christmas movie, the central plot is very cringey, but is able to bring smiles to faces due to its ridiculousness. If such readers fancy a family themed Christmas movie with extravagant decorations and fancy costume design, the drama-filled “Princess Switch” movies might just be a hit right up the alley.
New or old, holiday-themed movies have always been on Netflix. But this year, Netflix’s choice of Christmas movies have shocked the watchers with its release of better movies than normal and not just some cringey plot that stayed below the line of PG. Although the movies that have been added to the platform have made up for the lack of good Christmas movies/shows the previous years, Netflix is hopefully on its way to drop more astonishing holiday movies in the future.