Today I want to give my quick thoughts on the latest Christmas comedy to hit Freevee app, which is a spinoff of Amazon prime. It is one of the many holiday films I am reviewing as part of Hallmarkies Podcast and one of my favorites of this initial batch for 2023. It’s interesting because usually the family shenanigans brand of holiday film isn’t my favorite (not a big fan of The Family Stone for instance) but this one stayed just grounded enough to be able to relate with and kept the characters likable enough to enjoy the experience.
In the movie Robbie Amell plays a man who after he tells his family he isn’t coming home for Christmas they invite his ex who they were close with to stay with them for the holidays. This all seems great until surprise Amell comes to visit after all and then must spend the holiday with his ex (who of course he still harbors feelings for since she dumped him.)
Some may find this to be an outlandish premise but I don’t. I could totally picture my parents inviting an ex they had grown close with to stay for the holidays if they had been reassured the child who dated them wasn’t coming. That’s a clever and funny premise to start the movie and the antics continue on from there.
Exmas wins because it has the energy of the old screwball comedies from the 50s and it never allows our leads to be too mean-spirited or judgmental. It’s always kept within a space where we believe them falling in love again by the end of the film. There are also a lot of funny family moments with everything from ice fishing to a hilarious sequence where they all accidently get high.
With everything going on in the world right now we can all use a good-hearted laugh and that’s what you get with Exmas. It’s romantic, funny and gives you all those holiday feels. I really enjoyed it.
8 out of 10
Smile Worthy
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