Stream It or Skip It: ‘A Picture Perfect Holiday’ on Lifetime, Where Love Develops Between Photographers

Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and Henderson Wade (Riverdale) star in Lifetime’s A Picture Perfect Holiday, a new Christmas romcom set at a photography retreat held in a cozy and snowy town. C’mon—you already know that romance is in the picture. The real question is whether or not you should hang around and watch it develop. 

A PICTURE PERFECT HOLIDAY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Tatyana Ali plays Gaby, a freelance photographer who wants nothing more than to be on staff at a major fashion magazine. There’s just one catch: her portfolio lacks the warmth required to go full-time! To get her headed in the right direction, Gaby’s editor (Dina Meyer) sends her to a Christmas photography retreat up in the tiny town of Pine Falls. That’s where photographers learn how to put their emotions, their very souls into their art—by capturing the magic of Christmas on film.

Did I say there was just one catch? There are actually two: it turns out that the cabin Gaby rented for the week was double booked! She has to share her picture perfect cottage with a picture perfect man named Sean (Henderson Wade), who’s also in town for the photography retreat. He’s more artistic and laid back. He shoots on film and loves Christmas! Gaby drinks her coffee black and prefers her pizza to be free of toppings. Will these polar opposites ever get along? You know the answer.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: A Picture Perfect Holiday is one of those romcoms where strangers have to navigate a space intended for one. Listen: my knowledge of romantic comedies is rather strictly limited to the holiday kind, so… what more can I say? You know what you’re getting with this one?

Performance Worth Watching: While they aren’t exactly scene stealers, I have to give space to Rivkah Reyes and Paula Andrea Placido. They play a queer couple also attending the retreat, and together they fulfill the very necessary role of Romcom BFF for Gaby and Sean. They have their own mini plot, are generally delightful, and make A Picture Perfect Holiday a super welcome addition to the list of 2021 holiday movies with LGBTQ+ representation.

Memorable Dialogue: Sean proves how cool he is with sleeping on the couch by saying, “One time I had to sleep on a mountain ledge just to get the perfect shot of a mountain goat!”

A Holiday Tradition: The Christmas photography retreat was founded by a veteran photographer who grew weary of always being on location for the holidays. So he made a home in Pine Falls and now holds an annual retreat.

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: Y’know? It really does! A+, no notes.

Our Take: You gotta love Tatyana Ali. Over the years, the cable networks have each cultivated their own roster of stars, turning their holiday movies into a low-key event. Ali is one of those stars at Lifetime, a familiar face from our pop culture past who we love catching up with every Christmas. This year is definitely no exception. Ali is fun to watch as a no-nonsense—or no “floof,” as she says—photographer who has a grudge against breakfast and likes her hand towels folded neatly.

Pairing her with Henderson Wade’s free-spirited Sean makes A Picture Perfect Holiday a real fun watch. Sean is  the kinda guy who finds a bunch of Christmas decorations that aren’t his and then immediately decorates a cabin he’s merely renting. Sean’s got a Christmas fever and, as he tells Gaby, Christmas is contagious!

What I liked about this movie is that there’s a substantial sense of place in A Picture Perfect Holiday. The retreat’s daily photo missions (take a photo of Christmas past or Christmas wonder, etc.) take Gaby, Sean, and their new lovebird BFFs to a number of different locations in Pine Falls. Sure, it’s ludicrous to think that a major fashion magazine would ever send a freelance photographer to a Christmas-themed retreat in order to recommend her for a permanent gig—but that’s the kind of preposterous floof we want from these movies! Between the setting, subplots, and growing bond between Gaby and Sean, A Picture Perfect Holiday zips along and hits all the notes you want from a Lifetime Christmas movie.

Our Call: STREAM IT. A Picture Perfect Holiday is close to a picture perfect Lifetime Christmas movie.

Where to watch A Picture Perfect Holiday