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There’s nothing like the holidays to bring out the best of family drama; favorites like The Family Stone, Four Christmases, Christmas with the Kranks, and Love the Coopers all see things get wild when families reunite at home for the holidays. In Christmas is Canceled, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, a young woman gets a cringeworthy Christmas wakeup call when she discovers her widowed father is dating an old high school frenemy.
CHRISTMAS IS CANCELED: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: It’s been two years since Emma (Hayley Orrantia) lost her mom, and the wound still feels pretty fresh. She feels obligated to take care of her dad, Jack (Dermot Mulroney), and when she heads home to spend the holidays with him, discovers some incredibly distressing news: that her father is dating her high school frenemy Brandy (Janel Parrish). Emma is horrified by this revelation, to say the least, but Brandy tries her best to keep things friendly between the two of them. Unable to accept this despite efforts from both Brandy and Jack, Emma resolves to try to break the two of them up before Christmas – which is four days from now.
With the reluctant support of her best friend Charlyne (Emilie Modaff) and a hunky bartender named Josh (Michael Naizu), Emma tries to pull off some relatively mundane schemes to split up Brandy and her dad. Try as she might, however, the two seem determined to brush it off, even when things get tense. Emma ignores her own budding connection with Josh in favor of her obsession with ruining her dad’s relationship, and puts Charlyne in an uncomfortable position at the same time. With important relationships (and Christmas!) at stake, Emma must come to her senses before it’s too late.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Christmas is Canceled might remind you a little of other holiday favorites like The Family Stone and Just Friends, as well as some of the goofier Hallmark holiday originals.
Performance Worth Watching: The obvious choice here is Emilie Modaff, who delivers Christmas is Canceled‘s funniest performance by a long shot. They might be relegated to a classic best friend role, but they take their hilarious (if occasionally cringe-inducing) lines and run away with them, deadpanning and hamming it up when necessary. Modaff proves quickly that they won’t be sidelined even in a supporting role, gifting us with the biggest laughs in the movie. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Memorable Dialogue: “You look like you came from a John Wick Convention,” may seem like a corny throwaway joke, but thanks to Hayley Orrantia’s delivery and Michael Naizu’s whole *thing*, it really lands.
Sex and Skin: There’s a steamy pre-sex make out sesh, but nothing too wild.
Our Take: Oh, the utter bliss of a deeply average 95-minute holiday movie. There are few things like it. Christmas is Canceled checks every box you could possibly ask for in this category; it’s got awkward sex walk-ins, drunken Christmas parties, dramatic exits that usually involve marching into the snow, heated arguments involving throwaway jokes, disrupted Christmas traditions, you name it. It’s all here. With the help of a delightful cast (we love to see The Family Stone icon Dermot Mulroney in another seasonal title), Christmas is Canceled delivers scene after scene, giving us juicy, soapy goodness with every turn. Does the title make a lot of sense? Nope. Is the conflict all resolved pretty easily? You bet. But it is hard to fault a short movie that offers sex appeal, genuine laughs, and some emotionally resonant moments. In a sea of corny, vanilla Hallmark holiday movies, Christmas is Canceled is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Christmas is Canceled is the platonic idea of a C-tier holiday comedy, full of silly hi-jinx, cringe-inducing confrontations, and a snow-covered small town setting. You can’t really ask for much more.
Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.
