Stream It or Skip It: ‘Well Suited for Christmas’ on Lifetime Throws a Tuxedo Contest for Foster Kids

Well Suited for Christmas brings the world of men’s tailoring to the holiday movie genre — and it’s a perfect fit because you have to get up close and personal with someone in order to take their measurements . Mercedes De La Zerda and Franco Lo Presti head up this entry in Lifetime’s It’s a Wonderful Lifetime event, but does this Christmas romcom need a few alterations or is it ready for the runway?

WELL SUITED FOR CHRISTMAS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Mercedes De La Zerda (The Sinner) plays Rachel Rocca, an up-and-coming fashion designer in New York City whose streetwear is “hype.” In order to get some much-needed publicity for her in-development menswear brand, Rachel enters a tuxedo contest / bachelor auction that raises money for foster kids and gives the best tux of the night a spot on the cover of Premier Fashion Magazine. Rachel’s all ready to bring her colorful style to formalwear when she gets paired with Brett Stone (Franco Lo Presti), a social media entrepreneur who only wears black. Can Rachel bring some color into this millionaire’s life, or will she go from having her tuxes on the cover to searching for gigs in the want ads?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: This is pretty standard Lifetime romcom fare, and not even the introduction of fashion or tech into the mix cause Well Suited for Christmas deviate from the formula.

Performance Worth Watching: Xavier Sotelo and Stephanie Herrera are fun to watch as Rachel’s visiting parents. Fun fact: they were both in the 2020 Lifetime movie Christmas Unwrapped, which is one Lifetime movie that you should seek out this season.

Memorable Dialogue: Oh, honey, when Rachel reads this random stranger for having the audacity to not wear color: “Some men aren’t hindered by archaic male stereotypes.” Of course that stranger ends up being her new client, Brett Stone. Meet cute? More like meet ugly.

A Holiday Tradition: There’s the annual NYC Christmas gala and the first Christmas runway contest and bachelor auction. Brett’s company Connection Link — oh, yes, the Facebook analogue is called Connection Link — has a ceremony for the annual lighting of the in-office Christmas tree. And Rachel’s mom makes a bunch of tiny angel figurines for her church’s Christmas bazaar back in Milwaukee.

Two Turtle Doves: If you want another movie about merry menswear, you can check out UPtv’s Santa’s Got Style (Dec. 11). In it, a department store exec gives her store’s Santa a cool, sexy makeover. Santa’s got a brand new bag, and the bag is Jack Spade.

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: The pun works in one direction — Rachel’s definitely trying to make sure that a man is wearing a suit well — but Brett Stone’s icy demeanor isn’t particularly well suited for Christmas. He’s no scrooge, but he’s not exactly the type to interject “like a lightbulb!” while everyone’s singing “Rudolph.” What about The Christmas Tux or — oh, oh no — Merry TuXmas? That hurts to look at, let alone hear. The title is fine. Dear lord, my apologies for that.

Our Take: This is a holiday romcom tailor made for Lifetime, which means that it’s like a Hallmark romcom except it’s not terrified of cities. Finally, a Christmas movie in New York City — wherein our fashionista-on-the-rise lives in a multi-story condo with a huge kitchen and a front door that opens right off the street. Are we sure this movie isn’t about two millionaires falling in love?

Well Suited for Christmas follows the Lifetime holiday movie pattern so closely, it’s as if that pattern was printed and sold by McCall’s. It’s missing any kind of embellishment, a metaphorical sequin or pointless zipper — literally anything to make it stand out from all the other Lifetime movies on the rack. That’s a shame, because the film features a collision of two very distinct worlds: fashion and tech. Each one is ripe for comedy, or at least conflict. Instead, we get a NYC fashion scene where everyone is nice (there’s nada of Devil Wears Prada here) and a tech company that is sincerely into helping foster children. The conflict really boils down to whether or not Brett Stone — who comes across as kind of a low-energy, always scowling Adam Neumann type? — will wear a color, any color, even if it’s just a read flower on his lapel.

Well Suited for Christmas does have something deep to say about how our clothing choices tell a story and how we can assign personal meaning and significance to something as nondescript as the color black. It’s a shame that there’s not more style to this movie, because the performances are solid and the premise is rich with potential. Seriously, there’s so much that could have been done with — and this bears repeating — a tuxedo contest / bachelor auction that raises money for foster kids. If that’s a real thing, I want a ticket.

Our Call:  SKIP IT. We wanted Savile Row but we got Sears.