Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Christmas in Notting Hill’ on Hallmark, in Which Soccer, Love, and London Collide

Hallmark does its best to evoke the holiday rom-com version of Ted Lasso in their new movie Christmas in Notting Hill. Sarah Ramos and William Moseley lead the way in this Anglophile’s dream of a movie that combines soccer (football), romance, family drama, and British holiday charm. Well it sure sounds great on paper, but does this title have what it takes to score big with potential viewers this season? Read on to find out.

CHRISTMAS IN NOTTING HILL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Sarah Ramos (Parenthood, The Bear) plays Georgia Bright, an American elementary school teacher visiting her London-based little sister Lizzie (Joelle Rae) for Christmas. After the sisters’ mother passed away while Lizzie was young, Georgia took it upon herself to living a responsible, reliable, and largely risk-free life to help raise her sister. Now Lizzie is living her dream working at the Museum of Britain and eight months into a serious relationship with investment banker boyfriend Henry Carter (Peter Rothwell), and Georgia is starting to feel lost as she stands at a crossroads in her life between making a safe choice to go to grad school in Indiana or take a major leap to teach special education abroad.

At the same time, the popular captain of local football (soccer, for us Americans) club AFC Newbourne, Graham Savoy (William Moseley, The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy), is at a crucial turning point in his own life and career when an ACL injury takes him out of the game he loves and forces him to think hard about his both future and life outside soccer.

By chance, Graham and Georgia literally run into one another, sparking an immediate connection that’s soon complicated by Graham’s fame and the surprising reveal that Georgia’s sister is dating Graham’s brother. Will these two be able to overcome their obstacles and penchant of playing it safe in order to score big in love and life this Christmas season?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Christmas In Notting Hill is Ted Lasso meets 27 Dresses meets Notting Hill.

Performance Worth Watching: Both Sarah Ramos and William Moseley do a great job as romantic leads Georgia and Graham. Not only do they have some believable chemistry, but they also are both solid actors who clearly understood the assignment of a Hallmark holiday movie and leaned into delivering what was asked of them, including everything from emotional to cheesy moments, with total commitment. You love to see it!

Memorable Dialogue: “I thought we said no Hawaiian shirt this year?” “I thought you said ‘Don’t forget your Hawaiian shirt.'” It’s truly a futile effort to try to stop an American dad from wearing his Hawaiian shirts abroad.

A Holiday Tradition: On the Carter family’s side, there are annual practices of enjoying some classic British pantomime, making traditional Christmas trifle and mince meat pies, and pulling Christmas crackers to kick off the holiday. Then on the Bright family side of things, their late mom started traditions of baking peanut butter cookies together on the morning of Christmas Eve, as well as everyone gathering to sing Christmas carols around the fire (in particular their mom’s favorite, “Deck the Halls”).

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: Yep. It’s a movie occurring around Christmastime and the location in Notting Hill, so it’s a pretty straightforward title.

Our Take: Bolstered by its strong cast, sweet relationships, and the beautiful backdrop of London, Christmas In Notting Hill makes for an entertaining and easy piece of holiday viewing. While it’s not a tear-jerker or mind-blowing by any means, it doesn’t have to be those things or reinvent the wheel. This is a movie that knows what it is and what it’s meant to do: a trope-filled yet charming Hallmark movie to relax with and enjoy just in time for Christmas. Everyone in it seemed to understand that and acted accordingly, making it it an overall success of a holiday film.

Christmas in Notting Hill just gets that what makes a good holiday movie is love and connection. In addition the strong and sweet romances between Graham and Georgia as well as Lizzie and Henry, there are some truly incredible familial relationships, the latter of which were actually the main highlight of the entire movie for me. From Georgia and Lizzie’s close sister connection to the support and understanding between brother Graham and Henry to the general great family dynamics of the respective Carter and Bright crews, there was a lot of genuine-feeing love in the air that made this movie a Christmas title feel festive, cute, and worth watching.

Our Call: STREAM IT! Christmas in Notting Hill is a pleasant way to pass the time this holiday season for Anglophiles, sports fans, and rom-com lovers alike.