These Family Holiday Movies Get Thumbs Up From My Daughter: At The Movies With Kasey
As I wrap my screening of this year’s holiday movies, I enlisted my daughter to help me evaluate two new children’s films: That Christmas on Netflix and The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland on Hulu and Disney+. We enjoyed snuggling up for festive features and treats, but there were still plenty of more grownup films to enjoy after her bedtime.
That Christmas takes place in a coastal English town, Wellington-on-Sea, which gets snowed in for Christmas. While aspiring director Bernadette (India Brown) takes charge of a group of kids home alone when their parents get stranded on Christmas Eve, Danny (Jack Wisniewski) and his mom (Jodie Whittaker) struggle with the first Christmas after a divorce. Meanwhile, twins Sam (Zazie Hayhurst) and Charlie (Sienna Sayer) represent both the nice and naughty ends of the spectrum and Santa (Brian Cox) tries to make Christmas magic happen despite the storm. The scary schoolteacher, Ms. Trapper (Fiona Shaw), might be the key to it all.
Directed by Simon Otto, That Christmas might be my favorite new holiday movie this year. There was occasionally language that I would not want my kid to repeat at preschool. Still, the story balanced themes around complicated relationships and the importance of community with plenty of hijinks for the kids and turkeys running loose. The nuanced stories are entertaining and meaningful for both kids and adults. Several times, it made me get emotional or laugh out loud and my daughter loved the silly scenes of upended holiday traditions. That Christmas got two thumbs up from us.
My daughter preferred The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland, based on the book by Carys Bexington. The story focuses on St. Nick (Gerard Butler) taking a detour to Wonderland, despite his reindeer’s protests, to deliver a gift to the Queen of Hearts (Emilia Clarke), whose letter to him took years to arrive. Will St. Nick’s generosity change her mean attitude? And how can Alice (Simone Ashley) help?
Although I thought the film stretched a picture book too far, adding musical numbers and what felt like a lot of filler, it was my daughter’s first experience being moved to tears by a movie. That would seem to indicate that it reached its target audience. She gave this film a big thumbs up. I am a thumbs down, tilted sideways by my kid’s enthusiasm. The animation style is layered and visually engaging, and I thought the saga of Robin the reindeer (Lenny Rush) trying to return a dropped panic button to St. Nick was adorable.
For the grownups, Netflix has Mary, a new film that strives to tell the Christmas story from Mary’s perspective, emphasizing the human drama of her situation and the depth of her character. Written by Timothy Michael Hayes and directed by D.J. Caruso, the film is basically Mary fanfic, trying to depict how the faith and compassion of Mary (Noa Cohen) pave the way for her son’s ministry. Cohen gives a beautiful performance and, as Joseph, Ido Tako brings a surprising amount of levity. Meanwhile, Anthony Hopkins plays Herod like he’s the king in a Shakespearean tragedy and Dudley O’Shaughnessy’s Gabriel feels plucked from a fantasy movie. I thought he was going to box Lucifer by the end. Mary is unintentionally silly at times and incredibly violent at others. I prefer this bizarre, overwrought take on the Nativity to sentimental tripe, but it was not great either.
Menorah in the Middle, on Hulu, starts with Sarah Becker (Lucy DeVito) bringing her fiance, Chad (Cristián de la Fuente), home to meet her parents Frank (Bruce Nozick) and Linda (Gina Hecht), only to find out that their family business, Becker Family Breads, is in danger of going under. Meanwhile, her brother Jacob (Adam Busch) wants out of the bakery, and her childhood bestie, Ben (Jonah Platt), pines for her. Sarah and Laura Silverman also appear.
Written and directed by Jordan Kessler, this movie is definitely made-for-TV caliber, but I enjoyed it a great deal. It has heart, quips, and a strong plot, but I wish it had taken notes from Sweet Home Alabama and not made Chad such a cartoon villain. The story would have been stronger if it had not been a no-brainer for Sarah to ditch him for Ben, but everything about Chad is odious and, even for the genre, incredibly corny.
Finally, also on Hulu and Disney+ Nutcrackers tries to be both snarky and heartwarming as an uptight man, Mike (Ben Stiller), finds himself the guardian of his unruly nephews (Ulysses, Arlo, Atlas, and Homer Janson) while social worker Gretchen Rice (Linda Cardellini) tries to find homes for all of them. This movie is almost unwatchable. Stiller seems bored and has no chemistry with the kids. The kids, played by real brothers, provide a lot of chaos but not much heart. Although it’s set during the holidays, the colors and the overall tone are gloomy in a bleak, washed-out way, not a dark, Scroogey way. I would rather watch boring Hot Frosty ten times than this one once.
On that note: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy some good movies (new and old) and plenty of snacks.
With love, Kasey
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