With a new resolve to face the world with a positive mindset, I stick on the ironically titled A Perfect Christmas, a low-key 2016 effort from director Brian K. Roberts. This one follows newlyweds Steve (Dillon Casey) and Cynthia Faber (Susie Abromeit), who both hide huge secrets as their families come together for Christmas. He’s just been sacked. She’s pregnant. Will they be able to keep the lie going and have a happy holiday?
Naturally, chaos ensues as irritating family members descend on their house and it starts to feel like a more strait-laced Christmas Vacation, with less swearing and more hugging.
This is the first Hallmark film I’ve seen that actually acknowledges that sex is a real thing that happens, and Cynthia’s giddy overjoyed squealing when she discovers she is expecting is uplifting. Newly unemployed from his law firm for refusing to participate in dodgy deals, Steve is not so keen. He’s sad, but I’m not buying how easily he takes it in his stride – the man just doesn’t seem devastated enough to have lost a high-paying job three days before Christmas. Perhaps he knows he’s in a Hallmark film.
As standard, any doubts these two have about the future swiftly melt away as having their loved ones around reminds them of the important things in life.
There’s a few decent chuckles, with Steve constantly putting his foot in it, saying things like “I’m so glad we don’t have kids!”, completely unaware of the storm that’s coming. It’s a tried and tested formula of two people with big secrets spinning a web of lies that gets bigger and bigger. Abromeit in particular shows great comic timing as things escalate and these two attempt to keep their shit together through all the familial tension.
I find that, though exaggerated, this movie captures a good sense of what it’s like to be stuck with family at Christmas. Little petty arguments, sarcastic swipes from disapproving in-laws, but also folk with unconditional love for each other (eventually) sharing problems and advice, growing closer because of it.
Save for a weird moment where Cynthia converses with a Christmas tree that has shades of Marky Mark in The Happening, this is mostly straightforward stuff. Like every sitcom episode you’ve ever seen, everything turns out ok as long as everyone comes clean. I guess this one is the closest any of these movies have come to feeling similar to something that might actually happen in the real world.
It's a decent, if slight film, though I’ll likely have completely forgotten all about it in a week. Still, it keeps my spirits up and with a powerful moral that tells us “Plans change, deal with it and make the best of things,” it’s a message we could all use right now. Life’s not all doom and gloom. Let’s focus on the positives.
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