Culture clashes can be a source of intriguing drama. So, it’s no wonder that storytellers are often drawn to such conflicts. Netflix’s “Christmas as Usual” is a similar example that is both a rom-com and a Christmas-themed family film. We meet an Indian man going to his Norwegian girlfriend’s hometown – to celebrate Christmas with her family. Well, I’ll be honest. The premise reminded me of Jordan Peele’s Get Out! But the Netflix film isn’t horror. Even though the girlfriend’s family is also a white, liberal one, they are not as creepily hostile as they are in Get Out. The conflict simply focuses on the impending culture clash. They find it a bit difficult to digest that their daughter/sister is dating a brown guy.
Such films that focus on diaspora people often resort to some gaudy stereotypes. For some reason, it boils down to how brown people love curries, wear garish clothes, and speak in animated accents. Luckily, Kanan Gill’s character – Jashan, is not simply a mixture of these assumptions.
“Christmas as Usual” still has some of those aforementioned issues. It is irritating to see the definition of brown people being reduced to classical Indian music or Bollywood dance. No, it’s not always the first thing we think of playing in every scenario! But that can be excused for a bit of self-awareness shown otherwise. There is a scene where Jashan talks about the flamboyant kurta he brought to wear for the family dinner. Unlike the NRIs, who consider wearing that as just doing a service for their culture, he at least understands how it can look tacky.
Overall, “Christmas as Usual” avoids such tackiness. Much of the credit also goes to Kanan, who is consistently charming. A stand-up comedian and an author in real life, he is fairly impressive in acting as well. He lightens up the mood in serious situations without making his character feel like a clown or a comic relief from Marvel studio flicks.
There is a fine line in such romances that can turn them into repetitive Hallmark variants. Thanks to Kanan’s performance and Ida Ursin-Holm, the film rarely feels like that. Since it revolves around this spice-loving dude, there are predictable scenes that talk about the differences in food cultures. Jashan tries to make peace with its blandness while trying to fit in their family or country-specific traditions for Thea’s sake.
Jashan and Thea get engaged just before making this trip. However, she does not reveal that to her family. Through her character, the script explores the relationship between love and life. For five years, Thea dated a guy who was her neighbor. After her dad’s loss, she moved away from the small town and fell for Jashan. Unlike the neighbor, Jashan is from a place farther away from hers. Still, when he asks for her hand in marriage, she says Yes.
Being with her neighbor could have given her a conventionally safe choice. She would not have needed to make any adjustments. There wouldn’t be any conflicts based on taste palettes, traditions, or preferences. There is a sense of comfort one often seeks through such relationships. However, with Jashan, there will be an increased set of things to take care of. That’s what she starts to understand once she goes back home. She and Jashan both start seeing sides of each other that they did not know before. Basically, romance 101! But Petter Holmsen’s direction makes it not seem nearly as corny.
In the end, the conflict is whether to let the traditions define us or not. Thea feels a sense of burden in trying to be faithful to her past self, who did not need to worry about Jashan’s concerns. The film explores her worries without losing out on humor. Thea’s family keeps calling him Shazam as if Jashan’s name is a magical spell. Jashan innocently asks questions in his attempts at socializing with her family.
Throughout everyone’s bonding attempts, “Christmas as Usual” does not limit itself to bringing humor just through laugh-out-loud moments. There is enough implied humor that makes it a breezy experience. And considering its connection to Christmas, it becomes a conventional, but heartfelt addition to Christmas films.
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