Movies are made around a variety of themes. They can be set around seasons like the monsoon, the fall, or the spring. But films set around winter have a different feel about them. Audiences expect cheer, warmth, smiles, and loads of carols to get into the holiday mood as snow is falling, all around them while children play and have fun. Falling for Christmas provides all that and much more to get anyone who decides to watch it feeling Christmassy.
Starring Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, Olivia Perez, George Young, Alejandra Flores, Jack Wagner, and Sean Dillingham in pivotal roles, Falling for Christmas focuses on the little things, or rather, the overlooked and minor elements, that enhance the festival. The story, by Jeff Bonnett, is quite simple.
Sierra Belmont (Lindsay Lohan), an heiress, is flown to her father’s hotel just before the holidays to accept a post as Vice President of Atmosphere. She knows it’s made up and wants to make her own mark in the world. Miss Belmont heads on a trip to try the influencer business, but she falls off the snowy ridge and skids down a slope where she hits her head on a tree and forgets everything. Jake finds her and houses her at the North Star Lodge with his family, where the ensuing events set up the Netflix film.
I like Sierra ‘Sarah’ Belmont’s evolution. From portraying a character akin to London Tipton, she undergoes a natural transformation through trial and error and grows. Lohan pulled off both roles with aplomb. Her walk with an aura of being rich showed that despite claiming to be misunderstood, it was valid, as that’s what the world would witness upon seeing her. There aren’t any “Yay Me” here.
With innumerable Christmas movies having graced our screens over the years, certain timeless themes remain constant. These ever-present themes even have the ability to make us compare Falling for Christmas to other Christmas films. A work by Frank Capra will come to mind here, minus the scary elements. Another classic from the following year will also spring up in the audience’s thoughts, especially with the way a character kept popping up. Director Janeen Damian sprinkles in enough moments to permit audiences to undoubtedly question his true identity. He does look the part.
I also liked the creative decision involved in presenting the ‘Make a Wish’ idea in this film. While it’s not good to tell anyone about it, even the ones behind the fourth wall weren’t privy to this information that Avy wrote and pinned on the wish tree. It wouldn’t be a racecar or something selfish, as her character oozed innocence and care throughout. Olivia Perez served as the connector of elements and remained the one character that stood out in Falling for Christmas. Her delight at the simple things like tree trimming, baking, and even discovering her Christmas gift helps send forth the film’s message of specialty in simplicity.
Konnor Jenson’s production design was exquisite as he captured the lavish feel of the festival with the plush Belmont Hotel, the community feels of the festival at the Christmas fair, and the homely feel of ‘The Most Wonderful Time of The Year’ at the North Star Lodge. It is the latter two that will appeal to the masses as they shop for the holiday season. The montage-filled carols will have you humming along. Younger audiences may whip out Spotify to add these tunes to a playlist, and older audiences may reminisce about the days they would hunt for cassettes and CDs comprising the festive songs.
A few things that didn’t seem fine were thrown into Falling for Christmas. The primary one was the Tudum alarm when Sierra rose on her first day at the North Star Lodge. It will go down as a shameless plugin, as the film on screen was yet another Christmas film. Audiences are well aware of Netflix being Hallmark’s competitor in Christmas films. Plot convenience having the sheriff not recognize the child of the richest man and hotelier in his jurisdiction seemed rather odd. Light dawning on him later also seemed perplexing, as I don’t think Mr. Belmont had shown him a picture of Sierra.
These aside, Falling for Christmas has a screenplay that can literally make one Fall for Christmas. The acting, production design, costumes, and music come together in Graham Robbins’ holiday theme-loaded frame to provide people of all ages with a joyous holiday watch.
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