Christmas is coming, and so are the holiday-themed rom-coms. It’s a good time to release passable affairs as Christmas mellows the viewers to be more accommodating. As long as the story has the Christmas spirit (with a plethora of Christmas songs), it is okay. To be fair, last year’s Amazon Orignal “Your Christmas or Mine?” was more than passable. The Asa Butterfield-Cora Kirk starring romantic comedy had both the romance and comedy done right. It was not spectacularly unique, but it was charmingly frolic. Now, whether you would like its successor, “Your Christmas or Mine 2,” depends entirely on how much of a pull the first film’s characters have on you.
Most of us loved the characters and the two dynamically opposite worlds of the two leads. Obviously, that is what heralded the existence of this sequel. “Your Christmas or Mine 2” has both director Jim O’Hanlon and screenwriter Tom Parry return for it. This time around, there are fewer surprises, as we already know who’s who now. It is not an easy task to make a follow-up work feel as fresh as its predecessors. It is one of the key reasons behind a significant scarcity of great sequels.
But there is an easy route to ensure your audience does come back for more. It is to make the characters charming enough for the audience to be swayed by the temptation of more. The formula that works for many sit-coms. And Parry and O’Hanlon had hit the right spot in “Your Christmas or Mine?” last year. The sequel, although glaringly lacking novelty, does feature the lovely Taylors and Hughes against the backdrops of Alpine Ski slopes. At the end of the day, it is Christmas, and you know you like these fictional gals and blokes. So, why not dabble in?
In another classic sitcom way, “Your Christmas or Mine 2,” had the entire ensemble come for a big Christmas vacation. The Austrian Alpine slopes are there to wow the characters and us. The young couple, Hayley (Cora Kirk) and James (Asa Butterfield) are maturing into adulthood, as is their relationship. Hayley’s influence seemed to have opened the closed windows in James’ father, Humphrey’s (Alex Jennings) life in the last film. We now see him accompanied by his girlfriend. Diane (Jane Krakowski) is a seemingly uptight successful woman with the right amount of snobbish attitude. You need one such candidate who would eventually be turned by the working-class Christmas charm. Like it did for Humphrey.
The Taylors are still the same. Kath (Angela Griffin) and Geoff (Daniel Mays), Hayley’s parents, are still fond of James, but conscious of the socio-economical gulf between the two families. Well, Kath is. Geoff is humorously oblivious. Their Alpine Christmas also starts the way their last Christmas did. A transport-related mix-up ensures the Hughes turning up in a roughly-kept mountain-side farmhouse. While the Taylors are greeted in a posh hotel that screams ‘lux.’
As I said, it is unoriginally similar to its predecessor. However, there is a change. In this story, there are a lot of group dynamics involved, featuring the full clan of the Taylors and the Hughes. Leaving less space for individualistic storytelling. Parry’s script has less of James and Hayley than what we had in the first film. Even though the duo had significantly less screen space together in that film, their story was the driving force.
However, both Butterfield and Kirk are still beguilingly earnest as the young couple trying to make it against all odds. Their chemistry as James and Hayley is still great as they serve as the innocent reminders of young love, devoid of pessimistic realism. The supporting cast is an absolute joy. They made the characters lovable in the first place, and they do not disappoint in the sequel either. The addition of Jane Krakowski as the lovably elitist Grinch-like villain (every Christmas film needs one) works well. She has some of the funnier quips and jabs and does provide some novelty.
“Your Christmas or Mine 2” is not an essential view, for sure. Most of the time, sequels are not. But, like many sequels, it is successful in one aspect. It does not leave the fans of the first film unrewarded. So, watch it before the holiday spirits start to wear off.
