Coming Home for Christmas
Netflix synopsis: Two estranged sisters hope that having Christmas at their old house will bring their family together, but unfortunately someone else lives there now.
*Gideon commentary is in red.
*Sam commentary is in black.
The rundown: Kate and Mel are sisters, so they don't get along super well. We are told this immediately when Kate talks about burying Mel's redheaded doll in the family's time capsule out of spite. How charming! We flash forward to the day of Mel's wedding, when Kate sees Mel's future husband flirting with one of the bridesmaids. Kate decides this is too much, and instead of telling Mel about it, she says she can't be there for the wedding and chooses to leave. The two stop talking, and we skip to five years later. Their parents are now fighting because they've lost their house and are in dire financial straits. The girls aren't talking and everything sucks overall.
Life goes on. Kate continues being her charming old self. She works for an editing house and hates all the authors that she assists. Mel is busy being rich and idle. Mom and Dad have fallen on hard times. They lose their house in a bankruptcy, then fight over the adoption of a puppy. Kate's propensity for randomly leaving is a family trait. They separate over the grueling difficulties of puppy negotiation. Yay Christmas!
Kate decides she needs to get her family back together, so she contacts Mel. Mel is hesitant but comes around. She asks for an apology and Kate refuses. "I won't apologize for doing the right thing!" Kate says. She realizes that is no way to win her sister back and purchases a redheaded doll from this woodworking guy who has a crush on her. He is also living in her parents' old house. He asks her on a date in exchange for the doll and she accepts. After the date, he takes her back to her old home and she plays music on the piano and sings. New House Guy is amazed at her sometimes painful singing. He says her family traditions are "so special."
At this point, the movie became too special for Gideon. The nyquil kicked in hard when we met New House Guy. At the very least, this movie provides for some pleasant slumber. Christmas!
The rest of the movie is pretty predictable. Kate falls for New House Guy and he agrees to let her have family Christmas at his house. They redecorate it the way her family decorated it when she was young, which isn't creepy at all. She lures her parents out to the house and they all celebrate. There is a bit of a hitch when Mel sees New House Guy talking to the mother of his dead friend's son and assumes he's dating her. But that clears up quickly. They all end the film singing at the house. I couldn't make it through all the singing. Halfway through it, I said, "God no!" and turned off the TV.
He said: I woke up around the time the family had reunited. The singing was pretty sappy and awful. I realize precious sap is the lifeblood of these movies, but sometimes Hallmark marks too hard. We're nearing the end of this review series and I'm having difficulty giving the same feedback for the nth time. If you love sappy sap-sap, you could do worse. The production values and acting are significantly higher than many films we've seen thus far. There's also a cute dog who adorably breaks things.
Feminism: *zzzzzzzz*
Shoehorned Christmas cheer: *zzzzzzzz*
Sequel potential: *incoherent murmuring*
Manly snores: Many
Sleep: Lovely!
Candy canes: 3
She said: I guess the movie is okay, but I couldn't handle all the bad singing. It wasn't marketed as a musical. I don't appreciate being surprised by it. The portrayal of Kate as a book editor is terrible. She just sits at a desk and says she's editing. She literally says it. I just can't take this movie seriously.
Sappiness: Off the charts
Gore level: Needed to be much higher
Cute animals: Yes!
Loud kids that are supposed to be cute but are really annoying: One of them sings. Ack.
Times I said "God no!" in frustration: 5
Candy canes: 1
Final Score: ? Candy Canes
Kate decides she needs to get her family back together, so she contacts Mel. Mel is hesitant but comes around. She asks for an apology and Kate refuses. "I won't apologize for doing the right thing!" Kate says. She realizes that is no way to win her sister back and purchases a redheaded doll from this woodworking guy who has a crush on her. He is also living in her parents' old house. He asks her on a date in exchange for the doll and she accepts. After the date, he takes her back to her old home and she plays music on the piano and sings. New House Guy is amazed at her sometimes painful singing. He says her family traditions are "so special."
At this point, the movie became too special for Gideon. The nyquil kicked in hard when we met New House Guy. At the very least, this movie provides for some pleasant slumber. Christmas!
The rest of the movie is pretty predictable. Kate falls for New House Guy and he agrees to let her have family Christmas at his house. They redecorate it the way her family decorated it when she was young, which isn't creepy at all. She lures her parents out to the house and they all celebrate. There is a bit of a hitch when Mel sees New House Guy talking to the mother of his dead friend's son and assumes he's dating her. But that clears up quickly. They all end the film singing at the house. I couldn't make it through all the singing. Halfway through it, I said, "God no!" and turned off the TV.
He said: I woke up around the time the family had reunited. The singing was pretty sappy and awful. I realize precious sap is the lifeblood of these movies, but sometimes Hallmark marks too hard. We're nearing the end of this review series and I'm having difficulty giving the same feedback for the nth time. If you love sappy sap-sap, you could do worse. The production values and acting are significantly higher than many films we've seen thus far. There's also a cute dog who adorably breaks things.
Feminism: *zzzzzzzz*
Shoehorned Christmas cheer: *zzzzzzzz*
Sequel potential: *incoherent murmuring*
Manly snores: Many
Sleep: Lovely!
Candy canes: 3
She said: I guess the movie is okay, but I couldn't handle all the bad singing. It wasn't marketed as a musical. I don't appreciate being surprised by it. The portrayal of Kate as a book editor is terrible. She just sits at a desk and says she's editing. She literally says it. I just can't take this movie seriously.
Sappiness: Off the charts
Gore level: Needed to be much higher
Cute animals: Yes!
Loud kids that are supposed to be cute but are really annoying: One of them sings. Ack.
Times I said "God no!" in frustration: 5
Candy canes: 1
Final Score: ? Candy Canes
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