It is that time of the year again. The Netflix line-up is inundated with syrupy Christmas romances with a bit of Santa magic. The streaming platform’s latest, Best Christmas Ever, however, decided to take a fresh route by focusing on friendship. Unfortunately, its inability to flesh out what could have been a promising premise almost makes the audience wish that the makers had stuck to a cheesy love story.
Every year, Jackie Jennings (Brandy Norwood) sends her college friend, Charlotte Sanders (Heather Graham), a Christmas newsletter, describing her perfect life. The latter though finds the act superficial. When fate lands her on Jackie’s doorstep, she decides to embark on a hunt for the holes in her friend’s so-called ideal life.
Even as the film attempts to add novelty by exploring elements of mystery and drama, the angles fail to fall in line to create a coherent narrative. For instance, the conflict between the friends, which forms the foundation of the story, gets resolved rather quickly in the 80-minute watch. Why is one expected to watch the rest of the film? All that viewers are left with are glimpses of Charlotte trying to mend ways after her confrontation with Jackie, which is plain tiresome.
The directors make no effort, whatsoever, to offer a backdrop to the friendship—why are they together despite the fundamental differences? The plot lacks depth. Perhaps, montages from their growing up years could have helped. It is established that Charlotte, Jackie and the former’s husband Rob (Jason Biggs) attended college together, and that he dated both women at different points in time. But it’s only a single thread of a friendship, which seems to have a long history.
The best part about these Christmas films is how heart-warmingly mushy they are, and Best Christmas Ever has exactly one such moment. But even that seems to have been forced in to give the film the clichéd happy ending. As the credits roll, the audience only has one thing to be thankful for—that the end is finally here.
