Written by Holly Hester
Directed by Steve Carr
Kate: "I love Christmas. Family time, the lights. It's awesome. This year, Christmas might look a little different."
It might be still November but of course, there's TV Christmas movies to be had. With Netflix, their Christmas movies aren't that too far off the usual Hallmark/Lifetime fodder and this one easily could've been a feature on one of those channels.
You've got leads with Alicia Silverstone and Oliver Hudson. They're a divorced couple named Kate and Everett. Oh wait, it's unconsciously coupling and they're also known as Betty and Al. I'll let you guess which was which.
Anyways, it's Christmas time and Kate wanted to make a career change after spending years looking after the kids and dealing with Everett's busy schedule. She had plans to spend one last Christmas in Winterlite before moving back to Boston for a job offer.
However, first was the Christmas in general. There was her teenage son Gabriel (Wilder Hudson), college bound daughter Sienna (Emily Hall) and the latter's boyfriend, Nigel (Timothy Innes). Throw in Everett's dads Daryl (Geoffrey Owens) and Mike (Derek McGrath) and that's the family side of this Christmas get together sorted.
As for everyyelse, there was the snarky Doris (Linda Kash), best friend April (Melissa Joan Hart) and then there was the alternative love interests for Kate and Everett. That was where Tess (Jameela Jamil) and Chet (Pierson Fode) factored into things.
At no point in this movie where either Tess or Chet going to remain with Everett and Kate respectively. If anything their roles served to get the divorced couple to work through their issues and get back together. Inevitably, that's exactly what happened here.
- There was a lot of references to Harry Potter and a rather pointed reference from Kate about George Clooney. Oh and The British Bake-Off.
- It was predictable but I did find it funny that Tess and Chet also ended up together by the end of the movie.
- Standout music: Paul Simon's You Can Call Me Al.
- Chronology: Christmas 2025 in Winterlite.
A Merry Little Ex-Mas won't win points for originality but it's light and breezy and not too sickly sweet for its own good. I'm feeling generous, it was fine.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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