On the eighth day of Christmas...
...I need answers. Answer. I need one answer.
24 days of Christmas
Each day of Christmas, I'll be reviewing a Christmas movie and sharing a new Christmas outfit. Today's tee sums up my life, my year, my week, and this 'photoshoot' - there was shiny garland above my head, but I didn't get high enough up the ladder, apparently.
We went to our local carols tonight, where I was reminded Australia has it's own version of 'Dashing through the Snow'. I'll see if I can find a good assortment of Australian Christmas Carols and add them for the twelve days of Christmas.
Day four and I'm realising I have a Netflix obsession, but it is totally unintentional. I'm going to stop picking random movies and find one that isn't a dang Netflix one (don't worry, Hallmark are coming!).
Let It Snow - 4.5/5 stars
I spent the first five minutes of this movie going, "It's them!" every time a new character was introduced. No, I didn't know anything about it other than that there were a lot of intermingling characters. I've since learned it was an anthology book (by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle published in 2008) and that Myracle has called 'Love Actually' for teens. Which is as true as it is plainly ridiculous, because 'Love Actually' is for everyone.
I'm starting to think I either REALLY like Christmas movies, or the offerings are getting better, because I loved this one. We focus on a group of friends and their lives on Christmas Eve, with a particular focus on their love lives, but I am very happy to report that there is also some friendship and personal growth which is nice. There are four main coupling/romance threads in this one - Duke and Tobin, Julie and Stuart, Dorrie and Kerry, and poor Addie. I have no idea which was my favourite, though. I was trying to think of one and couldn't pick. And, really, why should I?
Duke and Tobin were the adorable best friends with that spark you just wanted to be more. But then along comes JP to throw a spanner in the works. I feel like even JP at some points was just yelling at them to kiss already - the spark between Keirnan Shipka and Mitchell Hope was STRONG. Like strong. I felt it deep in the cold recesses of my heart and I so badly wanted one of them to freaking say something already. Ugh, the bit where they duet? Just...ugh *heart eyes emoji*
Julie and Stuart. Le sigh. Little Dora the Explorer all jaded and closed off, even with the charming superstar musician who decides to jump off a train with her for a waffle. It was sweet and lots of growth and opening up and growing up! They were super cute together and I just want good things for them. The addition of Bad Janet was also a nice bonus.
Dorrie and Kerry. Naw. Just naw. My little nerd heart rejoices! A Quaffle Waffle? Like, who turns down a Quaffle Waffle? That was, handsdown, the most awesome gesture I think I've seen in a teen romance for ages. As someone who makes a living out of desperately hoping the big gesture is swoony enough, I take my Christmas hat off to the writers. Fun fact: their story wasn't in the original anthology, but I'm so glad it was in the movie.
And this leaves Addie. I think she had the biggest growth, at least the most obvious and impactful. She starts out as the shallow girl who is freaking out over her boyfriend liking another girl's posts on social media. She so badly needs his validation that she completely dismissed her best friend while they were going to look at a Christmas present. I utterly loathed (hello, inner-Grinch) her at the beginning, but actually really liked her by the end. She gained more self-respect, became a better friend, and well on her way to being a better person.
There's also Keon, whose only aim is to throw the best party ever and have a DJ come and listen to his set and think he's great. Unfortunately his parent' flight gets cancelled and he doesn't have the house to himself. Enter his boss, Billy, who calls Keon in on his day off and provides just the answer to his problems. He has quite the growth, thanks in part to Billy who is quite happy to wait for the universe to provide whatever is needed.
The movie is opened and closed by Joan Cusack (she's been quite busy this Christmas) who plays the Tin Foil Lady and drives a tow truck. There is much debate in town over why she's the Tin Foil Lady, but she provides some much needed guidance for poor Addy.
Over all, the movie made me smile, made me giggle, and was just a really nice feel good film. I particularly liked how much snow there was given how hot today was in Australia. I loved the far-reaching aspect of the storyline. It had lots of different plot threads, but nothing felt rushed or overlooked. It was satisfying as both a Christmas movie and a romance movie, so as a Christmas movie it excelled. I really think love actually is all around... No, sorry. I really think everyone should 'let it snow' and watch this one.
However, I do deduct half a star for letting me spend the whole movie paranoid someone was taking a trip to the hospital after the twins ran them over, for leaving a poor piglet unsupervised on a diner counter, and for leaving me hanging. Otherwise, I loved this sweet little Christmas romance heartwarmer.
If you've got a suggestion for a movie, leave it in the comments.
You can check out the trailer below (fingers crossed there isn't any regional bollocks that gets in the way).
