{"id":1386,"date":"2025-11-30T08:57:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T08:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=1386"},"modified":"2025-11-30T08:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T08:57:12","slug":"my-ultimate-ranking-of-netflixs-newest-and-cheesiest-christmas-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=1386","title":{"rendered":"My ultimate ranking of Netflix\u2019s newest and cheesiest Christmas movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We may not be in December yet, but\u00a0Netflix<\/a>\u2019s cheesy\u00a0Christmas movie<\/a>\u00a0season has kicked off already, snowing down an array of improbable rom-com shenanigans upon us.<\/p>\n

Having offered up\u00a0Lindsay Lohan<\/a>,\u00a0topless magical snowmen<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0a topless troupe of male dancers<\/a>\u00a0led by Chad Michael Murray in 2024, 2025\u2019s roster of talent includes\u00a0Alicia Silverstone<\/a>, Minka Kelly and Sex Education and Barbie star\u00a0Connor Swindells<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n

And yes, a topless firefighting scene too, obviously.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s slate comprises of A Merry Little Ex-Mas, Champagne Problems, Jingle Bell Heist and My Secret Santa.<\/p>\n

But which of these new flicks are worthy of your time, whether for an enjoyably brainless 90-odd minutes of winding down \u2013 or even perhaps a repeat slot in your annual festive viewing schedule?<\/p>\n

Read on for my thoughts, as they\u2019re released \u2013 and as I have time to watch them (hey, it would be nice to live in a world where this was all I had to do in a day). I\u2019m ranking them as we go, tweaking the order, so check back again when they\u2019re all out.<\/p>\n

Currently, this is the best of the bunch in my eyes.<\/p>\n

It has a different vibe to the lighter, full-on glossy affairs with its focus on older characters and an established relationship that\u2019s in trouble \u2013 I was actually pleasantly surprised from the off as it starts with an animated explainer at the beginning to catch you up on the protagonist\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Although, lest you think this is particularly serious, this is also the film that has a character strip to his underwear while attempting to fight an indoor fire, as you do.<\/p>\n

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Starring Alicia Silverstone, Oliver Hudson,\u00a0Jameela Jamil<\/a>, Pierson Fod\u00e9\u00a0and Melissa Joan Hart, A Merry Little Ex-Mas follows Kate (Silverstone) and Everett (Hudson) as they attempt to quietly divorce after drifting apart over the years.<\/p>\n

However, their plans to enjoy one last family Christmas together with their young adult kids is thrown off course when Everett\u2019s glamorous new girlfriend (Jamil) unexpectedly arrives.<\/p>\n

Jamil is simply playing another take on the snooty-but-kooky Brit like her character Tahani in The Good Place, but she does do it pretty well \u2013 and is also, thank God, actually British. It\u2019s the same for Kate\u2019s daughter Sienna\u2019s (Emily Hall) boyfriend, a Harry Potter tour guide played with panto levels of broadness by Timothy Innes.<\/p>\n

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But I must say, while Silverstone and Hudson are impressive gets for this type of Netflix fare \u2013 and provide decent performances \u2013 it\u2019s Fod\u00e9 who steals the show as the town\u2019s \u2018everyjobber\u2019 Chet.<\/p>\n

He also woos older woman Kate with an endearing glee, truly delighting in his role in the same way he did\u00a0in The Wrong Paris earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still not the most original premise, but A Merry Little Ex-Mas does boast a script better than the bare minimum. It\u2019s exploration of family drama is a little bit different to the norm too, without straying into territory too deep, which would \u2013 of course \u2013 rather defeat its purpose as a Netflix Christmas movie.<\/p>\n

Champagne Problems is more of the usual frothy fare when it comes to a Netflix festive rom-com \u2013 you get Paris at Christmastime and some fun supporting characters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the perfect film to watch\u00a0while ironing, folding laundry<\/a>\u00a0or decorating the tree, i.e. not at all taxing on the brain \u2013 and while that seems faint praise, would I watch it again? Yes, absolutely.<\/p>\n

I was largely mesmerised by leading man Tom Wozniczka (Slow Horses<\/a>), oozing effortless French charisma as an avid reader wanting to open a bookshop that also serves wine (sign me up immediately, to both him and that).<\/p>\n

Minka Kelly (also seen in\u00a0Netflix\u2019s Ransom Canyon<\/a>) twinkles just about enough too as business executive Sydney, sent to Paris to acquire a famous champagne brand for her company.’<\/p>\n

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On the one night off she promises her sister she\u2019ll take while there, they enjoy a meet-cute and a\u2026 rendezvous (although demurely cut away from so we can watch some fountain statues getting hot and heavy instead).<\/p>\n

The next morning it turns out he\u2019s the champagne heir and very sceptical of Sydney\u2019s employer thanks to their cut-throat reputation.’<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the standard comedy of errors and misunderstandings, and Riley from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Samuel Xavier) even pops up as Sydney\u2019s work nemesis \u2013 you just know a serious businessman with that many highlights in his hair is bad news.<\/p>\n

Sydney is a bland protagonist, but functions well as a cipher through which any viewer can enjoy the romance they too deserve with a sexy Frenchman.<\/p>\n

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For our sakes, Champagne Problems happily gorges itself on all the Parisian tropes like copious shots of the Eiffel Tower, enough outdoor lighting to be seen from space and knowing French hotel staff who roll their eyes and laugh at the \u2018adorable\u2019 shenanigans of the heroine.’<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s fine, it\u2019s giving us what we want as well as some unexpected additions \u2013 that Die Hard line had no right to go as hard as it did.<\/p>\n

Jingle Bell Heist and My Secret Santa \u2013 which is out on December 3 \u2013 so don\u2019t forget to come back and see where they finish up in my final ranking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  We may not be in December yet, but\u00a0Netflix\u2019s cheesy\u00a0Christmas movie\u00a0season has kicked off already, snowing down an array of improbable rom-com shenanigans upon us. Having offered up\u00a0Lindsay Lohan,\u00a0topless magical snowmen\u00a0and\u00a0a topless troupe of male dancers\u00a0led by Chad Michael Murray in 2024, 2025\u2019s roster of talent includes\u00a0Alicia Silverstone, Minka Kelly and Sex Education and Barbie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t