Review | Netflix movie review: Falling for Christmas – Lindsay Lohan back in wholesome if vacuous festive romantic comedy
- Lindsay Lohan shows that she can still play a lead in this fairly vacuous romantic comedy about a ski resort heiress with amnesia
- Lohan has signed a multi-picture deal with Netflix, so we can expect to see more of the actress in family-friendly roles
2/5 stars
After years in the Hollywood wilderness, child star turned tabloid target Lindsay Lohan has her biggest role in at least a decade in Falling for Christmas.
The first in a multi-picture deal with streaming giant Netflix, this chintzy festive romantic comedy sees Lohan return to the type of wholesome, family-friendly fare in which she established herself in the 1990s.
Ostensibly a snow-driven remake of the 1987 Kurt Russell/Goldie Hawn hit Overboard, Falling for Christmas sees Lohan play Sierra Belmont, the spoiled, self-involved heiress of a luxury ski resort.
Following a high-altitude alpine altercation, she awakens on the other side of the mountain with amnesia and is taken in by Jack (Chord Overstreet), the handsome young owner of a struggling nearby ski lodge.
With her father (Jack Wagner) out of town, and her airhead influencer fiancé Tad (George Young) stranded on a remote mountain pass, nobody comes looking for “Sarah”, who is welcomed with open arms by Jack’s daughter (Olivia Perez) and the rest of the warm, close-knit community of Summit Springs.
Sierra quickly learns to fend for herself, and inevitably grows closer to Jack, not least when she discovers they are both wrestling with grief.
Falling for Christmas marks the directorial debut of Janeen Damian, the writer-producer behind such classics as A Christmas Princess, A Royal Christmas, Crown for Christmas, The Christmas Waltz, Much Ado About Christmas, as well as some non-Christmas-themed productions.
The non-denominational festivities involve little more than wrapping up warm to exchange expensive gifts and gorge on glazed treats round an open fire.
Half-baked homespun truths about the importance of family and the spreading of kindness are alluded to between a sprinkling of slapstick pratfalls and chaste doe-eyed glances between the two wholesomely attractive leads.
To her credit, Lohan reminds us that she can be an effortlessly assured leading lady. She appears far more comfortable as the down-to-earth girl-next-door Sarah than as the entitled Sierra, fawned over 24/7 by Belmont’s legion of guest relations minions.
Lohan deserves far better material than this vacuous vehicle, as sickly sweet as a six-foot candy cane and with all the emotional depth of a Hallmark Christmas card.
Next up for Lohan is Irish Wish, another frivolous collaboration with Damian but, with access to better material, Netflix could be the perfect home for the actress to mount a serious comeback.
Falling for Christmas is streaming on Netflix.
