Best Christmas Ever – A Lifeless Holiday Comedy

Over the past several years, Netflix has provided families with a large collection of seemingly endless Christmas originals to cozy up with during any holiday season or all year round. Their latest feature, Best. Christmas. Ever!, comes from Mary Lambert of Pet Sematary and Pet Sematary Two fame and features quite a few recognizable stars from the 1990s such as Heather Graham, Jason Biggs, and Brandy Norwood. To set the stage story wise, every year at Christmas, Jackie (Norwood) sends a boastful holiday newsletter that makes her old college friend Charlotte (Graham) jealous and insecure about her current family life and marriage. After a twist of fate, Charlotte and her family end up on Jackie’s doorstep just days before Christmas. After a blizzard snows them in, Charlotte seizes the opportunity to prove her old friend’s life can’t be as perfect as it seems.

It should be noted that fans of Hallmark Christmas movies or similar Christmas Netflix originals are likely to enjoy Best. Christmas. Ever!. The film is perfectly harmless fare that never strives to be anything more than what it is which is refreshing compared to most other films as of late. However, those who don’t fall under that demographic should stay far away because it is on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of the subgenre. The end result is a tedious watch that feels more like a chore than anything else. While there isn’t anything offensive or upsetting about it, it feels so cheaply-produced and rushed beyond belief to hit its release date.

The one thing that actually works here is its cast. It’s great seeing Graham onscreen in lead roles again and though she isn’t given a lot to work with, she’s still a delight as Charlotte. Norwood is just as good as Jackie, sharing sweet chemistry with Graham while utilizing her notorious amazing singing voice. Meanwhile, it’s always great to see Biggs (who doesn’t star in things nearly as much as he should) albeit in a throwaway role as Charlotte’s husband Rob. That being said, his presence is enough to score the film a few extra points, and it’s easy to buy he and Graham as husband and wife.

Outside of its talented cast, there isn’t much to latch on to. It is the most basic, predictable, and lifeless Christmas film imaginable that for the most part, fails at everything it sets out to do. It isn’t funny in the slightest and its jokes often either fall flat on their face or are repeated throughout. Its attempts to be heartfelt and sweet feel saccharine and desperate, and its more emotional moments don’t feel earned or leave any sort of effect despite the efforts of its cast. For a film that is barely 80-minutes long, there isn’t a whole lot to the story, characters or arcs but also feels slightly drawn. With little of note actually happening over the course of its short running time, it makes virtually no effort to keep audiences engaged in whatever is happening.

Ultimately, Best. Christmas. Ever! sadly isn’t very good and will only appeal to its limited target audience. Despite assembling a great cast, a talented director, and boasting lots of holiday cheer, there isn’t much to this one. In the end, the film is something more on the dull side and one that is destined to be forgotten as it is overshadowed by the consistent yearly wave of Christmas titles releasing over the remainder of the holiday season either in theatres or on streaming.

still courtesy of Netflix

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/