Jingle Bell Heist: Love and Thievery at Christmas

Jingle Bell Heist is the latest Netflix holiday romcom, this time with a modern day heist twist. The film follows Sophia (Holt) a sharp witted and clever retail worker, and Nick (Swindells), a down on his luck repairman waiting for his big break. Following a chance encounter, they learn that their intentions are aligned as the pair agree to team up and rob London’s most notorious department score on Christmas Eve, one for which Sophia happens to also work for. Forced into an uneasy alliance, things only get messier and more complicated as secrets are revealed and their deepening feelings threaten the future of their relationship, putting the heist in jeopardy. Certainly far from what one would consider an impressive holiday romantic comedy, it is still one that is likely to please its target audience, however limited it may be. To anyone else, the film lacks anything remotely noteworthy or enough to make it stand out in a worthwhile way, beyond the holiday cycle.

Holt is an actress on the verge of becoming a major movie star, and her performance as Sophia is further evidence that she is one step closer to reaching that level of stardom. Holt is insanely charming, funny, and just has such a likeable presence that it is easy to become invested in her whenever she appears on screen. Meanwhile, Swindells shows solid leading man chops as Nick, especially fitting into the romcom genre. They have such genuine chemistry here, the film would not have worked nearly as well without them, making for a cute pair as their romance continues to grow over the course of its short runtime. Set during the leadup to Christmas, its themes are strong and permeate throughout, with the crux of the plot taking place on Christmas Eve. A worthy holiday release, if anything, will have audiences in the Christmas spirit.

Not without its flaws, Jingle Bell Heist is a film geared, for the most part, towards its target audience, with little for anyone else to truly latch on to. While a lot of its comedy falls flat, and its heist elements help to give it a different flavour, the combination bring nothing new to the genre, and do not quite mesh as well with the romance angle. Similarly, the film stretches believability throughout, hoping audiences will go along with a series of different far fetched plot threads, with the biggest being the aforementioned heist. That being said, though Holt and Swindells are strong, the supporting cast fail to leave any sort of mark on the film. In this case, talented comedic actors such as Peter Serafinowicz and Lucy Punch are completely wasted, and are essentially both on autopilot, saddled with such dull roles.

Above all else, Jingle Bell Heist is simply another passable holiday romcom that delivers just enough entertainment to get by, but could have been so much more, given its unique premise, and Michael Fimognari, a director who is no stranger to the young adult romcom genre (following his work helming the first 2 ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’ films). On the other hand, the chemistry of Olivia Holt and Connor Swindells help keep it watchable, but they can only do so much to elevate a film that could never quite come together in the way it had hoped. Not the worst way to spend 90+ minutes, it is hard to recommend this particular film, considering there are so many far better holiday romcoms out there, or just on Netflix alone.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/