On Friday night, I willingly sat down on the couch and gave two hours of my life to a terrible Netflix Christmas movie.
It’s called The Holiday Calendar and you might’ve seen it pop up on your net homepage over the last week or so.
If you’re thinking of watching it, I can tell you this…
It’s awful. And cliched. Truly terrible stuff. But it’s so bad, I kind of loved it.
If the movie’s title didn’t already give it away, The Holiday Calendar is about a… holiday advent calendar.
But not just any old boring Christmas advent calendar. No, this one has magical Christmas powers.
When a struggling photographer Abby who makes her money working as a children’s photographer goes home for Christmas, her ‘Gramps’ gives her an old antique Christmas advent calendar belonging to her late-grandmother.
Watch the trailer for Netflix’s The Holiday Calendar below. Post continues after video.
Without spoiling it for anyone who does want to watch it, from there, the calendar seemingly predicts the future and Abby embarks on a magical Christmas journey yada yada.
Like last year’s breakout Netflix Christmas movies A Christmas Prince and Christmas Inheritance, The Holiday Calendar is a bit sh*t. But in an enjoyable, inoffensive, highly watchable way.
It’s got everything a bingeable Christmas film needs – romance, family drama, Christmas songs, sleigh bells and snow.
The movie also has a surprisingly interesting(ish) cast. Vampire Diaries fans will recognise Kat Graham as the teenage witch Bonnie Bennett. Even cooler, Graham was Lindsay Lohan’s best friend from camp in The Parent Trap.
The character of friend-zoned Jay is played by Quincy Jones, the adopted son of rapper Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs. The 23-year-old actor and singer was born to music producer Al B. Sure! and Combs’ former long-term girlfriend Kim Porter. He was also named after his godfather, music legend Quincy Jones.
The other thing that separates this Netflix Christmas movie from others we’ve seen is the casting’s mix of ethnicities.
Most noticeably, Abby’s parents are played by a black actor and Caucasian actress, depicting a bi-racial family. Graham herself said this was what drew her to get involved with the film.
“I have never seen a holiday movie centred around a bi-racial family where the mother is white and the dad is black which is exactly what I had,” the 29-year-old actress told Bustle.
“It’s never been done before and I think with everything that’s happening in the world right now, especially in America, it’s really, really important to show love and family and community and relationships in that way.”
The film isn’t political or polarising at all, but it’s nice to see the characters of Christmas films we’re familiar with played by a more diverse cast.
If you’re craving a Christmas movie to tide you over until the ‘highly anticipated’ releases of The Princess Switch (a Parent Trap-style film with Vanessa Hudgens) and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, give this one a go.
Have you watched The Holiday Calendar yet? What’s your favourite terrible Christmas movie?