Rating: 0.5/5
“Falling for Christmas,” released Nov. 10, 2022, directed by Janeen Damian, the film follows a cliche, humorless plot, leaving the movie dissatisfying for viewers and far off from the “romantic comedy” it was marketed as. As Lindsay Lohan’s first starring role in around ten years, I anticipated a strong comeback, yet the film was utterly disappointing. The film’s lazy direction and the absolute lack of romantic chemistry between the two leads was made worse with an overly predictable plot.
The movie follows a woman named Sierra (Lindsay Lohan), characterized as a spoiled daughter living in luxury with her father’s money. Her boyfriend, a social media influencer, proposes to her on a cliff, but before she could say “yes,” she slips off the edge and loses her memory in the process. She is then found by Jake (ChordOverstreet), who allows her to stay at his lodge with his mother-in-law and daughter where they help her regain her memories. Throughout the course of her stay at the lodge, she starts to fall in love with Jake while learning how to fend for herself and be independent, something she never did prior to losing her memory.
The overly corny jokes in the movie made the movie cringe-worthy. For example, after losing her memories, Sierra attempts to make breakfast, but because of her inexperience, she ends up spilling the food everywhere. The comedic music track in the background implies that the scene is meant to be funny but it simply is not. The jokes were poorly scripted and the acting was forced. Sierra’s character also played into stereotypes under the guise of independence as she began taking on traditionally feminine roles such as cooking and cleaning, even going as far as taking on a motherly role for Jake’s daughter. Her independence did not involve anything which would be traditionally deemed as masculine, rather she took up general house work and “feminine” chores.
The romantic chemistry between Jake and Sierra was very forced, making it hard to watch. Lohan and Overstreet seemed to have no connection while acting with each other, almost as if they were creating a video for a simple school project. I felt no connection to the relationship between characters nor did I feel any empathy towards their situations due to the terrible acting.
I would definitely not recommend this movie to anyone unless they want to sit through it just to be able to predict everything without even watching the first half. The poor directing and writing of this movie are truly disappointing and I wish I could take back the two hours I spent watching it.