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A Christmas Prince
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The holiday season is here and that means one thing: presents! Okay, sorry, it means two things: presents and Christmas movies! As long as movies have been around, we’ve passed time during the month of December by watching seasonal antics. There are plenty of classics out there to choose from, and odds are your family has their own list of favorites that get a screening every year. But for those of us that love Christmas so much that egg nog runs through our veins, we’ve already watched all the classics by December 1st. What else is there to watch? And also, why in the world did I put the image of egg nog coursing through veins in your head? My apologies!
Between cable networks like Freeform and Hallmark and the VOD market, a hundred new Christmas movies are made every year. But with so many holiday wannabe hits churned out annually, there’s no way to tell what’s nice and what’s naughty (and I mean “naughty” as in “This movie should be ashamed of itself”). Low budgets, rushed productions, hammy acting–it’s a real roll of the dice when it comes to these never-streamed-it-before Christmas oddities.
That’s where this list comes in! Netflix has a ton of these holiday movies, and these are the five that are well worth your 90 minutes. Whether you’re looking for something to put on in the background while you perfect the art of gift wrapping or something to lift your spirits on the coldest, darkest nights of the year, these films will do the trick!
'Pete's Christmas' (2013)
This Hallmark Original comes with that cable channel’s time-tested seal of holiday approval, so you know it’s a step above any Christmas movie on Netflix starring Dean Cain and talking dogs (this is my way of telling you to avoid The Three Dogateers at all costs–oh no, why’d I hyperlink to it?!). Pete’s Christmas isn’t that original. It’s basically Groundhog Day for kids, and the part that’s repeated is essentially the first act of Home Alone. Still, it makes up for that stock plot (there’s another time-loop Christmas movie on this list!) with a few charming performances. Notable actors include two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern and unsung House of Cards hero Molly Parker.
Also, if you’re a White Stripes fan, this film’s score includes what sound like truly bizarre off-brand recreations of a few of their songs. “This Is Not My Doorbell” and “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hardest Button To Button” play almost back to back starting 36 minutes in.
'A Christmas Star' (2015)
In true made-for-TV Christmas fashion, A Christmas Star features a greedy developer (played by Downton Abbey’s Robert James-Collier) looking to buy a quaint Irish village and turn it into not that. Appropriately, it feels like this movie was also made by a village, as it stars a cast of delightful Irish teens and the two A-list Irish actors out there: Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson(‘s voice).
Okay, I buried the lede: A Christmas Star stars a girl named Noelle who got miracle superpowers after being born under “the Christmas Star.” So yeah, if you like your Christmas movies with a bit of quasi-X-Men angst and love Irish accents, you cannot go wrong here.
'How Sarah Got Her Wings' (2015)
The quality control measures Hallmark, Lifetime, and Freeform put in place when it comes to their Christmas movie output are definitely not present over at MarVista Entertainment. They’re a quantity over quality kinda place, and Netflix is stuffed with MarVista Christmas misfires (12 Dog Days Till Christmas, A Dogwalker’s Christmas Tale, Merry Kissmas). That’s partly why How Sarah Got Her Wings is such a triumph.
This one’s the tried-and-true “angel sent back to Earth to complete unfinished business” Christmas movie, and it actually knows that. Yeah, How Sarah Got Her Wings is one of the few of these movies with actual jokes in it, including a version of Heaven that’s like a combo exclusive nightclub/Genius Bar. And, in a truly miraculous confluence of made-for-TV events, lead actress Lindsey Gort (The Carrie Diaries) has serious comedy chops! Hallelujah!
'A Christmas Prince' (2017)
Netflix has branched out into a lot of genres over the years, and this is the year they finally got in on the made-for-TV (or, in this case, streaming) Christmas movie game. Their first submission into the holiday romcom pantheon is A Christmas Prince, a by-the-numbers love story between a no-frills aspiring reporter and a reluctant soon-to-be king set in a vaguely European country that is definitely not England. iZombie’s Rose McIver throws herself into this movie with charming gusto, landing in snowbanks and princely arms. It’s nowhere near original, but that’s not what you want out of these movies. You want cozy reliability around the holidays, and this one delivers. Fingers crossed Netflix turns out twelve days’ worth of these Christmas movies next year.
'12 Dates of Christmas' (2011)
But honestly, even if Netflix doesn’t dive into this jolly genre, everything will be all right so long as 12 Dates of Christmas remains on the streaming service. Amy Smart and Mark-Paul Gosselaar star in this should-be-iconic basic cable Christmas movie (ABC Family, Class of ’11) that also borrows Groundhog Day’s setup. The 12 first dates in question are between Smart and Gosselaar as the hardworking and lovelorn Kate relives a dud of a Christmas over and over again. Along the way she helps make Christmas bright for all around her (including one scrappy li’l puppy) and finds love with a guy who has no idea how this stranger knows so much about him. This one is everything all those other made-for-TV Christmas movies aspire to be.
