When I first started watching 'Charming Christmas (2015)', I felt as though I was a commentary YouTuber researching films to make fun of in an upcoming video. It soon became apparent, however, that my time would've been wasted if that was the case; this isn't bad enough to make fun of in an entertaining way. It's bad, don't get me wrong, but it's bad because it's so bland that it isn't even interesting to criticise, not because it's especially incompetent or nonsensical overall. Having said that, there are certainly parts that could be described as incompetent and parts that could be described as nonsensical. For instance, the film frequently resolves conflicts that haven't even been established, setting up a problem and fixing it within the very same sentence. It also features two subplots that feel as though they're only included to pad the length and get the picture to the measly eighty-four minutes it ultimately is (no doubt for the purpose of putting in as many advertisement breaks as possible). The flick is about a guy, who may or may not be the real Santa Claus, coming to work as a department store Santa and sticking his nose into the lives of everyone he meets, essentially manipulating them to behave in a way he perceives to be 'better' and more 'Christmassy'. He's presented as the piece's love interest, but he's honestly really smarmy and controlling and not at all appealing, no matter how much the movie tries to trick you into thinking he's a literal saint who knows what's best for everyone. The actual protagonist is a business-owner who wants to franchise her family-owned store. This legitimate goal is treated as something bad that she can't possibly want 'deep down', and a big chunk of the movie is dedicated to Nick (yes, that's the possible Santa's real name) guilt tripping her into changing her mind about the whole affair. It's really annoying, actually, because his potential love for her appears to rest entirely on whether she sells the store or not, even though he doesn't work there permanently and has no reasonable reason to be upset if she does so (his job isn't in danger or anything like that). The flick tries to instil a sense of Christmastime magic, but it's so cheesy and forced that it actually does the opposite. It's honestly the sort of thing I dislike the most about the holiday season, a Christmas movie that actively makes me less excited about Christmas. It's just a bland, bland affair all the way through. It doesn't feel like it tells a story worth telling. Though its acting is (mostly) serviceable and its cinematography is clean (a bit too clean, if you ask me), its script is just too insipid and uninspired for the end result to be anything other than the same. As I said, it's typically competent and it's inoffensive enough, but it's so unremarkable that it almost hurts. 4/10.
Review of Charming Christmas
