Christmas as Usual

Thea was the only moderately redeemable character of the lot (and I guess the kid). I actually kind of hoped she would just run away from this circus of clowns, each of whom brought the fine viewers a rich palette of personality characteristics, ranging from the mildly disagreeable to the stupidly obnoxious.

Her finance Jashan... you ask someone off-hand to marry you and don't get an enthusiastic "yes;" then you show up at her family's doorstep during the holidays and start judging their traditions and imposing your own? I mean, I may not be up on all the latest trends, but am I meant to be told that a little self-awareness has gone out of style? What a pathetic rube, sorry!

Now, the mom. What kind of a bizarre household does she lead here? Am I missing something, or should you be way more understanding of a stranger not eating your bizarre delicacies, and way less accepting of someone using your kitchen or getting in a brawl? I mean, he's from another country not another planet. Just use some common sense!

As for the family and the ex - let me think... vapid, dim-witted, petty. These are a few words that come to mind. Okay, I did laugh at a couple of Simen's one-liners.

Overall, I get that they were trying to play on the culture clash thread (a genius ploy, as I don't recall this ever having been tried before). Unfortunately, everything else - from the interest level of the plot to the elemental reasonableness of the characters - was subjugated to these awkward tropes and cheap laughs. Of course, I'm sure this was always intended as a light comedy, and it was at least successful at not being a total bore.

I guess the part that saddens me is that it felt like maybe the filmmakers saw themselves as in on the joke - like "let's at least all agree that all these antiquated cultural norms are kind of a laugh." Cultural traditions can get stale, yes, but they are vectors for common values, belonging, depth, meaning, unity, and relationships. If these Netflix producers think they are mostly a punchline, then, I guess I pity them even more than their bumbling characters.

The cultural clash awaits as newly engaged Jashan and Thea fly to Norway to her family for celebrating Christmas. She hasn't informed her family about Jashan being an Indian, not even his full name and she wants to have a perfect Christmas celebration to find the right time to break the announcement. But his family is not nice towards Jashan with her ex boyfriend living next door to make couple of crucial moments complicated and she doesn't think preparing Jashan or giving him an heads up was necessary. Will she have her Christmas and save her love story forms rest of the story.

It's the age old love story of two people from different parts of the world, falling in love and one of them trying to fit into the world of the other. The problem is how one toned the characters are, giving little chance to empathize with any of them. Things keep getting hard for Jashan and what follows next was intended to be funny but it did not evoke any laughter. Limited India to the population count and spicy food was also not in good taste. Now characters can be self centered, but the narrative has to be balanced which wasn't the case here. This just didn't give enough to root for Thea as the film only succeeded in making me feel sad and sad for Jashan.

Why would you pack a kurta while travelling to Norway for Christmas?

"Så var det jul igjen" is an outstanding film that demands to be seen in its original language. This Norwegian movie brilliantly navigates the complexities of Christmas traditions, presenting them in a light that is both humorous and insightful. The film introduces a cultural shock that, contrary to initial expectations, is remarkably believable and well-executed. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I laughed, having braced myself for a cliché and uninspiring holiday movie. Instead, what I found was a delightful blend of wit and charm that breathes new life into the often predictable genre of Christmas films. This movie is a hidden gem that deserves a wider audience.

I watched the movie with very high hopes but ended up being highly disappointed. It is a lost opportunity and I feel it would probably offend people from both the countries. I am Indian and no, we don't behave like Jashan. His character was downright rude and obnoxious. I felt the Secondhand embarassment throughout. Thea's family was equally hostile towards Jashan. Eventually it was a mess where no-one could evoke any sympathy! I think the only likeable characters were the child and her mother. The last 5 minutes of the movie were good. Rest of the movie is completely directionless in my opinion.

It's a Christmas movie. Just like hundreds of them. You expect to have a good time, drop some laughs from the awkwardness and that's all. We cannot always expect "Love Actually".

And for the people who thinks that's awful and makes sense and the characters are not believable... come one, it says right at the beginning that is a true story!

Most of the characters have ridiculous situations and apart from artistic freedom, thinking that some of them happened to the real "Shazam" and Thea... well, I can relate. Mothers in law and unfitting can be like that.

So, it's not Love Actually as said before but also it is not mass production Christmas's Walmart movies.