A Natale mi faccio viva io...

It's a typical feel-good Christmas romance BUT with so many bizarre twists thrown in. By the end of this movie, I'm wondering who's in love with whom, and why didn't the parents have a bigger part (since the theme seemed to be about "true love". I mean, whose love is as unconditional as a parent?). Plus, the argument/conflict at the end didn't make sense - when you're friend is given a "ghosting" gift like this, are you really going to argue about stupid things???

This 2019 movie was ahead of the game, but having been overdosed on millennial, LGBT, mixed race 2020/2021 movies this Christmas, I just wanted something else. TV/FILM has a shocking tendency to ignore groups of people for ages then get obsessed with them and forget about others. There's so much more to cover to really tick the diversity boxes.

As with any creative medium you have to contextualize it in order to appreciate it. This is a made for TV movie about Christmas from a historically poor performing network.

That said, this movie felt pretty fresh. There was real comedy happening, the characters felt thought out and responsive in a human way. As opposed to the myriad of archetypes and plot devices this relied on story and character interaction to drive it forward. It earned every scene and didn't do anything half way. The actors clearly understood the plucky tone and each one had a distinct voice.

I genuinely enjoyed this movie and feel like it will hold up for future feel good needs.

The actors portrayed the characters so well that it is like watching your friends in real life. The writing also had a super real feel to bring these characters to life in 2019.

...since I lost a friend who passed away in a car accident & never got to say goodbye to her. So caution to those who have recently lost a loved one. The movie is quirky but it's hard to watch...