I hadn't appreciated Baltimorons was a Christmas film so seeing it at a festival in July was an unusual experience but to the film's credit it quickly immersed me in Christmas vibes. It successfully creates an appealing wintery aesthetic that is often the foundation of a seasonal film that stands the test of time.
Baltimorons for me falls into a genre of the 'elevated Christmas film'. It has a very modern and serious topic at its centre while still deploying heartwarming, familiar troupes.
The lead character is obnoxious and overbearing while simultaneously charming and vulnerable. The film centres on an eventful, spiralling Christmas eve spent with an unexpected companion. Both characters are well developed with their own issues to contend with and there is genuine chemistry in the performances.
The Baltimorons is funny and charming and is certainly a successful Christmas film. Occasionally straining believability, as you wonder why the central characters stay with each other and how they manage to engage in so much madcap misadventure more or less unscathed. But it's nothing unusual of a film in this genre and I was very willing to go along with it.
There is also a degree of insufferable behaviour from the main character as he pushes through with sheer force of will. But this is also key the the character himself and his own struggles. In fact I found him quite realistic to people I have have met in real life, just perhaps slightly exaggerated.
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable experience and well worth a watch when winter comes round.
