I didn’t see this one coming.
It’s Christmas time again, and we all know that this time of year comes with an avalanche of holiday stories that range from eye-clawingly bad to eye-rollingly mediocre. Because of this, I had a hard time picking out something for your amusement, but the season demands that I subject myself to new things for your amusement. Therefore, I chose Freeform’s The Truth About Christmas.
Much to my surprise, it’s actually a pretty good political dramedy wrapped up in Christmas packaging.
How did that happen?
The Cast Feels Normal.
This characters in this film seem to be quite like normal people.
Most of the time, holiday movies don’t work because the cast just phones it in for a paycheck. Thankfully, a bunch of apparent unknowns actually tried to make a decent movie here!
The story largely follows Jillian (Kali Hawk), a political consultant who can’t seem to lie to her in-laws during the holidays. Kali does a good job with some surprisingly decent material, which is quite a shock because the film’s screenwriter isn’t really known for anything other than some Jessica Simpson movie from the naughts. Oddly enough, Kali manages to paint Jillian as a seemingly ordinary person with flaws, even though these movies tend to steer clear of that sort of thing for extra girl power points.
It’s weird.
Damon Dayoub backs things up quite nicely as George, otherwise known as Jillian’s significant other and a possible candidate for the Mayor of New York City. In a decent departure from what might seem like the usual, his character doesn’t come off as a jerk or some kind of control freak. Instead, he’s just concerned about his girlfriend and the odd things that she’s saying. It’s a pleasant surprise, and Damon is more than up to the task.
Most of the supporting cast is kind of there to react to the two leads, but there are a few decent moments here and there that stick out. Ali Ghandour is dryly funny as George’s brother, Blake, but his arc doesn’t fit the mold of what you might expect. Meanwhile, Michela Cannon has a bit of fun as the best friend, Zoe. And of course, it’s always nice to see a Stargate: Atlantis veteran like Claire Rankin, although her bit part isn’t quite as good as that time when she had to keep Rodney under control in “Duet.”
It’s Like Liar, Liar… But At Christmas!
Have you ever tried to make a good first impression, but wound up sticking your foot in your mouth?
I don’t typically like it when two films use a similar idea, but The Truth About Christmas is enough of a departure from its spiritual predecessor that it earns its place.
As I alluded above, The Truth About Christmas is very much a Christmas movie, but it’s one that works for the somewhat cynical times that we live in. At the start of the story, Jillian recognizes many of the white lies that she tells to spare people’s feelings, but the above average dialogue and snowballing effects of her supposed curse push the story to a place that I didn’t quite expect it to go. I don’t want to give anything away here, but it’s really quite nice to see that the two leads and the rest of the family are just people who are trying their best.
If nothing else, this movie might give you something to think about during the coldest days of the year. That’s more than I could say for most of the holiday movies out there!
The Flaws Are Mild.
It would’ve been interesting to see Santa a little bit more, but that’s just a personal preference.
Are there things that aren’t very good in this movie? Eh, only mildly.
The soundtrack feels like it’s a little bit slapped together, but that’s partly because television movies can’t exactly afford the rights to anything that you might know. Director Jay Karas wobbles between using static shots of one character and a phone screen and two shots of the people on the conversation, but that’s an aesthetic choice that you might not care about. And last but certainly not least, the film tends to overuse the idea of having Jillian climb out of her bedroom window to avoid people, but that’s to be expected because much of the story takes place in George’s parents’ home.
These little goofs don’t even come close to breaking the movie, but it’s important to emphasize that no story is truly perfect.
Conclusion.
Ho ho ho!
If you’re tired of the usual holiday movie, give The Truth About Christmas a watch. The cast is fine, the story is good, the dialogue is fire, and many of the flaws are a matter of perception. While most people may not be into television movies, this one has enough going for it to be worth an hour and a half of your time.
Sure, it’s no Die Hard, but it’s important to shake things up every now and then!
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