(via Shutterstock)
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s beginning to look a lot like, you know, and yes, every single very Christmassy phrase is being engaged right now because the festive season is so close we can taste it (I mean, literally taste it; here in Australia, it’s all chocolate sultanas and fruit mince pieces everywhere you turn).
And, of course, with Christmas, comes a torrent of romantic movies (and books and TV shows and …), all existing because it is a pretty gorgeously lovely time of the year.
So deep into the romance of the season are these movies that they tend to go a little bit overboard, but isn’t that true of the season as a whole? It’s not exactly a time of restraint now, is it?
So, kick back, fire up the air-con if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere and a fire if you’re up North, and sit back to watch all the usual tropes and cliches do their thing, draped in tinsel and wearing a Santa hat and lose yourself in the cheesy escapism because good lord, you deserve some whimsically seasonal nonsense after the dumpster fire of a year, we’ve had …
(courtesy First Showing)
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“A little sizzle could save the season.” To save the Rhythm Room, her parents’ small-town performing arts venue, a former big-city dancer stages an all-male, Christmas-themed revue. Britt Robertson plays Ashley who “decides to take her skill as a dancer & choreographer and marry that with some hot dudes at the bar to make The Merry Gentlemen show. She may or may not save the bar.” The Merry Gentlemen is directed by American producer / filmmaker Peter Sullivan, director of the films Game Over, The Sandman, Cucuy: The Boogeyman, Jingle Belle, Secret Obsession, Fatal Affair, and Break In, plus tons of holiday comedies + TV movies including A Cozy Christmas Inn, Trapped in the Farmhouse, Secrets in the Desert, Silent Night Fatal Night, and Killer Fortune Teller most recently. The screenplay is written by Marla Sokoloff. Produced by Jeffrey Schenck, Barry Barnholtz, Brian Nolan, and Peter Sullivan. (courtesy First Showing)
The Merry Gentlemen releases on Netflix on 20 November.
(courtesy First Showing)
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Two years after losing her husband, Kathy (Lacey Chabert) magically brings a handsome snowman to life! Through his naïveté, the snowman helps Kathy to laugh, feel and love again, as the two fall for each other just in time for the holidays… and before he melts. Milligan hopes audiences enjoy Jack’s “whimsy” as much as he does. “The whole world is brand new to him,” she says. “It’s refreshing — especially around Christmastime — to experience the magic and the wonder of that season through Jack. He is seeing things brand-new for the very first time and experiencing them with a very trustworthy guide.” Although Kathy has experienced many a Christmas before Jack, he changes everything. “Jack’s innocence and newness to the world really opens up Kathy’s heart again, to seeing the world with a little bit more of a childlike perspective,” Chabert says. Hot Frosty is directed by the Canadian filmmaker Jerry Ciccoritti, director of the films The Life Before This, Blood, The Resurrection of Tony Gitone, The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton, Net Worth, Lives of the Saints, Shania: A Life in Eight Albums, Chasing Cain, Trudeau, Victor, and Dragon Boys previously. The screenplay is by Russell Hainline. Produced by Joel S. Rice and Michael Barbuto for Muse Ent. (courtesy First Showing)
Hot Frosty releases on 13 November on Netflix.