PicoBlog

I watched “The Holiday Calendar” on Netflix the other night. It’s not new (2018) but my first time getting around to watching it.  The plot revolves around a floundering photographer (Abby) who wants more from her career than taking pics of kids with Santa yet does nothing about. Meanwhile her thirsty BFF (Josh) shockingly longs for more, while an Advent calendar given by her grandfather seems to predict specific moments of her love life during each day of the holiday season. Here’s my takes:

PROS: This was absolutely better than I expected. For starters I loved me some Abby (played by Kat Graham). She beautiful, charming and likeable enough to have me invested in her. She without question is the bright spot of this flick, with great supporting acting from her grandfather (Ron Cephas Jones, who was fucking sensational on “This is Us” a few years ago.)

I also liked the concept of the Advent calendar that her deceased grandmother wanted her to have. It helps bring out the magic of Christmas, even if the timing of doors opening was wildly inconsistent. As far as Christmasy vibes and scenery, this passes all the holiday vibe tests 100%. Lastly and of most importance, I was outwardly rooting for Abby at the end and yes, it has the happy ending any Christmas romcom damn sure better have.

CONS: Josh is a nice enough guy but I can’t completely buy him. I mean, I get he’s head over heels for Abby but come on---dude’s traveled the world as a successful photographer and comes back home to take a gig as an Elf’s assistant just to get closer? Career suicide bro and sorry, he just doesn’t have the game to score Abby and escape the friend zone in real life--which gives false hope to the 98% of you friend zone trapped mofos that think you’re getting out anytime soon.

Also, as much as I love Abby it’s ridiculous to present her as someone utterly oblivious to Josh’s true feelings. Also, this flick isn’t big on being unpredictable, and the second we realize within the first few scenes that Josh isn’t family nor gay it’s obvious where the plot’s headed. Speaking of the plot, at times it moves so abruptly it’s really hard to get into character development other than Abby.

Lastly, they kind of paint Ty (Abby’s love interest one point) as a bad guy but other than being attracted to pretty woman (he is single and all) and bullshitting around a little (who doesn’t?) I don’t think he’s really bad at all—maybe a little douchey at worst. Stop hating, ladies.  

VERDICT/GRADE: This certainly won’t stack up against the Christmas greats—modern or classic but that doesn’t mean The Holiday Calendar wasn’t enjoyable. I’m Team Abby (would love to see her in more shit) and loved when the light clicked on for her, making the ending extremely satisfying. I mean, If you’re watching a holiday movie and not openly rooting for the happy ending, you’re a shitty person. I looked it up and saw this scored really low among critics and I get it to a point----there isn’t great naturally chemistry between Abby/Josh, and some of the movie plots/points feel convoluted. But if you’re feeling the holiday spirit and want something romantically cute, The Holiday Calendar is without question worth the watch. GRADE: C+

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