EXmas

Pretty good Christmas comedy romance, not your typical schmaltzy fodder, made me laugh on a number of occasions. All the actors were great and the comedy never felt forced, good chemistry all round with all the family, if you want something different from the usual Christmas movie crowd give this a go.

There are some adult themes but nothing to outrageous. I was impressed with Robbie Amel and Leighton Messter they worked well together and while the premise was obviously farfetched they made it work. All in all one of the better Christmas movies do far this year, I would definitely rewatch it again next year.

In the world of Christmas rom-coms, 'EXMas' attempts to deck the halls but ends up tangling the lights. The film's premise - Graham (played with a surprising lack of charisma) surprises his family for Christmas, only to find his ex-fiancée cozily ensconced with them - could have been a recipe for festive fun. Instead, it's more like overcooked turkey: dry and hard to swallow. The script lumbers from one contrived situation to another, leaning heavily on tired tropes and a telegraphed plot that could have been written by a festive fortune cookie.

The acting is as artificial as a plastic Christmas tree. Graham's family, intended to provide comic relief, instead deliver lines with the enthusiasm of someone reading a microwave manual. And the ex-fiancée? She's as warmly engaging as a snowman in a blizzard. The chemistry between the leads is non-existent, making their inevitable reconciliation as believable as Santa fitting down a modern chimney. The film's attempt at humor relies heavily on awkward dinner table jokes that make you cringe rather than chuckle, and the forced sentimentality is as subtle as a flashing neon reindeer.

Yes, the snowy scenes are picturesque, and the Christmas decorations are on point, but they can't mask the movie's fundamental flaws. 'EXMas' is like that gaudy, over-the-top Christmas sweater: it might catch your eye, but you wouldn't want to be seen with it for too long. In short, this film is the cinematic equivalent of finding coal in your stocking - a disappointment you didn't really want but somehow saw coming.

I am a curmudgeon who doesn't watch many Christmas movies. I have no idea why I watched this, except Amazon kept pushing it in my face on my home screen on my Fire TV. Anyhoo, I'm so glad I did. It was fun, it was cute, it was tingly, it was emotional, it was irreverent, it was well done.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

Some reviewers bashed the movie due to unbelievable circumstances, but that's exactly what makes it funny. I was hesitant to give it a go due to the low ratings but am so glad I did. The writing was alright and l the acting pretty good. Some of the ad lib was hilarious, I love watching moments when comedians light up and other actors lose it. This is not an award winning flick, but several moments cracked me up. I especially liked that there were actually some twists in typical romantic comedy scenes which made it more enjoyable. What really matters most to me is that I felt better after watching it.

Nobody is likeable. Everyone is "cute" and also a horrible person. Parents that treat their son like he is the least important person in the world. Super annoying passive aggressive mother, dummy clueless father and the ex fiancé that's entitled and won't return the engagement ring.

Other than that it was a cheap semi- innocent move. I am confused about who the target audience is. There was a mention of tingling balls and threesomes so not really a family friendly movie.

It's a very cheap and simple movie, which would be ok if it wasn't for pushing of some annoying messages (like not believing in covid) and bad characters.