User reviews

...especially those whose first adult dreams have failed them.

Returning home as an adult is never easy. When you're a dedicated puppeteer whose last job has dried up, leaving you broke and alone, where else do you go? Then you find out your parents have left town for the holidays, making you responsible for your crazy grandma. The catastrophes pile on from there, abetted by a nutty best friend with a paintball fixation and a childhood sweetheart determined to save you from yourself.

There's a mystery, touches of personal history, some broad physical humour, and the usual triumph of seasonal joy to round off this surprisingly twisty script. The puppet sequences add a surreal quality.

Enjoy with a beverage.

So before or during the time I watch something I like knowing who the actors are. This movie I found out the lead actress is named Katlyn. In this movie she plays a girl named Sloan. Funny thing is my name is Katlyn Sloan. I found it funny. So far loving the movie.

The movie was bad, but the ending is the worst. I'm sad I wasted this time and I love a bad Christmas movie!

I'm a sucker for a Holiday movie and this fit the bill. I liked the quirky characters that weren't always so perfect. I just don't understand the ending. Was there a buried bag? Where?

The previews intrigued me enough to give it a try but this movie is so slow and I would pull the plug on it but my wondeeful wife wants to see how it ends.

Netflix Christmas movies most times come up woefully short.

Entertaining, but too much misuse of God's name to be classified as a family oriented film.

This movie was terrible. It clearly had a budget of a fast food dinner and the little interludes with the marionettes were creepy. The doll faces were just so off putting. I'm not sure why they had to use them instead of real people playing the roles of the kids and Santa, maybe lack of that budget I already mentioned, but they were not cute at all. The acting is ridiculous. I'm not even sure it is acting. The lead girl is just goofy in a way that's not even endearing and the rest of the cast doesn't help things either. It's just a waste of time and the money they spent making it and I'm shocked Netflix even cared enough to stream it. Almost makes all of those cheesy Hallmark and Lifetime movies look like big budget films.

Heads up ... this is not your typical Hallmark/Lifetime movie with near perfect main characters and a predictable plot! What it is ...is a really funny movie filled with quick witted dialog and a main character that can be quite the goofball at times. I laughed out loud throughout the whole movie. Great Maine scenery and a good supporting cast 👌

She's a puppeteer? Really?? Lamest part of the movie. And her friend Kay K was so annoying I wanted to punch her. I am doing them a favor giving them 3 stars.

This could have been a fun, quirky movie if it had been sure of what type of story it was trying to tell. It tries to be part romance, part comedy, part drama, and part mystery, and consequently the plot "wanders." The puppets feel "inserted" for their own sake, instead of being a plot point. The main character's best friend comes off as annoying in the scene where she's trying to wake the main character, when she could have been fun and encouraging. I liked was the grandmother. The rest of the characters are "painted on" the backdrop instead of being put to real use, and there are dropped plot threads. This film could have benefited from a thorough script edit to deliver a more focused plot.

Roommates and I put this on during finals week and even though my expectations weren't high, somehow I was still disappointed. The main lead wasn't very likable and the ending was so, so bad. Talk about such a major let down. I think I get what they were going for but still! It was such a waste of time!

The only reason I'm giving it four stars is because we all agreed the grandma character was fun, we liked the best friend and we spent most of the movie crafting a conspiracy theory that Sloan's grandfather was secretly Santa. But really, this movie is so dumb. If you're really needing a Netflix holiday special to have on in the background, watch Dash and Lily instead.

For someone who's been watching a lot of Hallmark movies this was a breath of fresh air. The characters are interesting and funny. Not sure if the script is tolerable or if the actors are just good enough to cover it. It's well-edited so that the story is cohesive. The puppet elements make it quirky and playful. Now it's not perfect and there are some overly cheesy moments. But, the characters felt so real and like someone your could know.

Annoying lead character & bff is almost as annoying....grandma, the puppets & the "commanding officer" were more interesting...🙄🙄🙄

We're all used to the countless Lifetime-ish holiday films that seem to multiply each year faster than rabbits. Take one scroll through Netflix's "Feel-good Christmas Movies" row and you may unfortunately stumble upon 'Holly Star.'

Where do we begin? First - puppets. If you make it through the first scene alone, you should get extra credit. Second - the lead, Sloan (Katlyn Carlson), is completely unlikable and it's hard to feel sorry for her. Her best friend, "Kay K" (Teya Patt), is basically a secondhand Melissa McCarthy. The only semi-likable character here is Grandma Kelly (Pamela Chabora), as she embodies everyone's idea of a "cool" grandma, but even the scenes featuring her aren't enough to lift spirits.

There are plenty of boneheaded decisions that are made throughout the film (mostly by Sloan, of course), as well as creepy dream sequences that are definitely what nightmares are made of - forget sugar plum fairies. And don't say you didn't see the cliched ending coming from a mile away. The only redeeming quality of 'Star' is it apparently was filmed on location in Maine.

It may seem like a harmless, fun holiday watch, but 'Holly Star' is not a movie that deserves any of your precious time this Christmas - or any Christmas, for that matter.

30 minutes in and the lead actress wore me out, and irritated me with her continual whining and grrrrrrrring ! not her fault granted, but the scriptwriters who wrote this confusing story.

Im in the uk, so am confused about the location. The characters appear to have deep southern accents, they are knee deep in snow, and we get shots of a coastline.

Not the greatest Christmas film, but at least there are sub-titles !!

What a shockingly bad movie, it had no real plot, kept jumping around between what was going on and was not at all cohesive. The puppet flashbacks seemed irrelevant and were only included so Sloan could be a puppeteer.

There was no clear direction and the idea for the treasure hunt seems to be lost at the end, it was a pointless story line that didn't add anything to the overall movie.

Once it ended by wife and I looked at each other completely bemused that we'd spent an hour and a half watching Holly Star.

I loved this movie. It was funny and it had heart (something to say). The puppets were also a great touch to represent the main character's psyche. And it had a surprising ending. Also surprising: it wasn't sappy or Hallmarky. Yes, it was genuine but it was original. Script, acting, cinematography, music, pacing-just well done.