See You Next Christmas

I've surveyed way more than my fair share of bingeable holiday films and am a bit of a Christmas genre amateur connoisseur. See you next Christmas grounds holiday joy, magic, and traditions, and is a totally fresh take on a Christmas rom-com. The story is lovely. The cast is charming. It was so fun to see the husband from Brooklyn 99 (Marc Evan Jackson). The Christmas vibes are endless.

This coming of age (from carefree post-college years, to folks coupling off, buying houses, and some having kids) filled me with nostalgia, warm fuzzies, and a need to plan a holiday party. This will certainly be a repeat watch each December!

Watching See You Next Christmas catapulted me into the feeling of a warm, honest family tradition at the holidays. I loved the way this community of characters celebrates each year through all the many and massive changes in their lives. It doesn't shy away from the real, awkward scenarios that can present themselves during times of holiday stress. The close knit relationships definitely go through some realistic conflict, and the portrayal of strangers at a party definitely reminded me of some I've attended myself. The characters are fun, nuanced, and compelling, and the movie breathes a refreshing air of authenticity I want to see again next Christmas.

See You Next Christmas seems like it's going to be filled with old predictable tropes, but it's not. It's a great premise executed in an unexpected way. As the years go by, the main characters meet, seem like they're going to fall in love, and then are disappointed by each other-- which is pretty similar to how things usually go in real life... But over time, we really start to wonder if these two people can ever get together, which gives the movie a lot of suspense for a romantic comedy. Also impressive that the filmmakers attempted to make a Christmas movie on a budget. Most indie films don't have the guts to try that, because Christmas can be so lavish and elaborate, which gets expensive fast. The key seems to be to keep it grounded and localized in one place. The approach to filmmaking is in a lot of ways as clever as the film.

It's a nice change to have an indie Christmas film have more depth than the typical Hallmark channel flick. I genuinely enjoyed the flick and I didn't even watch it at Christmas time with all the normal pre-built in Christmas feels. It can be hard to get into indie films because they don't have known faces that we are already attached to, but after a couple scenes I was all in with all the characters and didn't care that I didn't know them before this. The film has laughs, heart, and no over the top sappy storyline. Grab some popcorn, put on comfy PJ's, and just enjoy a little time away from the chaos that is life.

Love this film. It has heart, comedy, romance, a whole lotta holiday spirit, and a mega high re-watchability quotient. It's one that will be in your Christmas movie rotation for forever!

This film gets the 'growing up' aspects of adulthood spot on. It appeals to the older millennials out there considering moving from apartments to houses or having kids. Writer/director Weatherup really nails these emotions and the actors do a fantastic job of being both believable and hilarious.

You'll really appreciate the banter, the antics, and the fun cameo. It makes me want to go to Clarkmas this year and every year.