After coming across a few Christmas movie titles in the recent past, I realized a formula that most of these projects follow. The stories or those movies often revolve around members of a family coming together after a period of emotional distance, where the spirit of togetherness is often celebrated. A certain 'magical' element often comes into play here, which resets the characters' belief in the event, which is the celebration of Christmas.
The same warm and cozy feeling of all the other Christmas-themed movies is also captured in the new romantic comedy movie: "Your Christmas or Mine," streaming on Prime Video. Starring Asa Butterfield and Cora Kirk in the lead roles, it captures the same journey of hope from despair in a delicious way.
Director: Jim O'Hanlon
Writer: Tom Parry
Stars: Asa Butterfield, Cora Kirk, Daniel Mays
Hayley and James are two young students who are madly in love with each other. Although they have only spent a few months together, they consider themselves his close companions. His love resembles the same naivety as any other teenage lover. Yet he is sweet, goofy, and lovable in just the right proportions. They are separated at this special time of year and decide to head to their respective family homes. However, both of them suddenly decide to change their plans and go to their lover's house to surprise them.
Everything happens without the knowledge of the other person. She has the same “oh look how dumb I am for screwing this up” feeling that those romantic movies tap into. However, the nice execution and the performances of these two competent actors make you encourage these characters to find their way. They get lost after learning certain details about each other that they were unaware of. James belongs to a royal family, which he had not revealed to her until then. She hadn't shared that she dropped out of his assigned school to join an art school, which is an unorthodox choice for his royal family.
Unlike James' wealthy family, Hayley comes from a humble background in a working-class family. She had not shared any details about her relationship with her family. When she goes to James' house, Hayley's grumpy father treats Hayley cruelly, while her family greets him with a warm welcome. The class difference comes into play in her interactions with the families of others.
The way both families chose to celebrate this festival and what it means to them has different definitions. While these differences play out playfully, the script also reveals some parts of their respective pasts that shape the way they think of each other for the time being. James learns that Hayley had a fiancée named Steve in the past, and Hayley learns how the painful loss of James's mother caused her father to lose any sense of joy in her life.
With such mature stage elements ready to come to fruition, 'Your Christmas or Mine' weaves together genre tropes in a way that manages to grab your attention despite its familiarity. The reason is the aforementioned magical quality that director Jim O'Hanlon manages to bring this delicious concoction to the screen. Tom Parry's script takes a rudimentary and clichéd path that shines by adding a few layers to his narrative in addition to writing his idiosyncratic characters.
The theme of not having a choice for a person in the royal family as opposed to having a choice, but not the generational wealth to enjoy the fruits of luxury, is brought to the fore in a light-hearted way. The very title of the film highlights such differences in their living conditions. The film examines what joy and celebration mean to any of them based on the same.
The movie is certainly not a deep dive into class differences, and neither should it be. The film remains a warm and tender family drama that begins as a rom-com and ends as an affectionate story about the value of compassion. Of course, the narrative is highly predictable. However, that does not detract from his acting performances that make you fall in love with the sweet nature of those movies.
Watch Your Christmas or Mine? 2022 Movie Trailer
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