It’s December, which means things are about to get a lot more Christmassy around here. Obviously, most of the streaming services have already been pushing their festive content since the 1st of November but I like to put it off for as long as possible. There’s only so much that I can take. In the past, I’ve attempted to watch one Christmas film every day in advent. I really don’t think I could do that to myself this year. There’s so much happening. Instead, I’ll just review one every week of the month. Seems manageable. And what better place to start than Netflix. The platform has long been giving Hallmark a run for its money with their paint by numbers approach to holiday films. One year, I dare them to do something unique. Until then, we’ve got the same old story but with new faces.

In the case of Falling For Christmas, those news faces are actually well-known in many circles. Lindsay Lohan, the one-time teen star, is heading up the cast as Sierra, the socialite daughter of a hotel magnate. She is joined by former Glee star Chord Overstreet who plays Jake, a widower with a struggling ski lodge. Anyone who can’t see where this is going from those two character descriptions clearly hasn’t seen a Christmas movie before. As with every other Netflix film that I can remember, it all happens because a young child makes a wish in front of a man with a big white beard. You’d think Santa would have something better to do around this time of year than hang about waiting to play matchmaker.

Unfortunately for us, that’s precisely what is happening here. After an unfortunate, Sierra ends up with memory loss and Jake offers to give her a room at the lodge. There, she learns all about hard work and being an independent woman. Inevitably the pair grow closer and come up with a plan to save the lodge. At the same time, Sierra’s influencer boyfriend finds himself off-grid with only the local poacher to help get him home. It’s the stuff that every holiday film is made of.

I have to be honest, Falling For Christmas is such a mess of a film that even the bloopers in the credits seem fake. It doesn’t even look as though any of the mistakes were natural and all the laughter seems so forced. Falling For Christmas is trying so hard to convince us that it’s fun but it doesn’t hold up. The story is bland and really obvious. There’s very little chemistry between any of the characters. The dialogue is just often just awful. I know that it’s part of a long-standing tradition of terrible Christmas films but it could have been a bit more interesting.

I will say that Lindsay Lohan is the best thing about this film. She’s the only thing holding this together and I wouldn’t be averse to seeing her in more stuff. Everyone else just kind of flounders. Still, there will be plenty of people who will enjoy sitting down to watch this over the festive season. It’s the kind of film that you don’t need to think about and will just wash over you. It’s not bad enough to be a new Christmas Prince and it’s not good enough to be a Christmas classic. Yet, it’s probably not the worst thing you’ll see in December. Just don’t expect to get blown away.