We’re still over a month away from Christmas, but that just means it’s the perfect time to start binging all of the deliciously saccharine holiday movies being offered this year. Netflix has provided us with some good ones over the years, including the addictive movie The Christmas Prince and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, but Lindsay Lohan’s starring role makes anticipation for Falling for Christmas especially high. The Christmas rom-com is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription, so is this one worth checking out?
Falling for Christmas is Lindsay Lohan’s first movie since 2019. She’ll star opposite Glee alum Chord Overstreet in the story of a hotel heiress Sierra, who gets amnesia after a skiing accident and finds herself in the care of lodge owner Jake and his daughter Avy (Olivia Perez from In the Heights). The reviews are here to help us decide if we need to squeeze this into our holiday viewing plans, so let’s check out what the critics are saying about Falling for Christmas.
Samantha Bergeson of IndieWire grades the movie a B-, saying it’s a rung above a Hallmark Christmas movie and Lindsay Lohan’s best work in decades:
Lohan is just fine with self-deprecating quips at her expense and looking silly while getting messy by way of physical comedy involving toilets, raccoons, and the aforementioned ski accident. Lohan shines in these moments, and the blooper reel in the credits shows that shine even extended to the set.
Courtney Howard of Variety also notes that Lindsay Lohan flexes her comedic muscularity through her pratfalling, while also hitting the melancholic moments and sharing great chemistry with Olivia Perez. This critic also points to Falling for Christmas being more than the average holiday romantic comedy, saying:
Director Janeen Damian’s light-hearted feature, centered on a spoiled hotel heiress tumbling into a character-enriching circumstance, isn’t necessarily served up as the average cup of holiday cheer and rom-com charm. There’s a lot more to it than that. Its subversive spirit, female-forward smarts and sweet sentimentality remix the formulaic and festive, making all things merry and bright.
Marya E. Gates of RogerEbert.com finds Chord Overstreet’s performance a little drab and wishes that the script maintained the zaniness of its first half. Fans of Lindsay Lohan or of Christmas movies in general should find something to like here; the critic rates it 2.5 stars, saying:
Falling For Christmas lands somewhere in the middle of this scale. It’s more like a reusable ribbon bow. It's not great. It's nothing special. But you can keep it year after year and place it on presents as long as you have scotch tap—or Lohan’s irrepressible charm—to hold it together.
Surabhi Redkar of Pinkvilla rates the Netflix Original 2.5 out of 5, saying Lindsay Lohan’s return is cheerful but far from iconic. This critic opines that Lohan deserves better material, and co-stars Chord Overstreet and George Young are disappointing:
Falling for Christmas doesn't turn out to be the best holiday season rom-com out there as it becomes merely yet another addition to the long list of films that have in the past used similar tropes. For Lohan's die-hard fans though, it's a moment of celebration as the actress makes a screen return.
Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair says Falling for Christmas is actually “medium okay,” and despite the tired amnesia plot device, Lindsay Lohan gives a really solid comeback performance:
It’s a story of reinvention for an actor trying to do the same. It mostly works a treat. Lohan’s performance is perky and agreeable, a shimmer of that old Mean Girls (or, hell, Parent Trap) charm dancing around her for the first time in a while. I’d happily watch her in more after this—though preferably in something a bit meatier than a Hallmark knock-off.
Lindsay Lohan’s fans will be happy to see that critics are mostly calling her return to acting a success. That’s also good news for Netflix, who’s already signed Lohan to star in another upcoming rom-com, Irish Wish. For now, though, if you want to see Part 1 of the Lohanaissance, you can stream Falling for Christmas on Netflix. Be sure to also check out our 2022 Christmas Movie Schedule to see all of the holiday offerings coming to television and streaming.
