A Very Streaming Christmas

NYT MOVIES: A Very Streaming Christmas
By Elisabeth Vincentelli
Section: Movies
Source: New York Times
Published Date: December 2, 2022 at 02:00AM

With so many Christmas movies to stream this season, which ones are quality nuggets and which are lumps of coal?

Welcome back to the wonderful, self-contained world of holiday movies, where we do not smirk at the improbably high number of handsome widowed fathers; we accept the fact that every other person is a best-selling writer, a pop star, a princess or a baker; we applaud the frequent blizzards that force two hotties to spend time together; and we root for the big-city dweller discovering the joys of country life.

This year, the major streaming platforms haven’t come up with any new Christmasterpiece — well, there is a terrific new song lurking, so read on — but there are still some nuggets alongside the inevitable lumps of coal. Here is a non-exhaustive roundup of new features.

‘The Christmas Clapback’

BET+ is moving into the holiday market big time, and Robin Givens’s food-centric comedy is among the highlights. The Miles family has long been obsessed with its church’s holiday cook-off, and the three daughters (Nadine Ellis, Porscha Coleman and Candace Maxwell) have now picked up the whisk from their late mother. This season will be more hectic than usual, though, thanks to the influencer-next-door (Kara Royster) entering the contest. And she can cook, despite having a phone glued to her hand. Each sister gets a romance — including a matter-of-factly lesbian one — and the shenanigans are entirely adult and nice, which is rather refreshing. Even the influencer turns out to be sweet!

‘A Christmas Mystery’

Violet Pierce (Violet McGraw) is such a keen sleuth that when her best friend’s genial dad is accused of stealing their town’s precious jingle bells, she immediately sets out to right this outrageous perversion of justice. Never mind that Violet is only 11 and that the sheriff (Eddie Cibrian) is her dad who, understandably, doesn’t approve of his daughter breaking into the station’s computer. “A Christmas Mystery” is the rare family-friendly holiday movie with a restrained approach to saccharine, and McGraw is endearing in the treacherous role of a pint-size know-it-all. This could easily be the 

Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/movies/christmas-movies-streaming.html

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