At Watch With Us, we believe that as soon as Halloween’s over, it’s time for the Christmas trees to come out.
In keeping with that sentiment, we have the perfect Christmas movie for you to throw on this weekend to get you feeling festive.
Netflix just debuted A Merry Little Ex-Mas, starring Alicia Silverstone, Oliver Hudson and Jameela Jamil. The story follows a divorcing couple whose final Christmas together is interrupted by the arrival of each other’s new flames.
This cute rom-com is sure to keep you warm in the cold weather. Here’s why we think you should watch it.
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‘A Merry Little Ex-Mas’ Balances Heartfelt Moments With Silly Humor
A Merry Little Ex-Mas follows Kate (Silverstone) and Everett Holden (Hudson), who have been in the process of divorcing for the past nine months. While they still maintain an amicable relationship, both of them harbor unspoken feelings of resentment towards one another. During their last Christmas in their family home, Everett brings his new, young girlfriend Tess (Jamil), Kate brings Chet (Pierson Fodé) and various antics ensue.
With this setup, the film expertly balances hijinks and silly comedic moments with a resonant emotional core and genuine warmth. A Merry Little Ex-Mas does a great job of showcasing the love and connection that exists between the characters while leaving plenty of room for good-natured humor. Ultimately, the film is just a lot of good holiday fun, tapping into the exact type of tone, atmosphere and performance that makes for a wholesome Christmas movie.
Silverstone and Hudson Display Warm Chemistry Together
A big part of what makes A Merry Little Ex-Mas such an endearing movie is that the performances from the two lead actors are well-matched and believable as a couple who still cares about each other. As Kate and Everett, Silverstone and Hudson do a fantastic job of evoking the nuances of their characters and their relationship with one another — this resentment mixed with love. Every interaction between them carries an implied long-standing affection for one another.
But their interactions also carry a bit of heat as well, as the two of them still harbor unresolved feelings of lust and attraction. Basically, A Merry Little Ex-Mas is a great movie for people who love yearning, and there is plenty of yearning on display between Kate and Everett. With this great mix of pent-up frustration and unsettled longing — plus the fact that Silverstone and Hudson are exceptional actors — the chemistry between Kate and Everett really shines.
‘A Merry Little Ex-Mas’ Is a Netflix Holiday Movie With No Grinch
The creatives behind A Merry Little Ex-Mas made a point to keep any of their characters from being villains. Instead, the Christmas interlopers Chet and Tess are simply flawed, complex people. Shying away from the trope of the nasty new girlfriend blowing into town, Tess is, instead, kind of likable, and therefore a bit difficult for Kate (and the audience) to truly hate. Same goes for Chet, who is an affable himbo and gets a terrific scene meant as an homage to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
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Tess and Cher bring up a load of thorny feelings for Kate and Everett, but they aren’t the movie’s enemies. And Kate and Everett aren’t one another’s enemies either. Instead, everyone in A Merry Little Ex-Mas is just a complicated person trying their best to find happiness, in the process creating conflict and butting heads with one another. This aversion to a villain allows the movie to maintain its cozy, affectionate atmosphere in a Christmas film about the shades of grey that exist in humans and in love.
Stream A Merry Little Ex-Mas now on Netflix.
