For the “Netflix Originals” kind of Christmas: Let It Snow
There are so many middling live-action Christmas movies on Netflix that have been made by Netflix that it has become its own sub-genre. Sifting through the nearly 50 holiday-themed Netflix original offerings, the cream of the crop for me is Let it Snow, starring Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Anna Akana, and an unrecognisable Joan Cusack (yes, the sister of John).
Somewhat of a spiritual follow-up to To All the Boys I Loved Before, Let it Snow is also based on a young adult novel capturing the romantic complications of various high schoolers in a small town. While it is no Citizen Kane (or Mank, for that matter), it is still an earnest Apple commercial-esque depiction of innocent holiday drama—a panacea to the whirlwind of the year that was 2020.