Holiday movies are not just on the Lifetime and Hallmark channels; everyone is getting in on it now, which means there’s a lot, and they’re all mostly the same. I typically watch a Holiday movie with actors I like in it. Like 2021’s Nina Dobrev‘s Love Hard. But Netflix’s Best. Christmas. Ever! actually changes up the formula, and it’s a lot of fun.
I definitely put Best. Christmas. Ever! on my list because of Brandy Norwood. I grew up listening to her music. But the Netflix film also features Jason Biggs (remember American Pie?) and Heather Graham (I’ve seen countless movies with her in it). It’s a fairly star-studded film. So, there was plenty for me to get excited about.
The typical Holiday film is a woman or man going back to her hometown and falling in love with an old flame or friend. Best. Christmas. Ever! isn’t about romantic relationships at all. It’s about old friendship at the center and also about life not working out exactly how you hoped.
I love the friendship angle. Too many movies are about romance. Many TV shows even center their storytelling around romances or love triangles, but it’s always nice to get some focus on the friendships. So I hope other streamers and networks continue to add friendship into the Holiday movie formula.
Best. Christmas. Ever! starts with Jackie Jennings (Brandy) sending out her yearly newsletter about the Jennings accomplishments that year. Charlotte Sanders (Heather) hates the newsletter. She doesn’t believe that her old college friend Jackie could have the life she portrays. But Charlotte’s son, Grant Sanders (Wyatt Hunt), wants to go to Jackie’s for Christmas and puts Jackie’s address into her phone instead of her sister’s. Charlotte and her husband, Rob Sanders (Jason), have no idea they are not going to her sisters and get a big surprise when Jackie answers the door.
Charlotte’s suspicion of Jackie leads to some pretty funny mess-ups and some not-so-funny, but maybe deserving confrontation for Charlotte. The kids are super cute. Grant has a stuffed animal called Monkey Bob, who he acts like is real. Jackie’s daughter, Beatrix Jennings (Madison Skye Validum), is extremely smart and starts an investigation with Grant into whether Santa is real, which leads to a fun Christmas surprise at the end.
At the heart of Best. Christmas. Ever! it’s about believing in Christmas, but more importantly, believing in yourself and your family. As Jackie says, “Things won’t happen unless you believe they can.” At the end of all of these Christmas movies, the couple ends up together, and you believe in love and happily ever after. But this movie inspires you to believe in yourself and go after the life that you want. Which is better than a happily ever after story. Best. Christmas. Ever! shows what can happen when you believe in the magic of yourself.
If you’re creating your made-for-TV holiday movie lineup, put Best. Christmas. Ever! on that list. It shakes up the formula, will make you feel good, plus you get to hear Brandy sing. And if you’re like me, that was a nice treat.
Best. Christmas. Ever! is streaming on Netflix now.
