Angelina Costa (Aimee Garcia) is a 30-something pop superstar in New York City who has hit a bit of a career slump. Facing dual pressure from her label management to craft a big holiday single in time for the upcoming Christmas season as well as competition from a young up-and-coming hitmaker, she retreats from the city to the suburbs to find some much-needed creative inspiration.
Inspiration comes in the form of Cristina Torres (Deja Monique Cruz), a 14-year-old high school girl who posts a cover of one of Angelina's early hits to her Instagram page, and Angelina takes the opportunity to fulfill Cristina's wish of meeting her idol and grabbing a selfie with her. Angelina also learns that Cristina's widowed father Miguel Torres (Freddie Prinze Jr.), a music teacher at her school, is also a songwriter and gifted if unsung musician himself. She then makes a deal with him to have him help her write a new hit song, in exchange for a chance for the songwriting credits and a share of the royalties if the song is a success. Predictably, sparks begin to fly as these two collaborate on a new song together in time for the Christmas holidays...
In time for the 2022 holiday season, Netflix has debuted "Christmas with You," a sweet, warm-hearted feel-good Christmas-themed romantic-comedy directed by Gabriela Tagliavini, with a screenplay written by no less than three different authors (Michael Varrati, Paco Farias, and German Michael Torres).
The performances are all very good, particularly Aimee Garcia (who apparently really does sing her own songs here), and also Freddie Prinze Jr., who was a pretty big teen heartthrob back in the late 1990s. Admittedly, it is a great to see him in another role that's a return to familiar territory for him - even if he is noticeably older now (but that doesn't seem to have fazed any of his female admirers one bit).
Get warm and cozy with "Christmas with You."
6/10.
Inspiration comes in the form of Cristina Torres (Deja Monique Cruz), a 14-year-old high school girl who posts a cover of one of Angelina's early hits to her Instagram page, and Angelina takes the opportunity to fulfill Cristina's wish of meeting her idol and grabbing a selfie with her. Angelina also learns that Cristina's widowed father Miguel Torres (Freddie Prinze Jr.), a music teacher at her school, is also a songwriter and gifted if unsung musician himself. She then makes a deal with him to have him help her write a new hit song, in exchange for a chance for the songwriting credits and a share of the royalties if the song is a success. Predictably, sparks begin to fly as these two collaborate on a new song together in time for the Christmas holidays...
In time for the 2022 holiday season, Netflix has debuted "Christmas with You," a sweet, warm-hearted feel-good Christmas-themed romantic-comedy directed by Gabriela Tagliavini, with a screenplay written by no less than three different authors (Michael Varrati, Paco Farias, and German Michael Torres).
The performances are all very good, particularly Aimee Garcia (who apparently really does sing her own songs here), and also Freddie Prinze Jr., who was a pretty big teen heartthrob back in the late 1990s. Admittedly, it is a great to see him in another role that's a return to familiar territory for him - even if he is noticeably older now (but that doesn't seem to have fazed any of his female admirers one bit).
Get warm and cozy with "Christmas with You."
6/10.