Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Meet Me Next Christmas’ on Netflix Is A Rom-Com About A Woman Obsessed With Meeting Her Soulmate At A Pentatonix Concert

What does Netflix’s Meet Me Next Christmas want to be? My conjecture is that this caller merchandise was primitively written arsenic a consecutive romanticist comedy, but it feels for illustration immoderate Netflix executive came successful and said “Rom-coms are fine, but we besides want to make a vacation movie featuring nan Christmas songs of Pentatonix, really tin we shoehorn these ideas together?” The extremity consequence is simply a clumsy romance betwixt Christina Milian and Devale Ellis that shares nan shape pinch a Pentatonix vacation concert, but would person yet been served amended if it was simply 1 aliases nan other.

MEET ME NEXT CHRISTMAS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: It’s Christmas successful Chicago; snowfall falls connected nan skyscrapers, an L train bustles connected its way pinch – clasp up, is that Santa and his sleigh being pulled connected 1 of nan cars? – and advertisements and TVs crossed nan metropolis glow while broadcasting a capacity from Pentatonix arsenic they singing “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.” A female astatine O’Hare Airport stops to watch, but gets distracted erstwhile she sees that her formation has been cancelled.

The Gist: Christina Milian plays Layla, a female who is successful a committed narration pinch a man named Tanner (Brendan Morgan). The 2 are semipermanent partners pinch an yearly contented of attending nan large Pentatonix Christmas performance successful New York connected Christmas Eve. But erstwhile nan movie begins, Layla gets stranded successful Chicago while connected a business travel and is incapable to make it to that year’s concert. While she’s hanging retired successful nan airdrome lounge waiting for her formation location to New York, she meets a handsome alien named James (Kofi Siroboe), and she laments that she’s missing nan Pentatonix show, and he’s all, “Who’s Pentatonix?” and truthful she’s each “‘Who’s Pentatonix??'” and makes him perceive to nan a cappella group connected her earbuds.

James is intelligibly smitten pinch Layla and, let’s beryllium clear, Layla is flirting HARD pinch James. To nan constituent wherever I really scrubbed backmost to nan opening of nan movie to make judge I didn’t miss nan portion wherever Layla called Tanner her relative aliases something. Straight disconnected nan bat, nan movie positions her arsenic having a boyfriend, but past besides instantly being attracted to James. James tells her arsenic he gets up to committee his formation that he’s into her, and if she happens to beryllium azygous a twelvemonth from now, they should meet up at, you guessed it, nan Christmas Pentatonix performance successful New York. I americium confounded by nan choices of this film. Layla tells James she’s not readying to time off her boyfriend, but he insists that conscionable successful lawsuit they some hap to beryllium azygous adjacent Christmas, they should find each different astatine that performance to reunite.

Cut to adjacent Christmas… and Layla finds Tanner successful flagrante pinch different woman. RIGHT BEFORE THE PENTATONIX SHOW! She throws his cheating ass out, and makes a scheme to find James astatine nan show that’s only a fewer days away. The problem is that she doesn’t person tickets and nan show is sold out. [Author’s note: I americium genuinely drunk and I’ve only been playing nan “Sip each clip personification says ‘Pentatonix'” drinking crippled for 10 minutes.]

After checking each summons tract and online reseller pinch nary luck, Layla hires a concierge named Teddy (Devale Ellis) who tin supposedly thief her get thing she needs. Time and again they suffer retired connected tickets, until Teddy starts to DM nan Pentatonix’ head who becomes invested successful Layla’s emotion travel to meet up pinch James. But arsenic nan days walk and Layla and Teddy activity together to find tickets, they find themselves falling for each other.

On nan nighttime of nan concert, pinch nan thief of Pentatonix themselves, nan Teddy and Layla meet astatine nan show wherever Teddy gets onstage to profess his emotion for Layla who, of course, feels nan same. (Oh, and Layla does spot James astatine nan performance but, without letting him speak, she frantically apologizes to him while explaining that she’s successful emotion pinch personification new. Which is fine, because James wasn’t moreover location waiting for her, he was waiting for his new girlfriend.)

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? The gist, 2 semi-strangers who make a scheme to meet successful New York connected a awesome holiday, is very Sleepless successful Seattle. Except here, nan Empire State Building is played by an a cappella group, and nan mates initially positioned to get together really doesn’t.

Our Take: Pentatonix is nan champion point astir this movie astir Pentatonix. As it should be. The singing group, playing an exaggerated type of themselves, person assumed over-the-top personage change egos, a trope that useful present because they don’t look to beryllium taking themselves earnestly astatine all. And erstwhile they spontaneously and harmoniously break into opus to complete each other’s sentences aliases reply questions, it’s genuinely funny. Unfortunately, they only person astir 10 minutes of surface time, and nan remainder of nan movie is simply a madcap escapade of a grown female obsessively trying to get tickets for a Pentatonix show that’s, astatine best, silly, and astatine worst, absolute nonsense. And nan only bully point astir nan Layla storyline successful this movie is nan genuine chemistry she has pinch James, who is wholly absent from nan movie for astir of nan film, because yet she realizes she’s successful emotion pinch Teddy.

While I understand that this is meant to beryllium a Christina Milian conveyance much than a Pentatonix conveyance (Milian is an executive shaper and does person a euphony number of her ain successful nan film), I can’t thief but consciousness that nan movie would person been overmuch stronger if Pentatonix were nan focal constituent and we conscionable went full Spice World, allowing them to really thin into their goofy personas and spell connected nan madcap escapade that culminates successful their large performance. Because they’re legit funny. Instead, Milian and Ellis, who are only conscionable fine, strengthen a bunch of mildly amusing situations while besides slow falling for 1 another. Unfortunately their ain chemistry is obscurity adjacent arsenic beardown arsenic Milian’s chemistry pinch Sirfoboe, who plays James. As a rom-com, nan romance conscionable doesn’t click. As a vacation musical, there’s not capable of it.

Photo: Netflix

Sex and Skin: Tanner is concisely undressed from nan waist up erstwhile Layla discovers him successful furniture pinch different woman, but nan movie is rated PG and there’s thing much salacious than that.

Parting Shot: Layla and Teddy buss astatine nan Pentatonix performance arsenic nan camera fades out.

Performance Worth Watching: Nikki Duval plays Pentatonix long-suffering head who has to strengthen them singing astir of their conversations and making insane, outlandish personage requests. Her eye-rolly capacity arsenic a female who is complete her clients is funny because it’s nan only acknowledgment wrong nan movie that each of this Pentatonix obsession is benignant of ridiculous.

Memorable Dialogue: “I’m connected 4 standby lists truthful trust me, I’m going to make it location connected clip for nan Pentatonix show,” Layla tells Tanner aft learning her formation from Chicago to New York has been cancelled. Moments later, aft gathering James successful an airdrome lounge, she makes him perceive to Pentatonix for his first time, and he tells her arsenic he gets up to committee his flight, “You conscionable put maine connected to Pentatonix!” At nary constituent successful nan script-writing process did anyone extremity to wonderment if immoderate characteristic was saying “Pentatonix” excessively much.

Our Call: You tin safely Pentato-NIX this 1 from your viewing list. Tell this movie to BEAT(box) it! Okay, conscionable SKIP IT.

Liz Kocan is simply a popular civilization writer surviving successful Massachusetts. Her biggest declare to fame is nan clip she won connected nan crippled show Chain Reaction.