‘Falling for Christmas’ Should Fall off a Roof

Do you like cringy Christmas movies? Do you like Lindsay Lohan? Do you like pretentious daddy’s girls? If you said yes to any of these questions- then this movie may just be for you! Falling for Christmas was released on Netflix for customers on November 10, 2022. The movie had an initially promising cast of actors including Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, Jack Wagner, and George Young. I say initially because although these actors should have plenty experience, their acting just felt subpar and amateur. It was as if they didn’t get paid enough to put on a worthwhile performance which, I guess, fair enough. Now, onto a plot summary…

Sierra Belmont (Lindsay Lohan), a spoiled daddy’s girl and hotel heiress, spends her days working as ‘vice president of the atmosphere’ at her father’s luxurious Colorado ski resort. To use the word ‘working’ is quite the overstatement. In reality, she lives in luxury without having to lift a finger for anything. Not even to sip from a glass of champagne! At the same time, Jake Russell (Chord Overstreet), owner of the failing Northstar Lodge, goes to Sierra’s father Mr. Belmont (Jack Wagner) to propose a business collaboration but is rejected, albeit in a very nice way.

After her father leaves the resort for business, Sierra takes a daytrip to the mountains for a photoshoot with her influencer boyfriend Tad (George Young). Tad proposes and Sierra happily accepts but accidentally skis off the mountaintop and smacks into a tree. If you’re wondering how she ‘accidentally skied’ off the mountain, she was having a staged skiing photoshoot with Tad and was wearing skis on her feet. Anyway, she contracts amnesia and awakens in the hospital next to *gasp* Jake Russell! He had found her lying next to the road while giving a carriage tour to some guests. Jake takes her back to The Northstar Lodge for Sierra to recover however she is unable to remember even her name. Sierra adopts the name Sarah (I’ll still call her Sierra for simplicity) after one of Jake’s daughter Avy’s stuffed animals.

To try and jog her memory, Sierra decides to help out at the lodge. From here, Hallmark-esque lovey-dovey chaos ensues. Sierra and Jake begin to fall in love and Sierra and Avy bond over the shared trauma of losing a mother at a young age. Unfortunately, it is revealed that the lodge is under threat of bankruptcy and so to try and raise money, Sierra decides to host a charity party. Jake initially gets upset with Sierra since he’s ashamed of admitting he needs financial help but eventually cedes when he realizes that the lodge is important to everyone in the community and that it holds too much sentimental value to lose.

Now, you may be wondering, Oh but Jaelyn! Where in the gosh darn heck is Tad? You know? Sierra’s fiancé who is definitely somewhat fruity? He’s with Ralph. Duh. Oh but Jaelyn! You may be wondering again, Who is Ralph? Is he the wise elderly character that is usually always in these types of movies? No not really. Tad seeks shelter in a shed he finds after also falling off the mountaintop. Unlike Sierra, however, he doesn’t get amnesia. Anyway, the shelter in question is owned by a recluse fisherman named Ralph who then takes Tad back to town once he’s recovered. At this time, Mr. Belmont returns from his business trip and quickly discovers Sierra missing. He goes to the sheriff who just received Tad and Ralph. (By the way, the sheriff arrests Ralph for illegal fishing but he’s let go after hearing Tad’s testimony of how he saved his life. Also- it’s literally a Christmas movie. So. You know). Tad is ecstatic to see his future father-in-law but reveals he also doesn’t know where Sierra is, but he does explain what happened on the mountain.

Meanwhile, at The Northstar Lodge, the entire community has gathered to pay Jake back for all the good deeds he’s done for them with the donations required to keep the lodge running. It’s all fruitcakes and eggnog when all of a sudden the sheriff, Mr. Belmont, and Tad run into the lodge and take Sierra away which restores her memory but really ruins Jake’s plans of confessing to Sierra once he learns she had a fiancé this whole time. Sierra returns back to the lodge but decides to live independently rather than relying on a team of assistants to do everything for her which is definitely for the better. She also tells her father that she doesn’t want to enter the hotel business. There is also a press conference held for Sierra’s return and she reveals her and Tad are leaving immediately for their wedding but does shoutout The Northstar Lodge. Back at The Northstar Lodge, Avy convinces Jake to go to Sierra while he can since her one wish is for him to find love and be happy.

Sierra also realizes that she truly loves Jake and breaks up with Tad who seems less than heartbroken about it and stirs up a whirlwind romance with Sierra’s former assistant Terry. (See I told you this man was somewhat gay). Then there’s this whole perfect scene of Sierra looking at a Christmas tree out in the resort courtyard looking all serene and whatever and then Jake comes in confesses his love blah, blah, blah, predictable, predictable, predictable, etc, etc, etc. Sierra returns to The Northstar Lodge to help (didn’t she literally say she didn’t want to be in the hotel business?) which is sold out for the season thanks to her endorsement and be a mother figure to Avy. Furthermore, Mr. Belmont who feels indebted to Jake for saving his daughter’s life, takes him up on that old business offer and invests in the lodge. The movie concludes with a perfect fairytale ending wrapped up in a candy cane bow.

Geez.

That was a lot. I know. Sorry. That’s usually how these sort of movies are. Now for everyone’s favorite section of the review- Jaelyn’s unhinged opinion!

Look, the movie was cute but predictable. I do like how even after she returned to her luxurious life, Sierra still implemented everything she learned from her time at The Northstar Lodge into her daily life. She also realized that she was only interested in Tad for his internet celebrity status and decided to prioritize feelings over superficial things like Instagram followers. What did I not like? Avy. Freaking. Avy. She was really just there to be that cute token little kid that brings the two main characters closer together. Not to mention, she was smiling in like every single scene she was in. Not like ‘aww she’s so happy that’s so cute!’ but more like ‘how soon can an exorcist get here?’ I’m not blaming the character herself, but I am blaming the actress. Summarized, my final two cents is this- a good watch if you’re bored with nothing better to do but not something you’d wanna watch twice. But hey, you might prove me wrong.