Christmas Is Cancelled (2021)
Synopsis
As its title suggests, Christmas Is Cancelled is a holiday comedy centered on family love and its absolute chaos around the festive season. The film features Emma who goes back home to celebrate Christmas only to find that her father Jack whom she has not seen for a long time had just lost his wife and, now is dating, her ex-classmate – Brandy.
Emma cannot understand her father’s new relationship and is determined to stop them from getting romantic, so she decides to ‘sanctify’ Christmas at their house. It results in numerous funny ideas going wrong, misunderstandings, and some moments of warmth and tears when Emma realizes just what love, family, and tolerance really are.
Awards & Wins
Even if Christmas Is Cancelled did not come home with big awards, it was praised for its down to earth humor and impressive acting. It has become a favorite holiday film for people in search of a nice and easy Christmas film.
Cast & Crew
- Director: Prarthana Mohan
- Writers: Sara Endsley
- Cast:
- Hayley Orrantia as Emma, bringing to life a quick-witted and spirited daughter who will always be protective of her father.
- Dermot Mulroney as Jack, the slightly adrift father who is harmless most of the time but somehow always ends up in the center of the madness.
- Janel Parrish as Brandy, Emma’s classmate who had always wanted to be with Jack.
- Emilio Garcia-Sanchez as Emma’s best friend who is always in support of her and with a humorous view on things.
The interplay between the actors adds an extra dose of humor and emotionality into the story making it interesting and heartwarming at the same time.
IMDb Ratings
The production enjoys a low popularity among viewers having received an IMDb rating of 4.9/10, with mixed feedback having been provided. Some viewers liked the love and humor the film had to offer, but others expressed disappointment with the level of creativity shown in the storyline.
Personal Insights
Christmas Is Cancelled is a fun and contemporary variations of movies from the genre Christmas, poking fun at relationships and family issues. It is strange yet entertaining for a daughter to dictate the life of her father, or better say – it is a great concept worth trying out in nail biting adventures of a Christmas film.
As Emma, Hayley Orrantia steals the show with her charisma, mastering the duality of comedy and emotions stunningly. The film also includes deeper elements such as loss, healing, and family that extends beyond slapstick comedy antics.
Nothng special in a way that it adds new elements to the holiday genre per se, but it is surely worth the while for viewers looking for some lightheartedness and drama around holidays.
Cultural Significance
Today’s holiday filmmakers are starring in less traditional family narratives, as fully exemplified in this film. Focusing on a single-parent family, such elements as loss, love, or even reconciliation sounds pathbreaking and resonates with people who may not relate to a typical Christmas narrative.