Netflix 'Grumpy Christmas' Review: Mexican flick shows why family makes you stronger
The Christmas season is here and people have already made their plans on how they will be celebrating the auspicious occasion. If you haven’t made any plans and want to spend the festival with your loved ones at home, then you should definitely tune in to Netflix to watch your favorite Christmas-themed movies. First and foremost, there’s no such thing as “enough holiday movie”. Every year we are treated to some of the finest movies based on the holiday season and ‘Grumpy Christmas’ is Netflix’s latest addition to the category.
The Mexican movie revolves around a man named Don Servando (Hector Bonilla), who is going on a vacation with his family to spend the festival of Christmas. However, when the family reaches there, Hector is introduced to a woman Dona Alicia (Angelica Maria) and that’s when the real fun starts. Both of them are strong-headed people and dominating. Alicia makes one of the little boys cry by saying that there won’t be a Christmas tree in the house and Santa won’t be bringing you any gifts this year. This makes Hector angry and tells everyone that there will be a Christmas tree and the whole family will receive gifts. THE WAR HAS BEGUN!!!!
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What we see next is a funny ride with ridiculous yet comical pranks by two of the most legendary actors from the Mexican entertainment industry. Although the movie is not as perfect as ‘The Patriarch’, but it has enough juice to keep you hooked to your screens.
The premise of the movie is really interesting and includes a huge Mexican family Christmas on the beach, but it never feels that the makers are trying to change the narrative because at its core, the movie is a heart-warming story of a family spending the festival together. We do see a lot of scenes where the movie is slightly different from the usual Christmas movies. Scenes, where Angelica and Servando try telling each other who’s the boss, are funny.
There are many small sub-stories going on, and with it being a film about a big family, it works, but these stories don’t end up being memorable. The biggest drawback of the movie is its humor. The makers had two giants working in their movie and they try to do their best to make viewers laugh, but for most of the movie, they are unable to do so because of average writing.
Hector Bonilla and Angelica Maria are extraordinary as Servando and Maria. Even at this age, both actors are giving performances like they are at their peak and to be honest, it feels like that they are enjoying working more than ever. Another actor that impressed me with her acting skills is Renata Notni. She is really wonderful as Juan and you’ll immediately fall in love with her character.
On the other hand, Benny Ibarra as Fran and Jacqueline Bracamontes as Alma have great chemistry together and have done exceptional job in their respective roles.
All in all, ‘Grumpy Christmas’ offers not so much different than the previous Christmas-themed movies, but the message it delivers is something that everyone will cherish. It will give viewers a few good laughs and make your Christmas experience richer.
It’ll be worth your time if you want to spend hour and a half enjoying a film that makes you feel good about Christmas. Get together with your family and watch this movie, you’ll end up knowing the importance of family.
'Grumpy Christmas' is currently streaming on Netflix.
