The New Holiday Film Critique – Netflix’s Latest Christmas Romantic Comedy Lacks Fizz.

Without wanting to sound like the Grinch, one must bemoan the early arrival of Christmas films prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Even as temperatures drop, it feels too soon to completely immerse in Netflix’s yearly feast of low-cost holiday entertainment.

Similar to US candy that no longer include genuine cocoa, Netflix’s holiday films are relied upon for their style of mediocrity. They offer rote familiarity – familiar actors, modest spending, artificial winter scenes, and unbelievable plots. At worst, these movies are forgettable train wrecks; in the best scenarios, they are forgettable fun.

The new Netflix film, the newest holiday concoction, blends into the broad center of unremarkable territory. Directed by Mark Steven Johnson, whose previous romantic comedy was utterly forgettable, this movie feels like cheap bubbly – fittingly lackluster and context-dependent.

The story starts with what looks like an AI-generated ad for supermarket sparkling wine. This commercial is actually the pitch of the main character, played by Minka Kelly, to her coworkers at a financial firm. The protagonist is the stereotypical image of a career woman – overlooked, constantly on her device, and ambitious to the detriment of her personal life. When her boss dispatches her to France to finalize an acquisition over the holidays, her sister makes her promise take one night in Paris to live for herself.

Of course, the French capital is the ideal location to wrest one away from digital navigation, even when the city is covered in unconvincing digital snowfall. In an absurdly cutesy bookshop, Sydney meet-cutes with the male lead, who pulls her away from her device. Following rom-com conventions, she at first rejects this perfect man for frivolous excuses.

Just as predictable are the movie mechanics that proceed at abrupt quarter turns, mirroring the turning of old sparkling wine in the vaults of Chateau Cassel. The catch? Henri is the successor to the estate, hesitant to run it and resentful toward his dad for selling it. In perhaps the film’s biggest addition to the genre, he is highly critical of corporate buyouts. The problem? The heroine sincerely believes she’s not stripping this family-owned company for profit, competing against three stereotypical rivals: a stern Frenchwoman, a rigid German, and an out-of-touch wealthy man.

The development? Sydney’s skeevy coworker Ryan shows up without warning. The grist? Henri and Sydney look yearningly at one another in holiday pajamas, despite a vast chasm in financial perspective.

The gift and the curse is that nothing here lingers beyond a bubbly buzz on an unfilled belly. There is no substantial content – Minka Kelly, most famous for her part in the TV series, gives a merely adequate performance, superficially pleasant and acts of kindness, more maternal than love interest material. Tom Wozniczka provides exactly the dollop of French charm with light inner conflict and nothing more. The tricks are not amusing, the romance is inoffensive, and the ending is straightforward.

For all its philosophizing on the luxury of champagne, nobody claims this is anything but a mass market item. The flaws are also the things to like. One might call a critic’s feelings about the film a champagne problem.

• The Holiday Film can be streamed on Netflix.