‘A Not So Merry Christmas’ (2022) – Movie on Netflix – Review: Another Christmas Movie

December 20, 2022

A Not So Merry Christmas is a Mexican film directed by Mark Alazraki, starring Mauricio Ochmann and Ana Brenda Contreras.

A Mexican version of Groundhog Day (1993), this Netflix production starts well (with a musical number of dance and Christmas carols) and gradually becomes more and more deflated consumed by the inevitable Christmas spirit.

Premise

Chuy has become a bit grumpy and self-centered, having reached midlife, married and father to two. This year he is doomed to relive Christmas day after day in a terrifying space time glitch until he starts appreciating the season.

Movie Review

It has a good premise: a man who hate Christmas that coincidentally falls on the same date as his birthday (hence, everybody forgets HIS special day). May Frank Capra’s everlasting Christmas Spirit forgive me, but it seems that many of us feel like this (even Stephen King), and we relate to the protagonist, and are already fed up with the season, even before the big day arrives. And with a premise similar to Bad Santa, everything is fine, until (and it was predictable) he gives into all the Christmas delights and has a bout of elfish cheeriness.

‘A Not So Merry Christmas’ is not the worst of season movies, far from it, but it is not a movie that is destined to cure our Christmas fatigue. It is a light, relatively charming, and at times it is even bold, always within the parameters of a family friendly Christmas movie. It does make an attempt at modernizing the characters, the situations and settings, while celebrating the inescapable “same ol’, same ol”.

There is nothing outstanding about this movie, but it might be to the liking of some.