While they may not be the first names you think of when you consider the selection of entertainment that specifically aims to keep people pleasantly distracted during the festive season, both Christina Milian and Pentatonix have done enough in the past decade or so (well . . . make that two for Milian, who starred in Snowglobe back in 2004) to make them quite comfortable alongside all of the expected holly jolly trimmings.
Milian stars as Layla, a young woman who bumps into a very handsome man named James (Kofi Siriboe) at an airport. The two of them form the kind of immediate and strong connection that should lead to a fantastic love story. That cannot happen though. Layla has a boyfriend, Tanner (Brendan Morgan). James offers to let fate decide for them, and he suggests that they meet at the Pentatonix Christmas concert in a year . . . IF they are both single at that time. Considering how much of an obstacle to the plot Tanner would be, it's no surprise to find him out of the picture just in time for Layla to try and reunite with James, but the problem is that she didn't buy any Pentatonix tickets. She ends up hiring a young concierge (Teddy, played by Devale Ellis) to try and help her Christmas dream come true. Is Teddy up to the task though? And is Layla sure that James is the right man for her anyway?
While your enjoyment of this will depend on how much a capella singing you can stand, and at least Pentatonix allow themselves to be the butt of one or two very gentle jokes, the cast all do a very good job at keeping viewers on their side. That's easy enough for Siriboe, who is offscreen for most of the movie, but both Milian and Ellis make their rapport and interactions feel enjoyably effortless. Nikki Duval is fun, playing the beleaguered assistant who has to put up with random harmonising from Pentatonix, and Kalen Allen enters the proceedings just when it needs another shot of energy. Everyone knows what is expected from them, and they generally exceed those expectations.
While I'm unfamiliar with writers Molly Haldeman and Camilla Rubis, who don't have too many writing credits to their names, both do well enough when it comes to delivering a rom-com full of obstacles on the way to the enjoyably predictable ending. I have seen some other work from director Rusty Cundieff, but none of it would have made me think of him as a capable pair of hands for this type of fare. Which just shows how much I know. A) He's already done a couple of other movies in this vein, and B) he handles the material with a great instinct for making it work the best it can.
It doesn't feel too obviously cheap, unlike so many other Christmas "TV movies", it has a couple of genuinely enjoyable set-pieces, and there is an attempt to at least add one or two wrinkles to the standard formula. If you don't mind the acting from Pentatonix, who would do better if they just stuck to the singing, then you should have fun with this. If you do mind them though . . . well, probably best to look elsewhere for easygoing festive fun.
6/10
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