Netflix And Chill: The Merry Gentlemen (2024)

Nothing says Christmas quite like a struggling small-town bar that ends up using some amateur male strippers to help turn fortunes around. Yes, that is the main premise of The Merry Gentlemen, the latest cheesy Christmas movie that I decided to watch this year. And scoff as you may, it wasn't too bad.

Britt Robertson plays Ashley, a young dancer who has had her career ended prematurely by the fact that she's now not quite as young as the limelight-stealing newcomers. So she finally heads back home to visit her parents (played by Michael Gross and Beth Broderick) and soon learns that their little bar, once a thriving hub of music and activity, has been in a slump for a while. A lot of money is owed, and the future isn't looking bright. Thankfully, a hunky local handyman (Luke, played by Chad Michael Murray), Ashley's fit brother-in-law (Rodger, played by Marc Anthony Samuel), a handsome bartender (Troy, played by Colt Prattes), and a dancing cabbie (Ricky, played by Hector David Jr.) are all roped in to Ashley's money-making idea: a choreographed show that features the men doing some very tame teasing. It's obvious that not everything will run smoothly though, and there may still be a chance for Ashley to be lured back to her full-time job in the big city.

As is so often the case, director Peter Sullivan has a large number of TV movies similar to this in his filmography, many of them co-created with Jeffrey Schenck (who is given a story credit here). He has also worked before with Marla Sokoloff, who wrote the screenplay for this and stars onscreen as Ashley's sister, Marie. Despite the opportunity for some extra raunch, everyone involved ensures that this remains cosy Christmas viewing, albeit with a few more abs on display than usual. They know the required story beats, and they hit every one.

Robertson is a decent lead, although I was a bit taken aback to see her in this (considering how much I have enjoyed her in some bigger movies, even if they, admittedly, didn't seem to perform as well as expected). She's appealing enough, and she can also do the occasional bit of clumsiness needed to keep her jostling up against our leading man. Murray is fine, delivering his now-softened-and-bland charm with a side-order of muscular torso, and Samuel, Prattes, and David Jr. all seem to be having fun. Gross is always a welcome sight, and Broderick pairs nicely with him, and it's great to see a small, but worthwhile, role for the charming Maxwell Caulfield (known to most people as either Rex Manning or the Cool Rider).

If you see the trailer for this and like the tone of it then you'll enjoy the film. It does what you expect. There are times when you can still sense the lower budget and rough edges (especially during "crowd" scenes that never feel too crowded), and you have to go with the flow of everything, rather than thinking about how ridiculous it is, but that's easier to do with a Christmas movie than it is with other types of movies. Good fun, and you can always follow it up with some proper raunchiness from the Magic Mike troupe.

6/10

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Yule Love It: A Snow White Christmas (2018)

Here's a rare thing. It's a Christmas movie directed by someone helming their first feature, and written by someone who only has one other film to their credit (and THAT was directed by Brian Herzlinger, which means it will never be at the top of my prioritised viewing list . . . nobody who was there during those fun times will ever forget his constant spamming on IMDb for My Date With Drew *shudder*). And it's actually quite enjoyable.

Again, repeating the message for those who somehow miss it whenever I am discussing Christmas TV movies, being quite enjoyable in this field isn't the same as being quite enjoyable when compared to the vast selection of other movies out there. There are certain limitations that these kinds of films can never fully escape, usually in terms of budget and the list of seasonal tropes that should be checked off, but this one does a better job than most, possibly because writer Paula Rahn seems more interested in creating a spin on the classic Snow White tale than just making yet another holiday movie that joins with all of the others in some kind of cocoa-fuelled osmosis.

Michelle Randolph plays Blanca White, a young woman who is tricked by her evil stepmother (Carolyn Hennessy) and stepbrother (Rich Barnes). They somehow manage to wipe her memory and then have her dropped off at a motel, hoping that she stays there until everything is sorted with an inheritance that they don't want her to be a part of. The spell can only be broken by true love, of course (and that little clause is provided by a fun little scripted moment). But while Lucas Prince (Colt Prattes) tries to win her over, Blanca finds herself more connected to the handsome and lovely hunter (Liam McNeill). Oh, and there's a seven-piece band called the Holly Jollies, led by a man named Hap (Naheem Garcia).

Director Kristin Fairweather does what needs to be done here, but also seems to be having some fun. She's got a decent little script to work from, courtesy of Rahn, and a game cast who all pitch their performances at a suitable level. The whole thing is close to panto, which is not a problem considering the central story. And I must admit that as soon as I found out that someone was named Hap, I was waiting to see how the other characters would be represented in standard human form, as opposed to the more familiar dwarves that we've seen in many other versions of the tale. Spotting the classic elements being updated or twisted is all part of the fun, from the obvious (the character names, of course) to the less obvious (such as . . . hmmm, okay, most of them are obvious, but that makes them no less fun).

Randolph is perfect for the lead role, looking every inch the character as she has been so often depicted, and Hennessy and Barnes are a lot of fun. Prattes and McNeill may be a bit bland, which is so often the way with the potential romantic leads in this sort of fare, but they also do fine, and Prattes is given some amusing moments as he struggles to win White over in ways that she doesn't respond to.

As I end this review, let me be very clear. This was a bit cheap, a bit broad, and quite silly, yes. It was also enjoyable. I genuinely enjoyed it. I would watch it again. I recommend it to others. But only during the holiday season.

6/10

There's a different Snow White Christmas available here.
Americans can get the same disc here.