See You Next Christmas

See You Next Christmas seems like it's going to be filled with old predictable tropes, but it's not. It's a great premise executed in an unexpected way. As the years go by, the main characters meet, seem like they're going to fall in love, and then are disappointed by each other-- which is pretty similar to how things usually go in real life... But over time, we really start to wonder if these two people can ever get together, which gives the movie a lot of suspense for a romantic comedy. Also impressive that the filmmakers attempted to make a Christmas movie on a budget. Most indie films don't have the guts to try that, because Christmas can be so lavish and elaborate, which gets expensive fast. The key seems to be to keep it grounded and localized in one place. The approach to filmmaking is in a lot of ways as clever as the film.

This reminded me of old school Miramax films, great dialogue, funny actors, tight script. Just all around a well made indie. I especially enjoyed the chemistry between our leads, and the people at the party are weaving in and out of the story that reminds me of films like The Party, or 200 Cigarettes. If you're looking for a fresh modern spin on the classic Christmas can be chaos story, I recommend this. This was also written and directed by Christine Weatherup who managed the Herculean task of producing an indie film during the time of Superhero movies. It's nice seeing things coming out of Hollywood with character driven storylines and snappy dialogue. I look forward to whatever is next on her plate.

It's a nice change to have an indie Christmas film have more depth than the typical Hallmark channel flick. I genuinely enjoyed the flick and I didn't even watch it at Christmas time with all the normal pre-built in Christmas feels. It can be hard to get into indie films because they don't have known faces that we are already attached to, but after a couple scenes I was all in with all the characters and didn't care that I didn't know them before this. The film has laughs, heart, and no over the top sappy storyline. Grab some popcorn, put on comfy PJ's, and just enjoy a little time away from the chaos that is life.