Film Review: FALLING FOR CHRISTMAS (2022): Lindsay Lohan Stars in a Cute Holiday Comedy That’s Enjoyable But a Bit Silly

Falling for Christmas Review

Falling for Christmas (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Janeen Damian, written by Jeff Bonnett and Ron Oliver and starring Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, George Young, Jack Wagner, Olivia Perez, Sean Dillingham, Aliana Lohan, Kate Rachesky, Oscar Rudecindo, Lonzo Liggins, Antonio D. Charity, Omar Wilder, Blythe Howard and Arthur Anderson.

Lindsay Lohan’s light as air comeback movie, Falling for Christmas, is harmless fun. Directed by Janeen Damian, the movie is perfectly geared towards the holiday season and is enjoyable to watch as long as you don’t think too much about the film’s plot because it’s pretty preposterous at times. Romantic comedy fans won’t care how silly it all is because Lohan’s performance is perfectly charismatic and Chord Overstreet as her love interest is a good match for her even though the two lovers in the movie seem more concerned with keeping the relationship family friendly than creating really believable romantic chemistry.

Lohan’s character, Sierra Belmont is rich and spoiled when we first meet her. A crew comes to her hotel room to help her get all made up to look as beautiful as she possibly can. Sierra’s dad is Beauregard Belmont (Jack Wagner) and he is a very successful businessman who is leaving Sierra for a few days and entrusting his assistants to watch over her. Sierra is romantically involved with a guy named Tad Fairchild (George Young) who takes her on a skiing endeavor where he ends up proposing marriage to her. But, due to fierce weather, an accident knocks them both for a loop almost quite literally as Sierra ends up hitting a tree and Tad gets lost and separated from her.

Enter a nice young guy named Jake Russell (Chord Overstreet) who rescues Sierra, so to speak, when he finds her by the tree and saves her from her predicament. Jake takes her to the hospital where Sierra is nursed back to health. One problem, though: She has amnesia. Sort of. She seems to remember a lot. She doesn’t, however, remember her name. Jake’s a single dad with a sweet daughter named Avy (Olivia Perez). When Sierra bonds with Avy, Sierra (who doesn’t know her real name) takes the name of Sarah from one of Avy’s stuffed dolls.

Falling for Christmas is a variation on themes found in the 1995 Sandra Bullock vehicle While You Were Sleeping. It’s also possible that the story told in Lohan’s new film has been done before in Hallmark Christmas movies. It’s essentially a story of mistaken identity where the rich character played by Lohan learns how to be an ordinary person by forgetting her past (literally) and she thus appreciates the value of love and family versus the love of money and financial success as a result. Of course, Jake is pretty much close to perfect and has a daughter that’s cuter than cute. Sierra/Sarah also helps Jake with his bed and breakfast business by encouraging him to invite old guests who stayed there previous years to a party to help save the establishment that Jake runs.

This is a harmless movie but it’s also a bit frustrating to watch in spots. George Young’s Tad is made out to be a jerk who seems to care more about himself than finding the woman he supposedly loves–Sierra. Tad has to be a jerk in the formula the movie presents to open up the possibility of Jake and Sierra falling in love. It’s acceptable that Tad is unlikable but he didn’t have to be. Sierra could have just liked Jake a bit more. There’s also the obligatory use of mistletoe in the romantic scenes of the movie cementing this movie’s status as a holiday themed picture.

Jack Wagner is pretty decent in his role as Sierra’s dad who returns several days later only to find his assistants haven’t located Sierra for days. Wagner adds a great deal of complexity to a role that could have been just a rich guy who doesn’t pay enough attention to his daughter. Instead, Wagner’s character is caring and supportive making this role a much better one than the part offered by George Young’s Tad.

Lohan is a star in her own right. She’s always possessed a great flair for comedy ever since her early work in The Parent Trap back in 1998. Lohan’s performance is charming and the actress makes her promised comeback role work successfully. Olivia Perez is a cute kid actress who excels playing the young girl who bonds with Sierra/Sarah throughout the picture. Perez and Lohan share some terrifically endearing moments together and the movie is all the more cute as a result.

But, don’t let the cuteness fool you. The movie is full of cliches too. Sierra conveniently remembers what the plot needs her to remember to advance the story line. In a holiday movie, you don’t look for gritty realism but some scenes are just plain implausible on any level.

That being said, Lohan’s movie has enough funny scenarios going for it to make it entertaining viewing for the holiday season. However, it will only play really well during the holidays. Any other time of the year, it may just be too cliched a story for its own good. But, for this time of year, you may just want to check out Lindsay Lohan’s return to form and welcome her back to the movies.

Rating: 6.5/10

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