Netflix’s latest holiday offering, Our little secretis a step back from the streamer’s efforts to make its romantic comedy content a little risqué this season following the releases of the shirtless striker Hot cold and The merry gentlemen. The new film – which follows exes Avery (Lindsay Lohan) and Logan (Ian Harding) as they pretend not to know each other over Christmas when they realize their respective partners are brothers – is a deeply middle-of-the-road family comedy, minimally edgier than than your average Hallmark Christmas movie, but without enough texture to irritate anyone.
Lindsay Lohan is still an unknown in Netflix’s Christmas films. It looks like the platform intends to trap her in their holiday snow globe, the same way they did with Vanessa Hudgens (the Princess Swap trilogy, The Knight Before Christmas), but before Our little secrethis only vacation ride was the charming piece of fluff Falling for Christmas. Her presence does not immediately evoke ideas of any particular tone still, not in the way that Hudgens more or less instantly invokes the “exaggerated and/or supernatural concept,” and that may be partially why it feels so out of focus.
Our Little Secret Is Another Generic, Produced Netflix Rom-Com
There are almost no distinguishing factors
Unfortunately, Lindsay Lohan’s new film leaned into Netflix’s Christmas cinema stylewhich is blandness with an ugly side of digital cinematography. Everything is coated in the same loose digital sheen of many of the streamer’s modern offerings, with the bonus of having an unnervingly warm tone that makes almost everyone look like they’ve just been doused in molten gold. The only moment where it really comes to life visually is the opening sequence, which details Avery and Logan’s story in simple 2D animation that evokes the nostalgic watercolors of an illustrated children’s book.
The setups for the film’s big comedic set pieces… are often forced…
A convincing script can save a dull or even ugly film, but Our little secret that’s missing too. There are a lot of moving parts involved in getting Avery and Logan back togetherand the film frequently loses track of them and loses threads, only to catch them up more than half an hour later to nonchalantly play with them again, like a bored cat. The setups for the film’s big comedic set pieces (a trip to the vet, forced public speaking while high, etc.) are often forced, empty, and clichéd, requiring an at best half-hearted approach to understanding human psychology.
The Cast of Our Little Secret is a Mix
They are your saving grace and your Achilles heel
Luckily, Netflix’s latest 2024 Christmas movie was saved at least a little by its star. Lohan delivers a warm and sincere performance where it appears she remains genuinely excited to be back in front of the camera. She nails the script’s dramatic beats, and while there isn’t much comedy to get right, she gives her all to at least imbue it with a sense of charm, something she seems to have been able to do with more or less effort since the beginning of his career.
Unfortunately, much of its good work is undermined by Ian Harding’s character. THE Pretty Little Liars the star appears to be actively struggling to find a foothold in the desperately mediocre Logan. Logan rarely rises above the level of boring, and when it does, it’s accomplished with snarky line readings that are so obviously ripped off from Ryan Reynolds that they hardly register as a unique performance. As a result, There is a huge lack of chemistry between the two protagonists that sinks all the potential for Our little secret be as satisfying as a novel.
Happily, the film has an ace up its sleeve in the form of Kristin Chenowethwho plays the critical mother of Avery’s boyfriend. From them Crazy rich AsiansThe mother-in-law and potential daughter-in-law dynamic teems with conflict and even manages to get some laughs from the script. Rub‘Judy Reyes also has a standout moment in a supporting role, but ultimately while Our little secret It passes the time very well when Chenoweth and Lohan are fighting, it has nothing to offer that hasn’t been done better by even the most insipid Netflix Christmas romantic comedies.
Our little secret is available to stream on Netflix on November 27th. The film is 99 minutes long and is rated TV-14 in terms of language and substances.
- Lindsay Lohan, Kristin Chenoweth, and Judy Reyes deliver credible performances.
- The romantic leads have very little chemistry.
- Aesthetics generally range from bland to ugly.
- The plot has a lot of moving parts for such a simple story.