'Falling for Christmas' Review: The Lindsay Lohan Renaissance Has Commenced

'Tis the season of the Lindsay Lohanassaince!

The actress has made her long-awaited return to the screen in the Netflix holiday rom-com Falling for Christmas. But, if you were expecting an Oscar-worthy production, think again. This flick is one of cinema's cheesiest, most predictable stories ever. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing; in fact, those two narrative elements, along with the performances and social commentary on the influencer lifestyle, demonstrate that Falling for Christmas is not trying to be something it isn’t.

The oh-so-festive film centers on Sierra Belmont (Lindsay Lohan), a young and newly engaged spoiled heiress who experiences total memory loss following a terrible skiing accident. With nowhere to go, she finds herself in the care of a handsome, working-class lodge owner (Chord Overstreet) and his adorable daughter (Olivia Perez) in the days leading up to Christmas.

Although film connoisseurs will argue we shouldn't like this movie, we have to disagree because this cliché cheese-fest is totally worth our time. Of course, we still have to acknowledge the poor aspects of the story — for one, the screenplay tosses out Hallmark tropes left and right. From a child playing matchmaker to Santa Claus himself meddling in ordinary people's affairs, Falling for Christmas is virtually identical to its made-for-TV counterparts.

Most of the dialogue is excessively corny and almost fanfic-like, notably the overused "I don't think I've ever met anyone like you before" line. There's also the typical "you've made me feel things I didn't think I would ever feel again" statement.

OK, now don’t even get us started on the visual effects — Falling for Christmas doesn't even try to hide its mistakes. There are several moments in the movie when the use of a green screen is obvious, which takes away some of the authenticity of the frigid setting. Despite those scenes leaving us unconvinced, we can't help but chuckle at the bits of physical comedy thrown in the mix (i.e. Lindsay Lohan slowly sliding down a mountain á la Chris Farley style in Black Sheep).

Speaking of Linsday, her return to the industry is actually quite delightful. The accomplished actress has had many great moments throughout her acting career, but nothing can compare to the natural charm she offers in Falling for Christmas.

Most of her work here takes us back to the mid-2000s when she starred in rom-coms like Just My Luck and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and we couldn't be more thrilled to see her take on a family-oriented and optimistic character. Plus, hearing her sing in the film, let alone belt out "Jingle Bell Rock," is truly a full-circle Mean Girls moment that we can’t resist.

Now, we could go on and on about Lindsay's triumphant return to the screen; however, we want to shift gears to discuss an unexpected piece of the narrative — the commentary on social media influencers. Who would've thought a Christmas rom-com could actually teach us a thing or two about class and privilege? Not us, that's for sure!

As previously noted, Sierra is a spoiled heiress who can't live without her phone for more than two seconds. We also mentioned that she gets engaged, and her fiancé turns out to be one of the most self-centered and egotistical people in the world; however, it works out just fine because the two seem to be a match made in heaven.

At the beginning of the film, there's an underlying storyline that guides viewers to realize social media is all a facade — the couple has no idea how to do certain things (i.e. skiing), but they will plan photoshoots to make it look like they are experts.

The pair eventually learns a few real-life skills, such as making a bed and doing laundry, but these fundamental abilities don't seem to stick with Sierra's fiancé. He falls right back into his obsessive routine of sharing his entire life on social media in hopes of receiving attention and attaining the self-confidence he so desperately yearns for — talk about insecurity.

Overall, no one should go into this expecting to be completely blown away by show-stopping visuals, intricate dialogue, or complex themes and narratives. Falling for Christmas is simply the Hallmark Christmas movie we yearn for this time of year, and that’s all we could ask of it.

Falling for Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.