Falling For Christmas review: Lindsay Lohan’s holiday themed Hollywood return is nothing to write home about

2.5/5

Story:

Sierra Belmont(Lindsay Lohan) lives a life most people dream of- spoiled beyond measure by a rich and loving father, and in a stable relationship with an influencer. However, she can’t help shake the feeling of something being missing in her life. When she finds herself with amnesia after a freak accident, she starts to discover who she truly is and wants to be, under the warm and nurturing eye of a widowed lodge owner.

Review:

Tis the holiday season, and the season where filmmakers are barely able to show restraint in helming holiday themed films with the sole purpose to make the best of the Christmas cheer that is bound to take audiences for the next couple of weeks. This Holiday season certainly came bearing gifts for Lindsay Lohan fans, as the actress returned to the silver screen after quite a long gap, with the holiday themed rom-com Falling For Christmas. Although endearing enough for rom-com enthusiasts, Lohan’s fans expecting a guns blazing return from the actress might be in for a disappointment.

Enter Lohan as Sierra Belmont, the spoilt daughter of a business magnate who has always had everything handed to her in life. But despite her comfortable existence in the lap of luxury, Sierra can’t help but feel like she wants to do something more in life . The rest of the characters who form a part of her life and more or less walking cliches as well- we have the caring, widowed father whose entire personality oscillates between no nonsense businessman and loving father; there’s Sierra’s boyfriend Tad, a dimwitted influencer whose entire life revolves around hashtags and trends, whose comfortable relationship with Sierra makes her overlook his vanity and inconsiderate nature; and last, but not the least, there's the sweet natured Jake, a widowed lodge owner who is at risk of losing his cozy establishment to the flashier ski resorts that have been popping up in the area.

There are literally no surprises to the story whatsoever, and even someone with a basic idea of rom coms will have no problem in deducing which route the film will take. Instantaneous deep bonds, both romantic and otherwise, form between Sierra and her rescuers and nurturers when she finds herself in their care after losing her memory in an accident, moments after getting engaged.

But even predictable romantic comedies are easily salvageable, if peppered with some endearing performances and a good script shouldered by the writers. But sadly, Falling For Christmas falls short there as well, as viewers are treated to an hour and a half of cliched and cheesy lines about christmas miracles and the holiday spirit. As if the setting, the story, the aesthetics and atmosphere weren’t enough, the makers made sure that even the densest of viewers don't miss the Christmas theme, by even adding a trademark Santa Claus.

Coming to performances, the script rarely gives Lohan anything meaty to work with, and the actress seems to have been well aware of that as well, which motivated her to give nothing more than the bare minimum. Lohan’s uninspired performance is equally matched by her co-stars, her bland dynamic with Chord Overstreet’s Jake struggling to overcome the overall insipidness of the writing.

Verdict:

With its shallow characters, faltering performances and lazy writing, Falling For Christmas’ only redeeming factor seems to be the fact that it served as the vehicle for Lindsay Lohan’s Hollywood return.