You’d be forgiven if you were convinced in the early goings of “Meet Me Next Christmas” that the Netflix film is just a slightly more expensive Hallmark Christmas movie. combined with a wild-goose chase rom-com.
Still, it’s not actually either of these things. This film, directed by Rusty Cundieff, seems to be a bewildering Christmas movie centered on reminding its viewers that the a cappella pop group Pentatonix still exists.
After Layla (Christina Milian) is stuck in an airport during a holiday snowstorm, she hits it off with James (Kofi Siriboe), a suave stranger who might also be the man of her dreams. Knowing she’s in a relationship, James proposes that they don’t exchange any information, but instead meet one year later at a Pentatonix Christmas concert (the strangest version of the “Before Sunrise” premise if there ever was one).
A year later, Layla, newly single, crisscrosses town for last-minute tickets to the show with the help of Teddy (Devale Ellis), a concierge whom she reluctantly begins to fall for.
Their adventures play out with little charm, and the writing is often baffling, including the nonstop references to Pentatonix, who are also awkwardly featured in scenes throughout. (One can practically see their agent negotiating the contractual clauses onscreen.)
In recent years Netflix has become a factory for B-rate Christmas movies, with the occasional cheap comfort to be found in its manufactured holiday romances. This bizarre concoction, not so much.
The post ‘Meet Me Next Christmas’ Review: An a Cappella Affair to Remember appeared first on New York Times.
