‘Christmas With You’ follows Angelia, a pop-star living off re-hashing her old songs, but her label wants a new track and she might get fired if they don’t get one. Right off the bat, the film felt like a re-hashed version of Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Marry Me’. Both romances are about a famous singer falling for an ‘ordinary’ single father with a teen daughter and in another similar detail, both male leads also happen to be teachers at their kid’s school.
Directed by Gabriela Tagliavini, ‘Christmas With You’ stars Aimee Garcia as Angelina and Freddie Prinze Jr. as widower Miguel. With no ideas for a new song, Angelina decides to distract herself by surprising a high-school fan with a visit in a nearby town, but little does she expect to find some inspiration for next track when she meets the girl’s dad – music teacher Miguel.
This was pretty simple (although exaggerated tale) movie about a ‘super rich singer celebrity’ romancing a regular guy, a Christmas love miracle we’ve seen in plenty of holiday films. Notting Hill and Hairspray (both the old and new versions) are among my favorite such flicks. Aimee Garcia is actually pretty entertaining, However, Freddie Prinze Jr. just doesn’t have any charm anymore. He looked exhausted in the part; Owen Wilson is almost a decade older than Freddie, but is absolutely endearing as the awkward middle-aged teacher dad in ‘Marry Me’. Freddie is just awkward.
Unfortunately, even the music, which is a central theme of the film, was completely forgettable. Through most of the runtime, Angelina and Miguel collaborate on a new Christmas song, and when they finally performs the track, it was underwhelming. ‘Christmas With You’ has some sweet moments, but pales out against other holiday themed releases. ‘Falling for Christmas’ starring Lindsay Lohan was far more entertaining.
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