Parents' Guide to Merry Liddle Christmas

This is the perfect holiday film to have playing in the background. Any effort to give it full attention will disappoint. The characters are cut-outs with no depth. The setting is the generic realm of a well-heeled family with all the typical connections and challenges love-hate family relationships bring. Three adult kids get together with each other and the beloved parents who raised them with the hope of a perfect Christmas, but the reality is that a shared childhood doesn't make everyone share values and beliefs. The dialogue is cringey. Jacquie protests her family's decoration suggestions with, "These don't go at all with my aesthetic." Characters stop to preach to each other. Mom gives a lecture on the importance of family traditions. Jacquie lectures on guest good manners (don't bring your dog without permission). Most of the actors are either wooden or over the top. Two standouts are Chris Shields as Jacquie's dad and Thomas Cadrot as Jacquie's down-to-earth suitor.

This is a world in which every complicated relationship or logistical obstacle is solved with one short conversation, or sometimes no conversation at all. People drop lifelong bad habits and conflicts without any thought or effort. A woman who has no interest in babies is suddenly a natural the next time she picks a kid up. But it's okay because it's Christmas and the goal of the movie is to conclude on a note of love, solidarity, forgiveness, and togetherness. There's nothing wrong with that, if it's playing in the background. If you want to sink your teeth into something more substantial for the holiday, there may be a nice fruitcake around somewhere.