Godmothered (2020)

 Jillian Bell and Isla Fisher star in this familiar film. Fairy godmother in training Eleanor (Bell) sets out to prove that the world still needs fairy godmothers and after finding a letter from a young girl named Mackenzie, she finds out she’s about thirty years too late as Mackenzie (Fisher) is now a grown woman who is widowed with two daughters of her own. It’s an entertaining film, but is pretty much “Enchanted” set in 2020 with a fairy godmother in the modern world instead of a Princess. Nothing special.

Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square (2020)

 

Dolly Parton seems to be everywhere recently. This also includes in one of Netflix’s new holiday films Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square”. In it she plays a guardian angel seeking to change someone’s heart. That someone is Regina Fuller (Christine Baranski). Regina has recently acquired the deed to a small town after her father’s death and intent on selling it she gives the townsfolk until Christmas Eve to vacate.

The film is full of good cheer, but it’s also rather odd. While Dolly Parton is charming she sticks out in her bedazzled outfits and even the fact that she’s an angel doesn’t keep her from feeling out of place. This is not a good film. It is a musical and the song and dance numbers come out of nowhere without flowing seamlessly into the narrative.

The film opens with Dolly Parton disguised as a beggar. She is the most expensive looking beggar I have ever seen. The townspeople sing about their troubles. They also sing about how much Regina is despised in the town. It is soon after that Regina discovers she might be dying of a brain tumor.

The film tries hard to borrow from “A Christmas Carol” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” amongst others. Yet, Dolly Parton’s charisma and the feel good moments are hard to ignore. 

There is also a good Christian message written it. Regina’s biggest secret is kept in a Bible after all. The message is harmless and it’s obvious that we’re meant to root for Regina to feel all the good in the world. Ultimately, you finish Dolly’s film with a smile on your face and some Christmas spirit.

Alien Xmas (2020)

 

There’s a war on Christmas! Or at least there is in a lot of children’s Christmas films. This one is no exception.

Alien Xmas is about a group of aliens who are coming to Earth with the intent of stealing everything. Since they’re coming during the holiday season, everything Christmas related is getting stolen.

Alien Xmas is a wonderful little short clocking in at a little over forty minutes. It’s sweet and predictable, but it’s made for the kids.

It’s a cute little film with a familiar message. Nothing beats the power of love and the gift of generosity. Based on a book by the same name I found myself loving it.

It’s also fun to have little space aliens be the stars. The Klepts are a species of alien who love to own stuff. They have exhausted their planet’s resources by finding anything and keeping it for themselves. They turn to Earth. They have created an anti gravity machine that they must put on the surface of the earth, when they turn it on earth loses its gravity and all the things will float into space allowing them to then take it for themselves.

It’s a ridiculous plan, but the Klepts are eager to put it into action! X, the littlest alien, is only one brave enough to volunteer. X lands at the North Pole and leaves his robot helper to build the anti gravity machine so that he can loot and keep the best stuff for himself. To no one’s surprise he learns the true meaning of Christmas after observing the elves.

X is mistaken for a toy by one of the elves and he mistakenly gifts X to his daughter Holly. Holly falls in love with X immediately since her dad gave him to her. Yes, this does in fact fall under the dad works too much to spend time with his daughter trope. Seeing Holly share with her friends and seeing her sadness at not being able to spend time with her dad quickly converts X into a good guy.

There’s so much charm in the film. It’s a harmless way to pass the time. It’s cute and cheerful. X is adorable. The alien leader Z is fun to watch.

It’s currently streaming on Netflix. It’s short enough to keep short attention spans engaged. It’s also got a familiar story and sometimes that’s all you need. 

The Princess Switch: Switched Again (2020)

 

As a royal, you’re expected to sacrifice everything for your country. Happily ever afters are not expected. Your country comes first.

Since “The Princess Switch: Switched Again” is a Christmas movie though, everything works out in the end.

“Switched Again” is another harmless Christmas film. Netflix continues to try and compete with Hallmark. It is also the second original Netflix Christmas sequel.

To recap: In “The Princess Switch” Stacy from Chicago and Duchess Margaret of Montenaro (both Vanessa Hudgens) switched places with one another after discovering they looked alike.

Duchess Margaret wanted to live a normal life no matter how brief. She falls for Stacy’s best friend and Stacy falls for Margaret’s fiancé. They both ultimately lived happily ever after with the men they truly love after confessing the switch. 

In “Switched Again” not only does Hudgens play Stacy and Margaret, but a third character as well. Fiona is Margaret’s cousin. There is a lot of Vanessa Hudgens in this movie. That’s not necessarily a bad thing by any means. What it does mean is an even more ridiculous plot than the first.

“Switched Again” takes place about a year after the first. Stacy is trying to navigate a life of royalty often at the expense of Prince Edward (Sam Palladio). Margaret and Stacy’s best friend Kevin (Nick Sagar) ended the first film in a relationship. It is revealed that Margaret is now in line for the throne after the King’s death. This new revelation caused Kevin and Margaret to break up as it caused a strain in their relationship.

You can probably already guess how it ends. Margaret and Stacy switch places again to give Kevin and Margaret a chance to spend time together. That’s how it worked in the first film and it was bound to work again.

Fiona has a plan of her own. Though she is royalty, she is presumably no where near becoming  queen and has lived a life of such excess luxury that she has run out of money. Fiona plans to take Margaret’s place at the coronation, then writing herself a huge check before leaving the country.

This would obviously never work in real life. While she was planning on releasing Margaret after writing the fraudulent check, Fiona still would be the only suspect in the crime and thus eventually caught.

This is a film though and a Christmas one at that. No point in trying to make sense of it.

Hudgens is the main focus of the film. Prince Edward and Kevin are hardly in the film. Vanessa Hudgens isn’t bad in the roles (minus the British dialect), but the magic and Christmas charm of the first one is missing. The only thing that makes this a Christmas film is that Margaret is getting coronated on Christmas Day. 

Like the first film, there’s nothing wrong with this film. It’s a nice distraction from what’s going on in the world. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s fun. It’s a harmless way to entertain yourself.

You can watch “The Princess Switch: Switched Again” on Netflix.