Netflix’s Christmas Flow Review: Warm, Mushy and Unoriginal

Christmas Flow is a Christmas comedy TV series created by Henri Debeurme, Victor Rodenbach, and Marianne Levy and stars Tayc, Shirine Boutella, and Marion Séclin, alongside other cast members. The series has 3 episodes, each around 50 minutes.

Netflix describes the series as:

An unlikely Christmas romance blossoms between a famous rapper and a tenacious journalist. But can they make it work despite their differences?

– Christmas Flow review does not contain spoilers –

Christmas Flow starts with our protagonist Marcus being sued for using horrible lyrics in his songs. And when I say horrible, I mean sexual assault level horrible. No one sees the problem with it, especially Marcus, who comes out of the court with an air of arrogance that will put nobles to shame. We also meet the other half of this movie, feminist journalist Lila who, along with her colleagues, is trying to make a class of students understand how problematic rape culture and victim-blaming can be. Marcus’s lyrics come up then as well and Lila realises that with sources of inspiration being this bad, it’s no wonder kids have such attitudes.

Marcus is insufferable. It’s clear where this movie is going since the first minute. He’s the bad boy and Lila is the good girl who will bring about a change in him. She will usher in the goodness that we want to see in the man – she will make him understand where he is going wrong and he will become a new person yada yada. Christmas Flow, much like every other Christmas title, is the same. It’s unoriginal and unexciting. You know what’s going to happen at the end which makes the watch boring in spite of its extremely short runtime.

On the other hand, Lila is everything people expect feminists to be, i.e., she thinks relationships are a waste of time. She takes everything too far and is extremely annoying as well. Their meeting is quite cute though until it goes up in flames. It’s similar to things we have seen over and over again, especially Christmas flicks. So, it really won’t come as much of a surprise.

This isn’t to say that Christmas Flow does not add in dashes of stuff – feminism and its usage in marketing today, #MeToo, the behind-the-scenes of getting an artist on track and understanding the link between the art and artist are all part of the narrative. Unfortunately, though, the movie doesn’t explore these interesting and important topics. They are just a way to push the series forward without getting too sticky. It’s important as long as the protagonists meet and end up with each other.

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At the end of the day though, we know that this is a Christmas fare. It’s uncomplicated, mushy and happy. Yes, there are slight hurdles but that’s quickly brushed off to give way for sunshine, rainbows and marshmallows. It’s fun and happy enough (and short enough) to enjoy without thinking too much. However, if you’re someone who seeks too deep, you’re going to enjoy it. It’s bright and sparkly all around and is great to get lost in. But, again, don’t seek too deep.

Coming to the characters, everyone is annoying. You don’t really feel for anyone because all of them are insufferable and the series does not really give them much of an arc. Well, except for Lila’s grandmother, she’s the real MVP. The actors are charming though and Shirine Boutella and Tayc are charming in their roles and would’ve benefitted from more fleshed out characters. All of the mare just so one-dimensional that it’s sad.

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Summing up: Christmas Flow

Christmas Flow is a series that goes the tried and tested route. It’s nothing new but is great for a Christmas binge without commitments. It’s an out-and-out Christmas movie about magic, love and soulmates and it fulfils all those things and more. However, if you want it to go deeper, then you’re in for a not so great treat.

Christmas Flow is streaming on Netflix.

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