Hotel for the Holidays movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Hotel for the Holidays

This holiday rom-com releases exclusively on Amazon Freevee on December 2, 2022 in the U.S. and U.K.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 34 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

The movie follows staff and guests at the Hotel Fontaine in New York City during Christmas time. The movie was directed by Ron Oliver. The writers were Maggie Lane and Margarita Matthews.

THINGS I LIKED:

Madelain Petsch is beautiful and sweet as Georgia, the hotel manager.
Yes, Jamison Belushi is related to the famous Jim Belushi. She’s his only daughter and plays Kiki in the movie, the manager’s best friend. I’ve never seen anyone decorate their pigtails like she did. Cute.
The cast also includes Mena Massoud as the love interest, Max Lloyd-Jones, Kayleigh Shikanai, Neil Crone, and more.
There’s a cute Christmas gag about a man who has lost his dog named Dickens.
New York is one of the beauties featured in the movie.
Wow, there’s a character that looks like a Ken doll. I actually thought he was fake. Jean Luc is played by Connor McMahon.
The film is made goofier with over-the-top performances. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in the case of this movie. The prince’s bodyguard (played by AJ Zoldy) always made me laugh.
It feels like a Hallmark movie but with a higher budget.
There are some cute side stories with various characters.
Your enjoyment of this holiday flick has everything to do with your expectations. This is not an award-winning film, but a sweet, cheesy Christmas movie to get you in the holiday mood and feel good.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The snow looked super fake, as well as many of the green screen backgrounds.
The manager should have known about the celebrity singer staying in her hotel. I once stayed at a hotel and the manager admitted he Googled me. He was personally waiting for my arrival. Now, I am definitely no big of a deal, so I was super impressed with his preparedness for all of his customers. Now THAT’S customer service!
Not all of the humor lands.
It’s extremely predictable.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Five of the characters are gay.
Alcohol
Lots of kissing and couples

THEMES:

Family
Friendship
Supporting others
Christmas
Priorities
Seeing love in front of you
Goals
Jealousy

FUNNY LINES:

None worth noting.

INTERESTING LINES:

“That’s mostly sugar and baked lard.” Pandora (Kayleigh Shikanai) “Well, yeah. That’s basically what Christmas is.” – Kiki (Jamison Belushi)
“It turns out owning isn’t as important as belonging.” – Georgia (Madelain Petsch)