Alison: Britt Robertson plays Ashley, a successful yet aging dancer in a popular metropolitan dance troupe. After being replaced by a younger protégé, Ashley returns to her small town home to find that her parents’ jazz club is $30,000 in debt. Determined to keep it from being turned into a juice bar, Ashley recruits some of the employees from the jazz club, who just so happen to be young, handsome, and well-toned, to form an all-male dance revue. The show is a hit, and Ashley finds herself falling for the handyman-turned-dancer, Luke (Chad Michael Murray). Will Ashley be content with living in the small town, or will the draw of the big city take her away?
It’s no surprise that holiday films are a sure thing for many networks. I have certainly enjoyed this increase in attention to holiday films since it means more films are being made. Odds are, a few of these movies are going to really stand out in terms of the holiday cheer they bring to the viewers…or so one would think. It has been tough this year to find a holiday movie that really encapsulates what a Christmas movie should be.
On paper, Merry Gentlemen should be a homerun. It has so many of the “necessary” elements: a big-city girl returning home, small-town, family values prevailing over corporate America, a roguish, perfectly scruffy bearded male lead who turns out to be more than he appears. Yet these tried-and-true stereotypes of holiday movies only seem to show just how much Merry Gentlemen misses. When Ashley discovers her parents are in debt, it is only natural she’d want to help out since that is what a child would do for their parents. While I know in my heart why Ashley would do such a thing, the filmmakers never really flush out Ashley’s motivations for wanting to help her parents. In fact, the first few scenes establish the fact that Ashley has rarely visited since moving to the city. Is guilt propelling Ashley into action or love for her family? Even with a baking montage between Ashley and her mother, I still couldn’t answer that question.
Besides her family, it was also hard to believe the connection between Ashley and Luke. Why would Luke be willing to help out Ashley – a woman he’s just met – so much so that he’d agree to dance and take off his shirt? You would think it is because there was an instant connection, that Luke’s face lit up when he first laid eyes on Ashley. Or maybe Ashley’s big-city attitude charms Luke into giving up all of his weekends for the foreseeable future so that her parents’ club doesn’t go under. Again, I’m left scratching my head. Having watched so many of these holiday films, I know I’m supposed to be rooting for these two, but I just couldn’t get into them as a couple. It seems like the writers knew the beats they were supposed to hit but didn’t understand why or how to get to each of those moments. These misses ultimately lead to a movie that feels empty.
Adam: Comedian Dave Attell has a bit where he talks about being so drunk you “time travel,” meaning you’ve blacked out but rather than staying drunk you begin to sober up during the night and aren’t exactly sure how you’ve gotten into the situation you’re in. I find myself wondering if I’ve been drunk because I agreed to watch holiday movies, but somehow I’m in a Christmas themed male strip-club (I’m sorry, “dance revue”) with the guy from One Tree Hill. Merry Gentlemen is by far the weirdest experience I’ve had watching any of these holiday rom-coms, and the fact that this movie even exists is a testament to how successful and far reaching this subgenre of movies has become. I’ve mentioned before that between the networks and streaming services, they average about 60 of these brand-new holiday rom-coms a year. Just go on to any one of the streaming services and type in “Christmas” and you will be inundated with hundreds of these types of movies, all with roughly the same plot, style, themes, and actors. With so many options, the name of the game is now what gimmick you use to garner clicks; in this case, they pander to the demographic. The same group of people who crowded into theaters to watch Magic Mike are now 12 years older and looking for something to watch on a Saturday night. Throw in the cute guy from a 20-year old TV show and you get sufficient amount of clicks to justify your budget.
With the exception of some guys taking their shirts off, Merry Gentlemen is not doing anything different or special. The cast is filled with the same type of characters with the same problems that we have seen in so many of these movies, from the bubbly lead trying to find herself to her mysterious love interest with a “past.” Britt Robinson is fine and does a nice job playing opposite Chad Michael Murray, who spends the 87 minute runtime looking like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world. I don’t know if I’ve been drunk or the entire world has, because in just a few short years we have “time traveled” from the holiday rom-com world being rocked by the Hallmark Channel airing a commercial with a gay couple to a movie with male strippers (I did it again, “dance revue”) being one of the most-watched holiday movies of the season. To be fair, I don’t think this movie would ever be run on Hallmark or Lifetime and it’s really been up to Netflix to push any type of envelope in the genre. As far as where this one ranks, it’s already insanely popular but if you’re into holiday rom-coms where men take their shirts off, watch Hot Frosty. It’s a way better movie.
Adam’s List:
1) Holidate (2020, Netflix)
2) Love Hard (2021, Netflix)
3) Your Christmas or Mine (2022, Amazon)
4) Hot Frosty (2024, Netflix)
5) Holiday Calendar (2018, Netflix)
6) Snowed Inn (2017, Hallmark)
7) The Princess Switch (2018, Netflix)
8) Falling for Christmas (2022, Netflix)
9) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, Netflix)
10) EXmas (2023, Amazon/Freevee)
11) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)
12) The Christmas Train (2017, Hallmark)
13) Holiday in the Vineyard (2023, Netflix)
14) Meet Me Next Christmas (2024, Netflix
15) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)
16) Reporting for Christmas (2023, Hulu)
17) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)
18) A Christmas Vintage (2023, Amazon)
19) Merry Gentlemen (2024, Netflix)
20) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)
21) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)
22) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)
23) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)
24) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)
25) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)
26) A Perfect Christmas Pairing (2023, Amazon)
27) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)
28) Christmas on the Ranch (2024, Hulu)
29) Best. Christmas. Ever. (2023, Netflix)
Alison’s List:
1) The Princess Switch (2018, Netflix)
2) Your Christmas or Mine (2022, Amazon)
3) Love Hard (2021, Netflix)
4) Holiday Calendar (2018, Netflix)
5) Falling for Christmas (2022, Netflix)
6) Holidate (2020, Netflix)
7) The Christmas Train (2017, Hallmark)
8) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, Netflix)
9) Holiday in the Vineyards (2023, Netflix)
10) Meet Me Next Christmas (2024, Netflix)
11) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)
12) Hot Frosty (2024, Netflix)
13) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)
14) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)
15) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)
16) EXmas (2023, Amazon/Freevee)
17) Snowed Inn (2017, Hallmark)
18) Reporting for Christmas (2023, Hulu)
19) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)
20) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)
21) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)
22) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)
23) A Christmas Vintage (2023, Amazon)
24) A Perfect Christmas Pairing (2023, Amazon)
25) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)
26) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)
27) Merry Gentlemen (2024, Netflix)
28) Best. Christmas. Ever. (2023, Netflix)
29) Christmas on the Ranch (2024, Hulu)
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