Adam & Alison Watch Christmas Movies: CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS

 by Adam Thas & Alison Thas

That one named after a Taylor Swift song. No not that one the other one. The one in Paris.

Alison: If you go into Netflix’s Champagne Problems thinking you’ll find references to Taylor Swift, think again. While the lyrics from Swift’s song "Champagne Problems" could lend themselves to a plot in a movie, the Netflix film is about just that: problems encountered while trying to acquire a winery that produces champagne. Sydney Price (played by Minka Kelly) is tasked with landing a deal with a champagne producer in the French countryside. Plot twist: Sydney is going to fly to Paris so that she can give her pitch to the owner in person. Standing in her way is the son of the owner, Henri (Tom Wozniczka). It goes without saying that these two don’t stay enemies for long.

Putting the predictable plot aside for the moment, I found Champagne Problems to be particularly charming. I believe a lot of that charm is owed to the movie being filmed in both Paris and the Champagne region of France. The film allows us a brief escape from our everyday lives to one that is filled with chateaus, champagne, and fromage. I would argue that if this movie were to be filmed anywhere but France, it would have fallen flat.

Another bolster for this movie is the cast of supporting characters. Sydney has to have a little competition and that comes in the form of a few other potential investors. Roberto (Sean Amsing) and Otto (Flula Borg) steal every scene they’re in and do the heavy lifting of keeping the movie light, bubbly, and appealing. As previously mentioned, the arc that our female and male leads go on is a tale as old as time. The supporting cast, however, sets the film apart from others and made the film that much more endearing for me. Champagne Problems is the first film in awhile that I will rewatch because of the holiday magic it was able to capture.

Adam: Add this to the list of holiday rom-coms that was clearly written starting with title. I mean, I get it? Knowing the audience for these types movies, it makes sense to start with the title of a Taylor Swift song and work backwards from there. You can usually tell the holiday rom-coms that were created with the title first because they always start out strong: beautiful career woman has to complete a task, meets a handsome guy, then circumstances pit them against each other. We’ve seen this before, but what got me excited for this one to start was seeing Minka Kelly, someone we aren’t used to seeing in these movies (yet). The movie was actually shot in the city in which it takes place! Again, a rarity for the genre, plus bonus points for it being Paris. They put some funny people in the comic relief roles, something that worked out well in Hot Frosty. The most surprising to me, though, was that they have French people speak French to each other. This may seem an obvious choice, but so many of these movies would just have the French people speak English to each other because how else are you going to scroll on your phone and follow what’s happening?

Unfortunately, Champagne Problems isn’t doing anything unique, and that’s the main issue. For the first 45 minutes, I really enjoyed this one and then it just kind of sputters out. At one point, the owner of the winery brings everyone to his Chateau, claiming he wants to get to know them before selling him his winery. Ok, a believable request, but then he then proceeds to have them do menial tasks and decorate a tree. Again, believable, but it is very clear that these tasks had no bearing on the outcome of the movie.

When something happens in a movie, it should either inform us about the character or advance the plot, So much in this movie does neither. At one point early in the movie, Henri explains that years ago he once hid the book Le Petit Prince somewhere in the Chateau so his “monster” of a father wouldn’t take it from him. My beautiful wife quickly said, “She’s going to find the book.” Alison was right. Later Sydney finds the book behind some bottles of wine and gives it to Henri. Now for those of you who may be upset that I just “spoiled” the movie: that’s my point. Sydney just gives Henri the book. That’s it. That entire plotline was, “I lost my book. Here, I found your book.” It has no impact on the plot whatsoever. That’s just a small piece of what is repeated over and over in this movie.

Champagne Problems started off great and built up enough good will throughout the first half that I was able to ignore some of the problems that appeared later. The scenery was great, there were a few laughs, but this one was solidly in the middle of the pack as even the “One Year Later” scene we seem to always get couldn’t clean up the relationships that went unearned. You could do worse than this one, but you could also do better.

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) Christmas in the Spotlight (2024, Lifetime)

8) The Princess Switch (2018, Netflix)

9) Falling for Christmas (2022, Netflix)

10) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, Netflix)

11)  EXmas (2023, Amazon/Freevee)

12) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)

13) Deck the Walls (2025, Hallmark)

14) The Christmas Train (2017, Hallmark)

15) Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story (2024, Hallmark)

16) Joy to the World (2025, Hulu)

17) Holiday in the Vineyard (2023, Netflix)

18) Meet Me Next Christmas (2024, Netflix)

19) Champagne Problems (2025, Netflix)

20) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)

21) Reporting for Christmas (2023, Hulu)

22) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)

23) A Christmas Vintage (2023, Amazon)

24) Merry Gentlemen (2024, Netflix)  

25) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)

26) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)

27) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)

28) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)

29) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)

30) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)

31)  A Perfect Christmas Pairing (2023, Amazon)

32) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)

33) Christmas on the Ranch (2024, Hulu)

34) 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) Deck the Walls (2024, Hallmark)

10) Champagne Problems (2025, Netflix)

11) Holiday in the Vineyards (2023, Netflix)

12) Meet Me Next Christmas (2024, Netflix)

13) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)

14) Hot Frosty (2024, Netflix)

15) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)

16) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)

17) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)

18) EXmas (2023, Amazon/Freevee)

19) Snowed Inn (2017, Hallmark)

20) Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story (2024, Hallmark)

21) Reporting for Christmas (2023, Hulu)

22) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)

23) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)

24) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)

25) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)

26) A Christmas Vintage (2023, Amazon)

27) A Perfect Christmas Pairing (2023, Amazon)

28) Christmas in the Spotlight (2024, Lifetime)

29) Joy to the World (2024, Hulu)

30) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)

31) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)

32) Merry Gentlemen (2024, Netflix)

33) Best. Christmas. Ever. (2023, Netflix)

34) Christmas on the Ranch (2024, Hulu)