I might now officially be one of those people who watch Christmas romance movies in November not by choice, but because curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, A Merry Little Ex-Mas didn’t make the experience worth it.
You’d think Alicia Silverstone, who nailed comedic timing back in Clueless, and early 2000s heartthrob Oliver Hudson, of Dawson’s Creek fame, would make an irresistible on-screen pairing. They play Kate and Everett, longtime sweethearts now navigating what they call a “mature divorce” or as they keep repeating, the ever-irritating “conscious uncoupling.” Their plan? Give their college-aged kids one last “perfect” family Christmas before officially splitting up.
The movie opens with promise a surprisingly charming animated sequence narrated by Kate. In it, she explains how she once dreamed of becoming an architect in Boston but gave up that life to follow Everett to his hometown, Winter Light (and honestly, couldn’t the writers have thought of a better name?). She becomes a mother and handywoman instead, quietly building resentment until she starts plotting her exit.
That five-minute animated intro ends up being the film’s high point. Everything after that slides straight into predictability. The story is generic, the jokes land flat, and the script just doesn’t have enough wit or warmth to make us care. Silverstone and Hudson try, but they’re trapped in a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be part comedy, part drama, and part Hallmark imitation.
And speaking of Hallmark, I’ve seen better ones. At least some of those have a cozy spark or a storyline with a little backbone. A Merry Little Ex-Mas can’t even manage that. By the halfway mark, I found myself skipping through scenes, hoping for a moment that felt real. Spoiler: it never arrives.
By the time the credits roll, what could’ve been a clever twist on holiday romance turns into a predictable, sugar-free slog. Clueless may have made us fall in love with Alicia Silverstone’s charm, but here, even she can’t save the season. A Merry Little Ex-Mas? More like A Merry Little Ex-Mess.