Hiya!

Well, folks. This will be the last entry for Holiday-Palooza 2024 and, honestly, it feels bittersweet. For some reason, there were a good number of movies I wanted to review this year. I mean, I did watch a slew of horror themed Christmas films this time around. The thing is, I didn’t want to end this year’s Holiday-Palooza with something so unconventional as this is going up the day after Christmas. Ah, well. Maybe next year.

Besides, I really wanted to end this Holiday-Palooza with one specific Netflix film. It was oddly something I was really looking forward to as it stars Lindsay Lohan. It also looked like your typical and conventional Christmas romantic comedy and I wanted to end the year on a high and cozy note. So, yeah. This is a review of the new Netflix holiday film, Our Little Secret.

Although Our Little Secret has been out for more than a month and, yes, this review is coming out a whole day after Christmas, So, I do think the Netflix subscribers who have the service would have seen the movie by now, if they wanted to. I’m still going to make this a SPOILER FREE review just in case.

Our Little Secret focuses on Avery who is spending the holidays with her boyfriend’s family. However, her boyfriend’s sister has also brought her significant other home for the weekend. This normally wouldn’t be an issue, but it just so happens that guy who her boyfriend’s sister is dating was her longtime ex, Logan. Not wanting her boyfriend’s parents to find this out, Avery asks Logan to keep their romantic history a secret.

Okay, one of the biggest issues I have with Our Little Secret is the premise. Rather, I have a problem with why Avery, Lindsay Lohan’s character, wants to keep her previous relationship on the down lo. It’s so everyone involved don’t picture the two of them “doing the nasty,” so to speak. What’s doubly weird is Logan immediately agrees with that reasoning! Oh, come on, writers! You couldn’t have thought of a better explanation as to why you wouldn’t want them to say they dated? You can say they both badmouthed and complained about their exes to their current partners or something like that! I mean, I just came up with that reason 10 seconds ago! It’s not that hard! Look, I know is just to get the plot moving along but it just comes off as incredibly flimsy, at best!

I will say, while the writers dropped the ball with the reasoning why the two want to keep their previous relationship a secret, they honestly do a good job in plotting out the events throughout the movie’s 101-minute runtime. They basically used the Chekov’s Gun premise in storytelling well here. This basically means they introduce elements in the story early on and then use it later on. What makes the writing surprisingly good is how they use the Chekov’s Gun principle. I can’t really go into details as this is a SPOILER FREE review. Let’s just say they do some kind of domino effect wherein one action causes more chaos in the future and that chaos leads to even more chaos afterwards. It’s pretty smart for a Netflix movie.

The chemistry between Lindsay Lohan and Ian Harding, who plays Logan, is decent enough but does come off as a little hit-or-miss. In some scenes, they do seem to work well together but in others, I just wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t say it was their acting performances which were the problem. I actually do think Lindsay Lohan did a pretty good job as it never felt like she was just phoning it in. Ian Harding’s overall performance was also good as he does manage to be charming when the scenes call for it.

I guess the actress who does steal the show is Kristin Chenoweth, who plays the very judgy mother of the kids Avery and Logan are dating. She does seem to get typecast in the role of the uptight woman with a pointed tongue and sarcastic tone. Then again, Kristin Chenoweth does play the uptight woman with a pointed tongue and sarcastic tone really well. So, why should I complain when she does a pretty good job here as well?

The rest of the cast are… just there and that kind of bugs me about Our Little Secret. Despite the two protagonists dating new people, we barely really know anything about these new people they’re dating. You do get an impression of who they are but that’s only because you’re told who they are. The movie doesn’t really show you what they’re all about. Once again, I get why the writers did this as they aren’t the focus; the focus should be on Avery and Logan. The thing is, I can’t really get invested in the whole premise if I can’t see if there is something Avery and Logan will lose by giving up on their current relationships. Maybe I’m overthinking things here, especially for a Netflix Holiday movie but I can’t help it!

I guess one of the biggest questions to ask is if Our Little Secret actually delivers on it being a romantic comedy. Well, the romance element is there. While I wasn’t really rooting for them to get back together, the moments when Lindsay Lohan and Ian Harding have good chemistry made me halfheartedly buy into their relationship. The comedy bits weren’t laugh out loud funny but there were a few scenes worth a silent chuckle or two.

However, the really biggest question regarding this movie is if it delivers the feels. Does it make you make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? A little bit. It doesn’t really stick the landing but it’s more like it makes the dismount, lands awkwardly but still poses to the crowd as if that was the plan all along. This is a very easy movie to watch and, while I don’t see me ever watching Our Little Secret ever again, I can’t say I wasted my time with it as well. That’s not exactly a thumbs up recommendation but I wouldn’t treat Our Little Secret as some dirty little secret no one should ever know about.

Byee!

Have you seen Our Little Secret? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments section below!