Christmas with the Singhs: Movie Review

Family drama that over-complicates a nice romance.

First, Hallmark has to be congratulated on recognizing that there are other cultures and races in the world. It is such an overwhelmingly White network that Christmas with the Singhs is their only foray into a more diverse lineup. But before we go too far, it’s very important to note that the Singhs, an Indian American family, are Christian so Christmas still looks like Christmas.		2024 Directed by: Panta Mosleh Screenplay by: Patricia Isaac, Emily Ting Starring: Anuja Joshi, Benjamin Hollingsworth
The lead couple is Asha (Anuja Joshi), an ER nurse, and Jake (Benjamin Hollingsworth), a sports writer. Former high school classmates who reconnect at the hospital on Christmas Day and basically fall madly in love instantaneously. Jump forward (almost) a year and they’re now getting engaged. While we do jump past all of the early stages of their relationship, there’s still enough time spent with them to see how great of a couple they are. They get along so easily that you’re not expecting their families to be this difficult. Some of the unfortunate awkward moments couldn’t be avoided like when Asha accepts Jake’s proposal and then makes a comment about her parents’ blessing. I was completely on Jake’s side with “that’s still a thing?” nothing about Asha suggested she would be that traditional even if her parents are. But when they arrive at her parents house and Jake assumes he’d be sleeping in Asha’s room, she could have just told him. She knew full well her parents wouldn’t accept co-habitating before marriage, and should have warned him to save the obvious awkwardness. The movie is supposed to be about how these two families are so far apart in cultures that they can’t mesh together. That’s what it tells us. But it’s not what it shows us. It actually shows us two families that have similar cultures but are completely unwilling to compromise at all. Most of the issues just needed a simple explanation, and then everything would be fine. But the two families decided to make stubbornness and rudeness unavoidable obstacles. While everything in this movie could have been solved a lot easier and faster, there was still a nice and mature evolution to Asha and Jake fitting into each other’s families. Even though most of the drama could have been avoided, the emotion is well-earned. For those that want to add some family drama to their Christmas viewing, Christmas with the Singhs is not a bad choice.

Want a different Christmas movie or just more holiday-themed movies? Holiday Movies


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