Introduction – Christmas with you quotes
It is my favorite time of the year yet again where we celebrate a somewhat normal festive season compared to the past 2 years. As far as movies are concerned, December is famous for the release of festive Christmas movies which are oh so sugary, spice and all things nice. As yummy as most Christmas movies are, there are few movies in this genre which teach audiences a lesson. Christmas With You is a movie which teaches audiences the importance of being “relevant.” Available for viewing on Netflix, Christmas With You is about how a senior Latin pop and RnB singer played by Aimee Garcia is struggling to maintain her popularity in the current cutthroat music world with younger artists being given more chances at fame compared to herself. She has a chance to stay in the game by releasing a Christmas song based on her record label’s instructions. To seek songwriting inspiration, she decides to connect with her fans and discovers true love in the process.
Staying Relevant
Christmas With You immediately throws audiences into the dynamic music world by showing Angelina Costa (Aimee Garcia) being intensely interviewed by a Chinese journalist who asks her pointed questions about her music’s relevance having been singing for 10+ years. Her record label is also losing interest in her and drives their point home by giving a glamourous photo shoot previously assigned to Angelina to a younger singer who is currently more popular. It is a true-blue insight in the ever-changing world of music and how artists constantly need to improvise and keep up with market trends. Furthermore, it shows the price celebrities pay when they have their personal life splashed over tabloids and social media. It is even worse for a senior artist like Angelina who is constantly pitted against Beyonce who has a 200 million fan following compared to the combined following of just 15 million shared between Angelina and her ex – beau Ricardo (Gabriel Sloyer). Due to the need to increase their following, Angelina and Gabriel are unable to confirm their breakup publicly because their social media following is well below their contemporaries.
Need for Inspiration – Christmas with you lyrics
Frustrated, Angelina decides to leave New York for a day with her manager, Monique (Zenzi Williams) as she is in severe need for inspiration to write a Christmas song before presenting it to audiences at a charity gala function taking place in a few days. The movie also reflects the positive advent of social media because of the direct connection between artists and their fan base where demographics allow artists to analyze their popularity over a significant period. Angelina comes across an emotional post from 14-year-old Cristina Torres (Deja Monique Cruz) who dedicates one of Angelina’s yesteryear ballads to her deceased mother and has a Christmas wish to meet Angelina in person. Angelina decides that connecting with her fan base by granting Cristina’s wish will inspire her to write a fun Christmas song instead of a run of the mill ballad.
Wining and Dining – May the force be with you Christmas
Upon their arrival at Cristina’s school the principal summons Cristina and her widowed father Miguel (Freddie Prinze Jr) who is the school’s music teacher to meet Angelina. Due to the town being snowed in, star struck Cristina jumps on the opportunity to invite Angelina and Monique to their humble abode where they can bond further. As they wine and dine, Miguel and Angelina vibe over writing a good Christmas song which Angelina can sing at the charity gala. Angelina promises Miguel part of the single’s sale proceeds as they begin to collaborate on the song.
Striking a Balance – Keep Christmas with you
The movie maintains a good balance between contemporary Christmas rituals in freezing American winters to pulling the story ahead which is riveting in terms of single parenting responsibilities, short deadlines in a flimsy creative environment, big fat egos of record label honchos and of course the importance of staying relevant. I found it refreshing how Christmas rituals such as making fancy dishes were weaved so easily into the story without placing too much emphasis on fancy settings. 2022 Christmas movies have primarily focused on showcasing ski resorts, the most exotic movie being Lindsey Lohan’s Falling for Christmas. I enjoyed how Christmas with you did not portray too much extravagance in it’s presentation by using small town charm to drive creative inspiration in several scenes.
Viva la Mexico – Firehouse Christmas with you Karaoke
The central characters in Christmas for you hail from Hispanic backgrounds. It was a visual treat to watch how the story wove Mexican food and culture into the story with ease. My favorite scenes are moments of bonding between Angelina and Cristina over Quincenera dress styles and dance rehearsals. For a soon to be 15-year-old girl, her Quincenera is the most important function of her existence as this is her coming out function. For Cristina her dream was coming true as Angelina was attending her Quince. The movie left no stone unturned in highlighting Mexican food for the festive season. The introduction of the Torres family begins with Miguel slow cooking traditional Mexican Christmas stew – Pozole. No Mexican Christmas can ever be complete without Mama’s tequila which gives Angelina and Monique dreadful hangovers the next day.
Conclusion
On a concluding note, I would recommend audiences of all ages to watch Christmas with you as there is something that every age group would relate to. Furthermore, it makes an effort to convey meaning to audiences which does not tend to happen with every festive movie. Although the movie is labelled as a romcom, I felt that there are more heartwarming moments than anything else. The sweetest dialogue I felt was “As long as I m with you everyday is Christmas.” I grant this flick a 4/5 rating.
