The Literate Kitty

Not sure if the increase in holiday fare on all of the streamers is due more to the ongoing pandemic or it’s just a numbers game (more subscribers for whatever reason, means more dollars, means more content), but one thing is clear: all of ‘em (the streamers, that is) are firing on all cylinders this holiday season, with a veritable onslaught of seasonal shows. And me? I’m So. Here. For. It. ( Them. Whatevz .) With soooo many streaming services to choose from, though, it’s sort of mind-boggling. But, suck it up, I must, and today, I’m bringing a wildly-different pair from Netflix for your consideration. ________________ A Castle for Christmas Honestly, I’m not at all the target audience for a traditional holiday romance thing . Call me jaded, selective (or what you will), but I tend to really struggle with all those blatantly-obvious Xmas things… which most of what airs at this time of year, is . Still, show me pleasant previews with two legit ‘80s stars—Brooke Shields and Ca...

When November 1 rolls around each year, you can count on a couple of things. First, every store dramatically slashes the prices on their thematically-bagged candies (as though they’re channeling Michael Myers tracking down neighborhood teens in Halloween ).  Second—and more importantly, here—all of the streamers shift every Christmas-y movie or show to the top of their “trending titles” and “holiday picks” lists (or whatever other catchy phrases they're hoping will elicit clicks).  Once you remove the classics and perennial family-friendly fare, though, what’s left is an ever-growing yet somehow surprisingly-limited Santa’s bag of tricks… with more lumps of coal at the bottom than fabulous gems (no matter how pretty the outer packaging may appear in the promos). I know this … yet still find it impossible to resist at least a couple new holiday offerings each year. [Some people tell Alexa to play Christmas music nonstop; me, I watch a few rom-coms. To each their own, right...

  Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go: I am— in no way, shape, or form —a big romance fan. I mean, yes, sure— absolutely!— I appreciate the heck out of sweet romantic gestures … IRL(!) … but as far as the written word goes, or on the big screen? Yeah, not so much. (Clever-smart rom-coms being not the norm and not straight-up romance, capice? ) So, why do I need to tell you all this, you might ask? (Fair question.) Because I’m about to review an all-about-the-romance film, and it’ll be helpful if you know where I’m comin’ from, right off the bat. (Trust me, this will matter, later on…) _______________ Normally, I wouldn’t choose to watch a) most Lifetime movies [ which isn’t meant as a diss; I just know wherein my heart and soul lie, and it ain’t here ], or b) a Christmas romance flick, anywhere, anytime. And yet, I find myself watching… precisely that. (Life: it’s a funny ol’ thing, eh?) Anyway, for reasons , my viewing matter one night turned out to be the premi...