It Isn't This Hard to Get Pentatonix Tickets

I will admit that, of all Netflix's Christmas offerings this year, I was least interested in Meet Me Next Christmas. Hot Frosty and The Merry Gentlemen feature rampant manchest, so obviously I was most excited about those. The next tier was the Lindsay Lohan vehicle Our Little Secret (review Thursday) and the Sabrina Carpenter Christmas Special (review coming next week!). Meet Me Next Christmas was on the bottom of the list, even though I like Christina Milian. I just don't like her as much as I like a gimmicky premise, with or without Lindsay Lohan. However, I didn't do this movie justice. Milian and her costar, Devale Ellis, have the best chemistry of this year's crop, and it turns out that there's plenty of gimmicky premise to go around.

Layla (Milian) is travelling at Christmastime and gets stranded in the airport lounge, where she meets James (Kofi Siriboe). James is handsome, charming, family oriented...everything Layla could want, if she didn't already have a boyfriend. They agree that if they are both single in one year, they will meet at the Christmas Eve Pentatonix concert in New York City. This is, by the way, a movie where multiple cool urban professionals in their thirties are really into the acapella band Pentatonix. The next year, after Layla has broken up with her boyfriend for cheating on her, she tries to get last-minute tickets to the show. But they are totally unavailable! For any price! So Layla hires a concierge, Teddy (Ellis). Teddy is only working as a concierge because his career as a chef didn't work out, but he's about to get fired because he's not actually good at the job. He and Layla set off an NYC adventure in search of tickets. As they spend more time together, making creme brulees and perfecting a dance routine, Layla starts to wonder whether Teddy is actually the man she wants this Christmas.

As I mentioned, Layla and Teddy have great chemistry. Not only do they share sexy looks while cooking together, they also share sexy looks while she washes pepper spray out of his eyes, and that's the sort of romantic versatility that makes for a great relationship. They also do a very solid dance routine together where Milian is wearing a blonde wig and sparkly jumpsuit and just crushing it. But what really makes or breaks a rom-com is often the side characters we meet along the way, and in this area, Meet Me Next Christmas excels. Most movies would be satisfied with Layla's supportive bestie Roxy (Tymika Tafari) and Teddy's drag-fabulous cousin Jordy (Kalen Allen), but here we get a full plotline for Pentatonix themselves. After seeing them act, I see why they are so famous for singing.

I kid, I kid. Pentatonix seems to have a good sense of humor about themselves, and there's a running joke about how they sing in unison that is funny every time. The issue is that so much of this movie hinges on the idea that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get Pentatonix tickets at any price. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure their concerts are delightful. I bet there are themed costumes and some practiced jaunty banter. I'd go! And I can go, right now, to their December 22nd show in Houston, Texas, for the bargain price of $66. So while Layla and Teddy's relationship is believable, the premise that brings them together, not so much. But who needs believable when you have this many dance sequences?

Could you watch this with your grandma? Yeah, I'd say so, if she's the sort of grandma who is aware that drag shows exist and are fabulous. She's probably in the target market for Pentatonix anyway, so she might like this even more than you do. And if I'm wrong about Pentatonix and they actually are, like, on the cutting edge of cool music, send me your favorite song!