A warning shot has been fired across the bow signaling the start of the Yuletide cinematic experience. If this is any indication, the process is going to be repetitive and tedious, but involve some all-American Grade A beefcake. Yes, following in the ab-steps of the 2024 tragic messes Hot Frosty and The Merry Gentlemen, A Merry Little Ex-Mas offered merry little to recommend itself, but did supply a brief Chippendale’s moment. Emphasis on “brief.” Twice.
Kate (Alicia Silverstone) and Everett (Oliver Hudson) are an estranged couple waiting patiently for the holidays to end so they can get on with their lives. We are as well. But there’s one last Christmas to go in the quaint village of Winterlight, where all the houses are estates no matter how divorced you get.
Everett has brought home Tahani from “The Good Place” (Jameela Jamil) to show how well he’s getting along without Kate. Kate’s daughter has returned home 
with a dorky English kid who has brought his wand. Apparently, outwardly advertising your allegiance to Gryffindor can get you laid. Who knew?
Speaking of getting laid, Kate isn’t, which seems a tragedy as she is the only one in the cast we might care about. Enter Christmas tree farm Santa, aka “Chet” (Pierson Fodé) a lovable doof who might just trim Kate’s tree if it weren’t already December 19 with too much preparation to go. The oblivious Chet turns out to be my favorite character in this Christmas re-coupling. Oh, wait, you didn’t see that plot coming? Pro tip: You can tell exactly by the title how this film is going to end. While Chet’s personality does little to remind anyone why someone might fall for him, he does strip to his skivvies to “put out” a Christmas tree fire. [He has no idea what he’s doing; this was simply a gimmick for more Christmas abs to happen.]
The only other scene in this mirthless waste of time worth mentioning is one where Kate gets cozy on the couch with her adult children. There’s little there, and you can probably get same from any sitcom you’ve ever seen that has a Christmas episode. There just isn’t much to this picture, 
period. If it didn’t happen at Christmas, we wouldn’t care about any of the characters in any way. And because it happened at Christmas. I find the whole thing false and fabricated. Want to see two exes that don’t fight get back together and not fight? Here ya go. What this film lacks in plot is easily compensated by what it lacks in controversy.
Recent Christmas holiday seasons have been instrumental in resurrecting the careers of Brooke Shields and Lindsay Lohan. Now, it’s Alicia Silverstone’s turn. Will America still find her Clueless? I know I always will.
Let the games begin, Christmas 2025. I think the FrogBlog leads 1-0 atm.
♪Have yourself a boring little Christmas
We ran out of light
From now on the
Hallmark Channel will be on all night
Have yourself a boring little Christmas
Is the nephew gay?
If I had my
Druthers I’d be miles away
Here we are gathered by the set
List’ning to her fret once more
Screenplays once that were dear to us
Seem so tedious, such bore♫
Not Rated, 91 Minutes
Director: Steve Carr
Writer: Holly Hester
Genre: The Christmas siege begins
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Hallmark junkies
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People
♪ Parody Inspired by “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
