Holiday Fare: "Champagne Problems" on Netflix - Approved!

Netflix has made it very clear, this year, that they want to dethrone Hallmark as the King of Christmas movies.

Can they do it?

They just might!

So the #1 rule of being in Netflix's Preview Screening Club is - you can't talk about Netflix Preview Screening Club - UNTIL something you've reviewed is released - then you are encouraged to help hype it, it you liked it.

As an aside, if you're interested in being in the Netflix Preview Screening Club, the thing is - and this is gonna sound snootier than I mean it to -  but you have to be invited?

I have no idea how I was invited, I've never been invited to any special club in my life.  😂

The only thing I know is my watching patterns as a movie geek, my demographic, and sometimes they'd send a blast email asking us what we thought of stuff after watching, and being a former aspiring screenwriter, I'd write them a detailed eyeful 😂 raving about what worked and gently touching upon what didn't. I think they also ping out to see what's being talked about social media (which I'm not on) and blogs, etc.?

So if you want to be in it, I might suggest that you watch a bunch of Netflix (and not just the mainstream stuff), fill out the blast-email review requests afterwards (the more specific and detailed the better) -  not just the thumbs up button, but the random after-premiere ratings they ask for - and review what you've watched on Netflix on your social media or blog.

The caveat being, of course, if you are in NPSC already, you can't write or talk about what you've previewed until it's released, you signed an NDA - but after it is released, you can talk about it all you like, as it helps with promotion.

The really cool thing is, they DO listen to your suggestions and make changes/tweak stuff!

Now, without further ado ... 

I approved "Champagne Problems!" 😂

It's currently #2 on the Netflix Top 10 movie list, just dethroned by Jingle Bell Heist 😂

(FYI, the new Stranger Things is on the the TV show list, rather than the movie list, because it has episodes; thus, it is deservedly #1 on that list.)

So the problem with Christmas Rom Coms is they're usually long on "Rom" to the point of corny, very short on "Com" - and especially 

HOWEVER, this one brings the "com" - mostly due to these 2 members of the supporting cast  ... 

Sean Amring as party starter, Roberto Salazar ...

... and Flula Borg who is NOT that ... as weird, morose, but somehow still loveable Otto Muller ... 

Roberto snaps out the ice-breaking one-liners, and Otto's bizarre tales of his traditional austere German Christmases, which apparently involve Krampus, ashes, dead things, and robotic dancing (think Mike Myers as Dieter from Sprockets on  SNL, but more loveable) should at least bring a smile to your face.

So most of these holiday rom coms are overly formulaic, right?

Quirky, over-privileged white girl, who doesn't realize how good she's got it, is forced by either business or family to visit some idyllic Christmas spot we all only wish we were sent to, but bitches about it, classic fish-out-of-water (or returning fish to water).

She either brings a sister or a best friend or meets one, who convinces her she needs to chill and believe in the power or love and Christmas magic. 

Then there's a "meet-cute" where she like, bumps into what will be her love interest with an entire tray of hot coffee or something, only she doesn't realize it's her love interest until she meets him again later.  

Mayhem ensues, girl gets boy, girl loses boy somehow, girl gets boy back, she realizes her old life elsewhere wasn't so great after all, they settle in new town - boom,  then end.

That is the formula - and if they stray too far from it, the movie won't fly.

So the trick is, how to hide the formula better or at least make it more interesting, and if they can, wittier, funnier - which Champagne Problems does!

BTW, for those unaware, the phrase "champagne problems" means the type of problems rich people have, so it's already kind of a wink to the usual overprivileged people in these movies, but in this case, it really is about champagne as well. 

(There's also a little Pretty Woman hotel concierge moment in there and I'm not sure why, considering the story line, but it works nonetheless.)

TBH, Jingle Bell Heist, is even better at it - it follows the formula somewhat, but you may not recognize it at first, which is why it's #1.

Minka Kelly brings more warmth than quirky as the lead role. In fact, at the beginning, I didn't know if she was gonna pull off the sharp business lady role, the killer deal-closer role, but then I realized - that's the point.

Spoiler alert - though as I just said, you should know the formula  of these things by now anyway - she doesn't really want or need to have a killer instinct to be successful, after all, and success has many definitions. 

And don't even get me started with how much I knew the ladies would love Tom Wozniczka as Henri Cassel.

It's not just the French accent ... okay, it's a lot about the French accent ...


... but his twinkly eyes, his crooked little grin, his understated sense of humor, and controlled passion when he speaks in French, which lets us know what he's saying without even understanding French?

Oui, oui, be still my heart!



And Les Etoiles, the Parisian bookstore they meet-cute in and he wants to own and run?

I know it's just a set, but I want to go wherever it is and live there, forever.

(I couldn't find any decent pictures of it at present, except the hallway between rooms, which doesn't give you the feel - sorry.)

And I learned a French phrase, which I think is a better way of saying "I miss you" than we do - "Tu me manques" - which means "You are missing from me."

Isn't that great?

It's saying "a part of me is missing without you."

Considering it's so personal, I doubt they throw that phrase around as casually and insincerely and as often as we do, either, right? 

Who knows, the French love to be passionate, and they do mean it sincerely, at least for the moment 😂

So is Champagne Problems the best thing I've ever seen?

No - but it's better than the usual Hallmarky Christmas fare. And we do love our Holiday Rom Coms in America 😊

This one was approved by the Netflix Preview Screening club - and me. 😊

Enjoy!