Christmas is almost here, and it’s the perfect time to stream your favorite holiday movies! We decided to watch and review Christmas in Louisiana, a 2019 Lifetime original that takes place in the pelican state. Is it any good? Keep reading to find out…
Available on Philo
Christmas in Louisiana is only available for streaming on Philo, so we signed up for their 7-day free trial to watch the movie and try out the service. They offer live television with a backlog of movies and TV series for instant viewing, many of which can’t be found on other streaming platforms. If you sign up just to watch Christmas in Louisiana, remember to cancel before the trial period expires to avoid charges.
Movie details
The Christmas in Louisiana cast includes Jana Kramer, Percy Daggs III, Moira Kelly, Brian McNamara, Dee Wallace, and Barry Bostwick.
It was directed by Emily Moss Wilson (New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day) and released in 2019 on the Lifetime channel along with 30 other original Christmas-themed movies.
Christmas in Louisiana (2019) review
Backstory
Luke (Percy Daggs III) and Sarah (Jana Kramer) are announced as Mr. and Mrs. Christmas during a senior year high school ceremony. Sarah has big plans for their future together, but Luke breaks her heart when he ends their relationship immediately after they accept their titles on stage. Sarah moves away to pursue a career in Boston, but sparks reignite when she returns home for the Christmas holidays in New Iberia, Louisiana 15 years later.
Expectations vs reality
Christmas in Louisiana is everything you’d expect from a Lifetime movie. It has all the hallmark moments and cliches that are staples of the brand, so to ask for more is asking too much. We went in with low expectations and were still disappointed, however, because the film fails to deliver on its basic promise.
The title implies a Christmas movie with Louisiana flavor, yet the Louisiana elements are few and far between. Instead of southern culture, you get melodrama with Christmas decorations in the background. Cajun-inspired holiday music plays during scene transitions, but this is about as Louisiana as the movie gets. Both the state and Christmas take a backseat to everything else, resulting in a bland seasonal film.
The plot centers around 3 relationships in 3 generations. Sarah, her mother, and her grandmother all have love interests they mingle with throughout the movie, and with no conflicts or love triangles, it’s easy to see exactly where the story is headed at all times.
Not enough Louisiana
What could have been a Louisiana-themed Christmas special ends up being Lifetime clickbait. The movie is inaccurate and misses out on easy opportunities to inject southern style into its 90-minute runtime. There are occasional mentions of Louisiana nuance (gumbo, humid weather, etc.) that come and go quickly, but these are lazy cases of telling rather than showing.
It’s also explained that Sarah’s return home is for the Louisiana Sugar Cane Christmas Festival, but in reality, the Sugar Cane Festival is not a Christmas event. It’s actually a fall fest that takes place in September. Instead of relying on good writing to tell the story, the movie bends the facts in order to give the plot legitimacy.
Furthermore, no one in the film has a southern accent. This is unthinkable, especially considering New Iberia is in the southernmost part of Louisiana. You’ll find some of the thickest accents there, yet they are nonexistent in the movie. Gran (Dee Wallace) attempts an accent that goes in and out, but it sounds more like a speech disability than anything.
Our rating
Overall, the film comes off as a generic holiday chick flick rather than the Christmas in Louisiana it claims to be. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, and it even checks all the boxes–complete with a family gathering that ends in Christmas carols around the living room piano. If you’re looking for a lighthearted Christmas movie to put on in the background, this will do just fine. It’ll put you in the holiday spirit, but don’t expect true Louisiana tone and atmosphere.
Score: 2/5
Enjoy our Christmas in Louisiana movie review? There’s more where this one came from! Let us know which Louisiana movies we should review next by leaving us a comment below!