where to watch: Netflix
when to watch: When you’re looking for a cute rom-com with a touch of Christmas.
you should note: This show is in Norwegian. You can watch it dubbed or with subtitles, I watched it with subtitles. Co-directed by a woman! Highly bingeable.
tl;dr: A delightful Norwegian rom-com about satisfying your family at Christmas time.
I love Christmas. I love the decorations, the Christmas lights, the presents, the music. (But please note, I do not condone partaking in any Christmas activity until Thanksgiving has passed!) I also love Christmas movies. The only problem, of course, is that most Christmas movies are absolutely terrible. They’re fun to hate-watch, or watch while I shovel down some food in between studying for finals, but that’s about it. Luckily, this year I discovered Netflix’s Home For Christmas.
This 6-episode show is one of the best Christmas-themed things I’ve seen, mostly because it’s not actually that Christmas-y. The time of year is a backdrop, not the focus.
the premise
The premise is simple. 30-year-old Johanne is sick and tired of her family constantly nagging her for being single. When her mother seats her all the way at the end of the table between her baby nephews at a family dinner, Johanne loses it. She tells her family she has a boyfriend, and that she will be bringing him home for Christmas Eve dinner.
This lie causes Johanne to start her search for a boyfriend in earnest, because the truth is, she doesn’t actually care that much that she’s single. I think that’s one of the things that sets this show apart, and prevents the show from falling into Hallmark movie territory. Johanne doesn’t actually seem that preoccupied with being single at 30. She has a bunch of great friends, and she loves her job as a nurse. It’s her family and society that keep telling her there’s something wrong here.
the protagonist
Ida Elise Broch is magnetic as Johanne. You can’t help but love and root for her. She perfectly portrays a happy but slightly frustrated 30-year-old woman who just wants her family to give her a break. So often, shows or movies about “older’ single women make the protagonists seem pathetic, or at the very least incomplete. My favorite thing about the show is Johanne never feels like that. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with her, she just hasn’t been trying that hard to find someone. Once she actually starts looking, she finds she has quite a few options.
authenticity
The show works because everyone and everything feels real. No one wakes up with full faces of makeup. Each character is relatively unassuming. Even the visuals of the show feel simple and understated. Johanne’s dating adventures, though funny and sometimes depressing, feel realistic in that there’s no sudden magic. There’s bad dates and good ones. And with all of this, the show still manages to be pretty hilarious.
I don’t know if Norway is actually like how it’s shown in Home for Christmas, but if it is, that’s amazing. It was so fun to see how different life is there. So many wintery sports just seem built into the culture. The main shopping street doesn’t have sidewalk, it’s literally just tightly-packed snow. At one point, Johanne goes around town on a kick-sled!
If you enjoyed The Hook-Up Plan (Season 1, anyway), I think you’ll really enjoy this show. Though a bit different in tone, they both expertly are able to rise above simple premises with great writing and character development.
With just six 30-minute episodes, I binged the whole thing in one night. Get yourself in the Christmas mood, and check out this delightful show! Let’s get it renewed!
you might also like: The Hook Up Plan, Lovesick, Modern Love
I watched this at your recommendation, and really enjoyed it!
I’ll watch it tonight..