by Kristin Ciliberto, Contributing Writer
A little holiday in the sun sounds nice. Palm trees, fresh air, and gorgeous, blue, calm waters. All of this sounds like a luxurious vacation to me! Christmas in the Caribbean follows a wealthy and hopeless romantic theater critic, Rachel Webb (Elizabeth Hurley), who was left at altar by her fiancé, Gregory (Ray Fearon). Rachel’s mother convinces her to go on her honeymoon to St. Kitts with her bridesmaids, Rebecca (Nathalie Cox) and Amanda (Caroline Quentin). On her vacation, Rachel is encouraged to try another shot at love, and she falls for a widower, father of two children, and a chef named Alessandro (Edoardo Costa).
It is basically a recycled repeat of director and co-writer Philippe Martinez’s previous film released earlier this year, A Week in Paradise, starring Malin Åkerman. It’s almost as if it was copied and pasted into a Word document. Both characters find themselves on a beautiful island, heartbroken as they spend a week with their friends and/or sibling, and they become attracted to one of the hottest bachelors on the island. In A Week in Paradise, Åkerman’s partner is also cheating on her. Here, as previously stated, Rachel is stood up at the alter.
Christmas in the Caribbean also follows a similar beat as a Hallmark Channel movie, but with a luxurious vacation spot. There are so many montages of characters eating, drinking, or doing some kind of activity that it all comes off as a vacation travel promotional video, but with some extra flavoring to make the story exciting. The story is just bland and dry.
Hurley is not necessarily an actress that stands out in my mind, apart from the Austin Powers films. Though I do admire her efforts and contribution to the work she does in the fight to end Breast cancer. Her performance does nothing to make the character special.
In terms of the film, there isn’t much depth, and the characters come off as one note. Rachel goes on a vacation to find herself and potential love. However, she does not have anything interesting to offer to the audience, and the other characters do not either. As for Rachel’s mother (Stephanie Beacham), she is shown at the beginning of the film and is never seen again. Why couldn’t her friends just encourage her to go on the honeymoon, or at least have Rachel’s mother join in on the trip? It’s a complete waste of time getting to know another character — she serves no purpose.
This film is completely formulaic, and does not deliver the same warm, charming, or cheesy feeling a simple Hallmark or Lifetime film would have. The film’s runtime of an hour and a half all feels rushed, and there is no thrill to keep audiences hooked. It all comes off as a paint-by-numbers, and is completely frustrating to watch. It adds nothing new to the Christmas romance genre.
Score: 2/10
Christmas in the Caribbean is currently available on VOD