Picture Credit: Netflix
From one of the current champions of the Holiday Movie industry, Hartbreak Films, and the mother-daughter team of Paula & Melissa Joan Hart, A Merry Little Ex-Mas is, on paper, the ideal young Gen X / elder Millenial Christmas film, filled with 90s entertainment icons taking on the increasingly common issue of divorcing in your mid-to-late 40s – if only we could do it in an idyllic small town wonderland described as growing up “in a Yankee Candle”.
Written by sitcom writer/producer Holly Hester (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Grace Under Fire), the story centers around the final stages of “conscious uncoupling” for separated spouses Kate & Everett (Alicia Silverstone & Oliver Hudson respectively) as they attempt to have one last Christmas with their kids before their divorce & their explosive hidden intentions will change everything for good.
Alongside Silverstone & Hudson, the movie also stars the aforementioned Melissa Joan Hart (Melissa & Joey, Drive Me Crazy), Jameela Jamil (The Good Place, Love at First Sight), Derek McGrath (My Secret Identity, Cheers), Geoffrey Owens (The Cosby Show), & The Wrong Paris standout Pierson Fode.
Those who delve into the modern TV/Streaming holiday movies every year know quite well what it takes to make a successful one and how to balance the Christmas magic with cosy, straightforward genre-specific storytelling. Sprinkle in a notable star from an era more relatable to the age demo that consumes most of this particular content, and you have a recipe for success.
A Merry Little Ex-Mas. (L-R) Alicia Silverstone as Kate, Melissa Joan Hart as April and Pierson Fodé as Chet in A Merry Little Ex-Mas. Cr. Marni Grossman/Netflix © 2025
With A Merry Little Ex-Mas, former music video director turned family filmmaker Steve Carr (Doctor Dolittle 2, Daddy Daycare), the Hartbreak Films crew, & actor/producer Silverstone bring a divorce-centered rom-com with just enough family tradition & Christmas sentimentality to pass for a more genuine effort within the genre.
Set in the aptly named small town of Winterlight, the movie charms you with its tactile homegrown feel; a one-doctor, small business, “everybody knows your name” type of place. The main family home, fondly named “The Mothership”, looks like a Gingerbread house with its extravagant decorations and unique character. The mayor even conducts divorce discussions at the local coffee shop, for goodness’ sake.
But while the Lacey Chaberts & Andrew Walkers of the world have carved their own careers in this space, there is something to be said about having a cultural touchstone like Alicia Silverstone leading your movie.
As a 43-year-old white straight male, you know damn well that, between the Aerosmith videos, Clueless, and a dash of The Crush, Silverstone meant a lot to a coming-of-age version of myself. With this film, she absolutely shows that she can still be the center of the frame star with her same approachable sensibility, believable strength of character & intellect, & a smile that’s drawn us in since she was Kevin Arnold’s dream girl in “The Wonder Years”. In Kate, she sells intelligence, sentimentality, adorableness, & a caring motherly warmth all in one package. While her character may be a tad cliche as a woman who wants it all but doesn’t realize she already has it all, Silverstone gives a presence all her own; one that can give a level of chemistry and playfulness with multiple suitors while also displaying the struggle with her character’s station in life and the newfound challenges of a failing marriage with young adult children.
A Merry Little Ex-Mas. (L-R) Pierson Fodé as Chet and Alicia Silverstone as Kate in A Merry Little Ex-Mas. Cr. Marni Grossman/Netflix © 2025
The rest of the cast almost seems like a cheat code for a Netflix holiday movie as well: Jameela Jamil as a high class, too good to be true, Ted-Talk titan of female empowering business fits like a glove with her striking model-like features and posh accent; Pierson Fode doubling down on his down home honey pot performance in The Wrong Paris by being a more over the top & comedically dimmer character that steals scenes left and right (The Big LePLOWski, am I right?!); and Dawson’s Creek alum Oliver Hudson going hard for the Christmas Dad brass ring after his beyond the grave influence role in The Christmas Chronicles.
Even for its quality casting & good hang vibes, the film does have a couple of drawbacks that may turn off the less jolly of us all this holiday season. At 90 minutes, it’s hard to believe that the movie may seem to drag at any point, but the climax of the film seemingly ends repeatedly for far too long. After untangling the romantic inevitabilities, the story seems to want everyone in Kate’s life – no matter how insignificant – to realize how much she meant to them, including a borderline “It’s A Wonderful Life” moment late in the movie with the entire town gathering in her home. The script also doesn’t seem to want to challenge the old flame very hard at all, either, with Kate BARELY doing anything romantic with Pierson Fode’s Chet and being played for cringe most of the time, past their Christmas Tree meet-cute. Everything feels quite surface-level and predictable, as many in this group tend to do with characters, personality, & charisma buoying the writing. This film is not immune to that criticism.
But overall, A Merry Little Ex-Mas is a solid start to the Netflix holiday season slate as a film that knows exactly how to utilize its deep cast’s strengths, winter wonderland aesthetic, & comedic quirkiness to create the type of warm Christmastime feeling you need this time of year. Alicia Silverstone & Oliver Hudson are almost too believable as longtime lovers that the drama that threatens their future may get eclipsed, but their lived-in performances help bring the best out of a more standard TV movie script.
A Merry Little Ex-Mas. (L-R) Oliver Hudson as Everett and Jameela Jamil as Tess in A Merry Little Ex-Mas. Cr. Marni Grossman/Netflix © 2025
Watch A Merry Little Ex-Mas If You Liked:
- Our Little Secret (2024)
- All I Want For Christmas (1991)
- Four Christmases (2008)
- Dear Christmas (2020)
- The Royal Treatment (2022)
MVP of A Merry Little Ex-Mas
Alicia Silverstone as Kate aka Al
What a 2025 for Alicia Silverstone: a supporting (though mostly comatose) role in a potential awards player in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia, a starring role in an amateur detective tv series, the announcement of her involvement in the Peacock revival of Clueless, and now the romantic lead in a Netflix holiday movie.
Silverstone’s more recent career resurgence is a testament to what we already knew from her breakout iconic status in the entirety of the 1990s: she can do just about anything.
Blending the grit & strength of a Jennifer Jason Leigh with the charm & beauty of a Reese Witherspoon or young Drew Barrymore, she has the depth and skill to captivate in roles big and small and hold our hearts & attention even in more basic fare. While I’ll most likely be there for the new Clueless venture, I’m far more interested in her working with directors like Yorgos or darker genres like the crime thriller Reptile and the psychological horror film The Lodge. Her genuine efforts to balance this point in her career between the roles & genres that made her, and the challenge of the genres & character types that didn’t make her a star, are worth noting.
Come for the 90s nostalgia, stay for the charming family Christmas story with enough humor & personality to rise above any predictability and structural issues that may arise. Great to see Silverstone in this type of lead role again.
