Christmas Is Cancelled (previously titled The Fight Before Christmas) is a 2021 American romantic comedy film directed by Prarthana Mohan and written by Sara Endsley. It stars Hayley Orrantia, Janel Parrish and Dermot Mulroney in the lead roles. The film is about a girl named Emma, whose father and her high school frenemy start dating, so she embarks on a mission to break up relationship between the happy couple.
Christmas Is Cancelled was theatrically released on December 16, 2021, and was produced by Particular Crowd, MarVista Entertainment, Line Film Company and Lionsgate.
Contents
Plot
It has been two years since Emma (Hayley Orrantia) lost her mom, and the wound still feels pretty fresh. She feels obligated to take care of her dad, Jack (Dermot Mulroney), and when she heads home after a research trip to spend the holidays with him, discovers some incredibly distressing news: that her father is dating her high school frenemy Brandy (Janel Parrish). Emma is horrified by this revelation, to say the least, but Brandy tries her best to keep things friendly between the two of them. Unable to accept this despite efforts from both Brandy and Jack, Emma resolves to try to break the two of them up before Christmas – which is four days away.
With the reluctant support of her best friend Charlyne (Emilie Modaff) and a hunky bartender named Josh (Michael Naizu), Emma tries to pull off some relatively mundane schemes to split up Brandy and her dad. Try as she might, however, the two seem determined to brush it off, even when things get tense. Emma ignores her own budding connection with Josh in favor of her obsession with ruining her dad's relationship, and puts Charlyne in an uncomfortable position at the same time. With important relationships (and Christmas!) at stake, Emma must come to her senses before it is too late.
Cast
Hayley Orrantia as Emma Lockhart
Janel Parrish as Brandy Barnes
Dermot Mulroney as Jack Lockhart
Lisa McConnell as Beatrice
Jackson Evans as Maite D
Danny Glenn as George Portnoy
Timothy Hull as Tom Hackett
Emilie Modaff as Charlyne
Michael Naizu as Josh Jamison
Jeff Parker as Elliot Murphy
Mirelly Taylor as Emma's mom
Production
The film was announced in November 2021, with Hayley Orrantia, Janel Parrish and Dermot Mulroney cast in the lead roles.
"We love a trailer drop. Get ready for some knee slapping mayhem this holiday season! I had the BEST time filming this movie with these amazing people," Parrish shared on her Instagram.
Release
The film was originally supposed to be released under the name The Fight Before Christmas, but was renamed. In the United States, the film was released on Prime Video on 17 December 2021. In various European and African countries it was theatrically released on 16 December 2021.
Reception
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 59% ratings critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 4.70/10.