For many people, a familiar pastime in the weeks leading up to major winter holidays is gathering with family members and watching holiday movies, be they in a theater or on television. During the month of December, the Falls Free Press will return to our tradition of “The 12 Films of Christmas,” focusing on new holiday movies for the year 2024—a year that can still do with plenty of peace and joy. We will review each film, whether naughty or nice, and let you know where to watch.
After years away from the screen, primarily showing up in the news cycle for her personal life rather than entertainment, Lindsay Lohan returned to acting in 2022 with the leading role in the Netflix film Falling for Christmas. For “The 12 Films of Christmas” that year I reviewed the film which, as discussed, was a trainwreck. Earlier this year Lohan starred in another Netflix film, Irish Wish, in which she portrayed a book editor who makes a wish to marry the author with whom she works. Despite its less-than-superb script, the actress proved she could do better. This Christmas Netflix premiered Our Little Secret, a film that proves it’s not necessarily the writing or story that makes a Lohan film succeed, but who she’s paired against.
Our Little Secret opens with Avery (Lohan), in preparation of moving to London, being proposed to by her long-time childhood boyfriend Logan (played by Ian Harding), only to turn him down due to pressure. Ten years later she runs into Logan again when visiting the family of her current boyfriend, Cameron, for the holidays. Logan is now dating the younger sister of Avery’s boyfriend, Cassie. Scared that the revelation of their past relationship would make things awkward for the family, Avery and Logan attempt to hide this and awkwardly act as if they have never met. This predicament is only made worse when Cameron’s brother Callum discovers the secret, creating mischief for the duo. Another twist is Cameron’s ex-girlfriend, Sophie, joining the family’s holiday celebrations, and topped off with their mother, Erica, playbed by the constantly youthful, ever suspicious actress Kristin Chenoweth, always properly Southern queen perfect, and you have the makings of a rom-com masterpiece.
The duo of Lohan and Chenowith is what makes Our Little Secret worth watching, as the two constantly play off each other with spectacular timing, especially in such scenes as when Avery blames her own eating an entire jar of chocolate chip cookies on the dog and must pretend to rush it to the vet. With Wicked in theaters this season, in which Chenowith originally starred on stage as Glinda (and showing up as a cameo in the film with Idina Menzel), her role in both productions is a reminder of both her skill as an actor and that of Lohan.
Other characters certainly lack what is needed to help Secret succeed more than it has. Lohan and Harding have very little chemistry together, barely registering more than her chemistry with Cameron, played by actor Jon Rudnitsky. Despite being the same age, Harding still puts off a pervy older teacher vibe, a remnant of his role as Ezra Fitch in the series Pretty Little Liars, which is made even cringier seeing the character dating Cassie, who appears to look like a college freshman.
As a love story, Our Little Secret is at a loss, with every relationship starting or evolving from a rough point in every character’s story. At the same time however, it exceeds its role as a comedy, using each actor’s prowess to full effect, especially Lohan and Chenowith. Where Falling for Christmas and Irish Wish failed, Netflix has proven that with better actors and improved comedic timing, they can help Lindsay Lohan succeed in movies.
Our Little Secret is available to stream on Netflix.
