The story
About A Not So Merry Christmas
A Mexican fantasy comedy from Netflix. Chuy, who resents Christmas because it swallows his birthday every year, is cursed by a flamboyant godmother to wake each Christmas Day having lived a whole year he cannot remember. Over a decade of lost Christmases he finds his marriage in trouble and his family changed, and learns what it will take to lift the spell.
The CineClaus verdict
A man who resents Christmas for swallowing his birthday is cursed to live only one day of each year, and the film turns that into a fairly persuasive case for turning up. The premise is familiar and the jokes are broad, but the lost years hit harder than the gags, and the late family dinner earns its warmth.
It is a Spanish-language Netflix comedy, so keep the subtitles on and expect a gentle evening rather than a sparkling one.
The family desk
Can the kids watch?
Our take: best from about twelve, in line with its 12 certificate: it is gentle comedy, though a bereavement and a marriage in trouble may need a word first.
Content advice & accessibility
- Our age guidance
- Editorial, separate from the official 12 certificate, and never looser than it.
