If You Watch One Holiday Movie This Weekend: Netflix's The Merry Gentlemen Is Our Pick

With Hallmark Channel's annual Countdown to Christmas and Lifetime's It's a Wonderful Lifetime now in full swing, and Netflix and other networks loading their sleighs, we're here once again to help you choose between the season's many offerings. Each Thursday, we'll spotlight the original holiday romance that should be at the top of your weekend list and preview why other debuts will make you merry.

THE ONE TO WATCH

The Merry Gentlemen
(Streaming now on Netflix)

Like Netflix's hit Hot Frosty, this festive comedy sounds racier than its TV-PG rating. When seasoned Ashley (Britt Robertson) is unceremoniously replaced in the Rockettes-lite dance troupe The Jingle Belles, she heads home for the holidays and discovers that her parents (played by Michael Gross and Beth Broderick) will lose their once iconic small-town club, The Rhythm Room, if they can't come up with $30,000. Ashley fibs and tells the landlord that she's already planning an all-male dance revue, The Merry Gentlemen, starring hot carpenter/handyman Luke (Chad Michael Murray), to raise the funds. She then enlists the bartender (Colt Prattes) and her brother-in-law (Marc Anthony Samuel), and eventually a cab driver (Hector David Jr.) and a bar regular (Grease 2's Maxwell Caulfield!) to round out the cast.

The best decision made by the movie's writer, Marla Sokoloff (who co-stars as Ashley's sister, Marie), was to give the show a limited run. We don't build to one performance; we're treated to multiple numbers, starting at roughly 32 minutes in when the guys pop off construction-worker vests to body-roll in hard hats and jeans. There are different themes, like a Chippendales-style '80s night, to keep the locals coming back for more. While this amount of shirtlessness is definitely novel for a holiday film, the budding romance between Ashley and Luke runs the standard course. What will Ashley decide if she gets the chance to return to the Big City on top? One final reason to watch: Marie and her husband own a dog so utterly adorable you will look for his name in the credits. He's Gizmo Nolan, son of one of the film's producers, Brian Nolan, and he rightfully has his own Instagram account. A star is born!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G80Q8-MJM1A

You needn't have seen the 2022 crowd-pleaser Three Wise Men and a Baby to thoroughly enjoy its sequel, our runner-up pick, Three Wiser Men and a Boy (premieres Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8 pm on Hallmark Channel). The movie reunites three network favorites, catching up with brothers Luke (Andrew W. Walker), Stephan (co-writer Paul Campbell) and Taylor (Tyler Hynes) as they're struggling to accept where they are in life five years later. Aging fire chief Luke is a married father, learning to delegate. Stephan has written a self-help book about overcoming his anxiety, but has done neither that nor proposed to his longtime girlfriend. And broke game-developer Taylor is fighting the urge to sell out, having just been evicted from his apartment. Taylor suggests the guys give their mother (formidable wrangler Margaret Colin) the gift of having them and Luke's kindergartner son, Thomas (total sweetheart Miles Marthaller), under her roof for a week. The boys get even more quality time together when they're forced to save Thomas' school Christmas pageant (after inadvertently wrecking it, multiple times) and to adjust to their mom's new love life. The trio's chemistry and comedic timing remain unmatched, and Hynes continues to be a master flirter as Taylor meets his match (Erin Karpluk).

The Best of the Rest...

Nugget Is Dead? A Christmas Story (premieres Thursday, Nov. 21 at 8 pm on CBS and streaming on Paramount+)
The raucous Aussie comedy doubles as the tearjerker of the week. Neurotic Steph (Vic Zerbst) plans on spending a peaceful Christmas with her boyfriend's relatives — until she gets the call that her dysfunctional family's beloved dog, Nugget, is ill. It's a story, written by Zerbst and co-star Jenna Owen, about learning to be honest with yourself and your loved ones and to appreciate that those people who drive you nuts will also be the folks to have your back (and to band together to sift through dog poo for a tiny diagnostic camera — a highlight). Bonus: You'll recognize the mothers as Gia Carides and Tara Morice from Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom.

Christmas in the Spotlight (premieres Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8 pm on Lifetime)
Taylor Swift fans will have a field day spotting all the references to her music and relationship with Travis Kelce in this unabashed homage. Pop superstar Bowyn (Jessica Lord) is used to dating indie rockers and actors, but finds herself drawn to fun-loving wide receiver Drew (Laith Wallschleger) after he rallies from a fumbled meet-cute alongside his niece to declare showing Bowyn a good time his sole purpose. They promise not to fall in love, but as they go to extremes to date in secret, they just can't help it. Yes, Drew has a brother (a QB in this case) and a supportive mom. No, he does not have a podcast.     

Christmas on Call (premieres Friday, Nov. 22 at 8 pm on Hallmark Channel)
This gem is set in Philly, but it's made for the One Chicago fans. New-to-town ER doc Hannah (Sara Canning) is homesick until EMT Wes (Ser'Darius Blain) starts showing her what makes the City of Brotherly Love special during the holidays. That includes first responders coming together to decorate the home of a fallen firefighter, visiting a favorite cheesesteak joint (where Donna Kelce makes a cameo as a cashier wearing son Jason's jersey), and rooting for two cops (played by Reena Jolly and Erik Athavale) to hook up already. Expect a dramatic twist with rare real stakes, lots of "Go Birds!", and to Google where you know Blain from (he recurs as Luke on Will Trent).

A Novel Noel (premieres Thursday, Nov. 21 at 8 pm and repeats Sunday, Nov. 24 at 6 pm on Hallmark Mystery)
It's Hallmark Mystery's best 2024 holiday flick to date: Burnt-out NYC YA book editor Harper (Julie Gonzalo) takes a one month leave of absence to rediscover her love of storytelling by working undercover at a bookstore in quaint St. Ives, Maine. She and the owner, Sawyer (Brendan Penny), butt heads over everything at first (even cider vs. cocoa). But they find common ground once she discovers he's an aspiring writer, and he becomes invested in her completing her mysterious Christmas Bingo card, which has more meaning than you'd expect.

To Have and to Holiday (premieres Sunday, Nov. 24 at 8 pm on Hallmark Channel)
With only three weeks until daughter Celeste (Madeleine Arthur) marries boyfriend-of-three-months Jason (Robert Bazzocchi) on Christmas Eve, Pastor Mark (Eric Close) puts the couple through his holiday-themed "marriage boot camp" to try to end the impromptu engagement. Gingerbread dream-house building and snowman obstacle course-driving aside, there is a lot of heart here, particularly when Mark and Jason finally bond over virgin egg nogs.

A Wesley South African Christmas (streaming now on BET+)
The Wesley clan returns — and jets to Durban for the holidays to help Todd (Terayle Hill) close a business deal with his pal Themba (Jesse Suntele) and Themba's skeptical sister, Gugu (Ayanda Bandla-Ngubane). The film features events honoring the 30th anniversary of South Africa's democracy; plot points involving infertility, adoption and a health scare; and at least one sly Wakanda reference.

Unwrapping Christmas: Lily's Destiny (streaming now on Hallmark+) 
In the third installment of this four-parter, marketing guru/former Miss Minnesota Lily (Ashley Newbrough) juggles promoting the charity ball through an interview with Twin Cities Magazine writer Sean (Torrance Coombs); reluctantly dating coveted bachelor, conceited realtor Owen (Franco Lo Presti); reading the signs she trusts to tell her which man is meant for her; and decorating a festival tree to satisfy the Karen of her lane when it reminds her of her late father.

Jingle Bell Love (streaming now on The Roku Channel)
Joey McIntyre stars as widower/closet songwriter Jack, whose plan to convince a cash-strapped café owner in his late wife's hometown to sell gets complicated. Why? He begins to agree with his daughter (Delia Lisette Chambers) that he should date that woman, former singer Jessica (Michelle Morgan), instead of his ambitious business partner. McIntrye cowrote and performs the power ballad "A Brand New Christmas" for a benefit concert in the film. You can stream the duet (released featuring Shoshana Bean).

Festival of Trees (premieres Sunday, Nov. 24 at 7 pm on UPtv)
Up-and-coming interior designer Jacquie (Kate Miner) faces off with an ice queen (Josie Davis) in Atlanta's annual tree-decorating contest that makes or breaks careers. As Jacquie scrambles to find inspiration for the "very vintage Christmas" theme, she cozies up to a tree farmer (Greg Perrow) and his precocious daughter (Jojo Regina, doing some of the best child acting of the season). Jacquie's ball-busting assistant (Sara Hayter) keeps the sweet setup from turning saccharine.

A Little Women's Christmas (premieres Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8 pm on Great American Family)
In this update, Jo March (Jillian Murray) is a successful children's author struggling to write her first YA novel for a publisher threatening to cut her. To figure out why she's blocked, her newly assigned editor, Fritz (Trevor Donovan), goes undercover in her hometown, Alcott Grove, Tennessee, posing as a travel writer in need of a tour guide. Jo's sisters (played by Jen Lilley, Laura Osnes and Julia Reilly) volunteer her to show him around. The script isn't a classic, but the ending, which features a Christmas Eve service performance from executive producer Gladys Knight, makes you feel appropriately warm inside.