Summary
A twee festive film in which the attempts at comedy might make you cringe rather than cackle.
Written and directed by Petter Holmsen, Christmas As Usual (aka Så Var Det Jul Igjen) is a Norwegian Christmas film about a woman called Thea, who returns to her rural hometown for Christmas, bringing her Indian boyfriend along to celebrate the holiday — but she hasn’t told her family they are together and engaged. The film is based on a true story, and stars Ida Ursin-Holm and Kanan Gill.
I think many can resonate with the fears and anxieties about introducing your partner to your family, especially in Thea’s case, where her mother has no experience with other nationalities and she has some preconceptions too. The conflict comes from Thea trying to find the right time to tell her family, especially her mother, that she is engaged.
Christmas as Usual review and plot summary
The movie does well in exploring the resultant clash of cultures and traditions, and the tumultuous and heartwarming events that follow. Everyone can relate to families disagreeing over Christmas, and trying to keep traditions and beliefs alive, however, at times it does feel dated and not well-developed. There were bits I enjoyed and bits that I didn’t.
Its central premise is built around prejudice and racism, and a lot of the time this felt odd and awkward. When there isn’t the awkward casual racism, it’s a very sweet film about introducing, stubbornly, Norwegian traditions to an Indian man and bringing him into a traditional family. The mother’s behavior isn’t strong enough to warrant extreme conflict or comedy. When the focus is on the couple exploring their different traditions it’s quite entertaining.
RELATED: Is Christmas as Usual based on a true story?
Whilst the film gently pokes fun at the cultural differences, sometimes it falls flat. The comedy needed to decide if it was going to be bold and slapstick, or cringe-worthy like The Office; instead it’s awkward and confusing. There are still fun sections that are enjoyable to watch, in particular, one scene where they’re all eating Indian food for the first time is quite funny — the sister-in-law is probably the most comical actor, with great timing and facial expressions (especially when she shows off her tattoo.) Then there is a fight between Jashan in his traditional Indian clothes, and Thea’s ex dressed as Santa — this was funny but they could have pushed it further. A lot of times they could have gone that little bit further to stand out.
Is Christmas as Usual a good Christmas film?
With a slightly predictable but happy ending, this film ties up with themes of love, hope, family, and tradition, and that no matter what your differences, love and acceptance can overcome all.
Other than the weird plot and content, the film is nicely shot and there are some comedic moments that allow Christmas as Usual to be a nice, easy watch. However, it is not going to be a Christmas film I suggest watching every year — once will be enough.
What did you think of Christmas as Usual? Comment below.
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