Lindsay Lohan's new Christmas movie set her on an unexpected ...
Lindsay Lohan has secured her place as the queen of Christmas movies in her charming new film, Our Little Secret.
The Netflix romantic comedy follows exes Avery (Lindsay Lohan) and Logan (Ian Harding) who must spend Christmas together after discovering their current partners are siblings. Ten years after Logan's failed marriage proposal to Avery, they decide to keep their past relationship a secret from their new partners over Christmas…. which explains the movie's title.
The film features an elite cast including Kristin Chenoweth as Erica, Jon Rudnitsky as Cameron, Tim Meadows as Stan, and Dan Bucatinsky as Leonard. Stephen Herek directs the script written by Hailey DeDominicis, with Lohan herself serving as executive producer alongside Joseph P. Genier.
Watch the trailer for Our Little Secret. Post continues after video.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Lohan, Chenoweth and Rudnitsky ahead of Our Little Secret's release.
Lindsay was thrilled for viewers to get to see a holiday film with a quirkier vibe. "It's a different sort of Christmas movie because it's not like Christmas overdrive, it's not like Christmas trees everywhere and Christmas everywhere," Lohan told Mamamia.
"It's more about the journey these people are going on in their lives. It's meeting new people and coming together and trying to find their place in a new family. It just takes place at Christmas time."
This is true. The film definitely has a Christmas aesthetic with rings of holy hung around, and a Christmas colour palette plastered across the screen, but at the same time, it doesn't shove Christmas down the viewer's throat. The soundtrack was especially surprising, as it wasn't stacked with seasonal carols, preferring more modern music, even using a Maggie Rogers' indie classic in one of the movie's pivotal scenes.
When I asked Lohan about her work as executive producer on the movie, her co-star couldn't help but jump in to sing her praises.
"I'm going to speak before she answers," Kristin Chenoweth joked. "She was only ever professional and she's a great producer, and I think she should do more of it," a statement which Jon Rudnitsky enthusiastically echoed.
"It was a great experience," Lohan said. "I love being able to find a project, if I really love it, then being hands-on with it from the early stages. I like being in control."
Mamamia spoke to Lindsay Lohan, Kristin Chenoweth and Jon Rudnitsky for Our Little Secret. Image: Supplied.
The iconic Mean Girls actress admitted that the experience made her want to take the reins even tighter on future films.
"I like having my say on where the characters go and who's going to be a part of that. Honestly, it leads me to want to direct more, which I think about more and more all the time. When I read a script, I have a very clear vision of what that movie is, not just for my character, but the overall consensus of it," she admitted.
"Being an executive producer is really getting my feet wet and getting more comfortable moving to directing something eventually."
The movie felt elevated from the typical Netflix rom-com fare, with a pop culture-heavy opening sequence and illustrations that bookended the film.
But it's not without some faults. Despite the evident chemistry between the leading actors, I wasn't totally convinced by the love story between the exes.
More specifically, Logan said a few out-of-pocket things at the start of the movie about Avery's deceased mother. Beginning a movie with the love interest telling the leading lady "If your mum was here, she would be really disappointed in you," is certainly a bold choice to establish a will-they-won't-they dynamic the audience invests in.
Lindsay Lohan and Ian Harding in Our Little Secret. Image: Netflix.
I did warm up to him eventually but as expected, Lohan carries this film. She is mesmerising and has truly come into her own as a comedic actress — she does not miss a beat. Harding manages to make Ian relatively charming, despite the uneven script (see above).
The movie features a few random lines that landed awkwardly, such as Logan telling Avery he was "not trying to start sh*t", but for the most part, the film contains some genuinely funny moments.
A standout scene is when Lohan's character accidentally ingests CBD gummies before she is expected to give a speech at a local church. The scene evolves into a musical number, something I asked the film's resident Broadway star Chenoweth about in our chat.
"The church scene is hilarious," Kristin said. "That's probably the most memorable scene I can think of."
But if you're expecting a singing solo from Chenoweth, aka the original Glinda in Wicked, think again. Rudinsky joked that he knew his co-star had to stay extra quiet in the singing scenes.
"This moment where obviously everybody's supposed to be singing in church and I'm feeling Kristen hold back because you know that she could rattle the windows of this place," he joked.
"She had to pretend to be not as good as she is."
For a Netflix Christmas movie — a genre known for sugary movies with zero stakes — this movie is cut above, and I'd recommend watching it as the perfect soft-launch into the silly season.
You can stream Our Little Secret now on Netflix.
Feature image: Netflix.
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