Moustache Lockdown Streaming Survival Guide Part 10 | Noelle

We're sticking with the festive theme for our Lockdown Streaming Survival Guide with "Noelle"; a Christmas movie that hit Disney+ in the US last year but has only recently reached European shores. And yes the lockdown may have ended here in the UK, but with the Tier system back in place, did it ever really end? Regardless, we shall be continuing our Moustache Lockdown (Not Lockdown) Streaming Survival Guide for the foreseeable future.

As always you can find all of the other entries in our Streaming Survival Guide by clicking here. 

After Santa Claus (Jay Brazeau) passes away, the role is passed down to his son Nick (Bill Hader). But when his training doesn't go well, it becomes clear that Nick isn't exactly ecstatic about his new job, so his sister Noelle (Anna Kendrick) suggests he take the weekend off and get away from it all. The only problem is; Nick doesn't come back. Now, with the fate of Christmas in jeopardy, and cousin Gabe's (Billy Eichner) tech solutions only making things worse, Noelle must leave the North Pole for the first time, find her brother, and save Christmas.

This is essentially Disney's equivalent of one of those cheesy Christmas movies you see on Channel 5 (in the UK) every weekday afternoon in December. It's sappy and predictable, but it will get you in the Christmas spirit and at times it will even make you laugh - in December anyway. Noelle - that's the movie not the character - is something that families can enjoy together, especially after gorging themselves on turkey and Christmas pudding. Anna Kendrick delivers her usual sweet and innocent performance as the proverbial fish out of water, she has good chemistry with her co-stars - particularly Bill Hader and Shirley MacLaine - and for the most part it's fun watching her bimble around Phoenix, Arizona. Although at times you will be left wondering how she hasn't been committed yet.

In keeping with the Christmas B-movie stylings the effects for the most part border on awful, especially the CGI reindeer, some of the performances are a bit hammy, and the plot is predictable. From the off it's pretty clear where things are headed - in fact it's painfully obvious - and at the same time a sub-plot featuring Billy Eichner's attempts to modernise both the North Pole's delivery system and naughty list goes pretty much unexplored. I actually thought that Gabe's approach to Christmas and the role of Santa Claus - not to mention all of the resulting disasters and screw-ups - could have been a lot more fun given the chance. 

He's not the only who's left with pretty much nothing to do; Kingsley Ben-Adir (who recently played President Barack Obama with just the right amount of charm and charisma in 'The Comey Rule') plays Jake, a private detective with what is undeniably the easiest missing person case ever known, in fact I'm fairly sure he solves it inside five minutes with next to no effort required. From then on he's pretty much only there to question Kendrick's weirdness. That said, Jake's relationship with his son does bring some charm to proceedings, even if the supposed difficulties with his mother/ex-wife seem like non-issues, bordering on non-existant.

Where this movie is at its best however, is when Kendrick and Hader share the screen - with a little MacLaine thrown into the mix. The scene's involving Noelle's attempts to train Nick in the ways of all things Christmas - the North Pole has a training centre that rivals most Hollywood film studios - or to convince him to come home are by far the funniest. Especially considering how wrong he is for the job, with the obvious choice right under their noses, needless to say the North Pole hasn't quite got round to a 21st century way of thinking just yet. And at the same time, Noelle - again the movie, not the character - does carry with it a positive message, for everybody really, in that Christmas is supposed to be about family and caring for each other rather than presents, and the gifts we do receive aren't necessarily wrapped in colourful paper and stashed under a tree. 

A moderately funny and charming family adventure. Noelle won't make it to the top of your Christmas watchlist, but it will get you in the festive spirit.

5/10

Noelle is available now to stream on Disney+.

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