Picture: Netflix
Making her 3rd Netflix film in 2 years, Lindsay Lohan is back with her holiday film, Our Little Secret, a light romantic comedy set around the experience of meeting your significant other’s family at the holidays – with a twist of course. This marks Lohan’s second Netflix Christmas film following her Netflix movie debut Falling For Christmas in late 2022. That film was a huge success for the platform as, globally, it was the 2nd most-watched Netflix Original holiday movie of all-time. It seems to have done wonders for her career as well as she signed a two picture deal with Netflix soon after and kicked off her franchise revival tour with her cameo in the musical update of Mean Girls earlier this year and a starring role in the upcoming 2025 Disney release Freakier Friday, the sequel to her film Freaky Friday released back in 2003.
As an elder millennial who’s followed Lohan’s career for over a couple decades now (Yikes!), I was on board with all the Lohan-ity (trademark?) that has come her way in the past couple years in hopes that her career could recapture some of the magic of her earlier work and help her rebound from a more turbulent lost decade prior to her return. But what kind of films will she make? How will she define this part of her career? While I am on the record as giving measured support to Falling For Christmas as a commercial success that played to her charms and allowed her to display her ability for physical comedy, I also derided her Ireland based rom-com Irish Wish, that came out back in March of this year, as a “bland speed bump” on her career and a “waste of time and her talents”. So, as you can imagine, I had my trepidations going into my viewing experience of Our Little Secret. Will she get off the proverbial mat after a poor effort to brighten our holidays once again?
The introduction to this film sure thought so. I may have thought we would get an emotionally charged romance for the ages. An inseparable friendship. Best friends getting closer over time. It’s a Kevin Arnold-Winnie Cooper-style romance. There for each other through thick and thin, even when her mother passed away. They can get through anything! They are Avery & Logan! But wait … what’s this about a dream job offer for Avery to go to London?! Well, there goes that.
Written by first-time screenwriter Hailey DeDominicis, the story moves on 10 years from their breakup (don’t you dare ask what job Avery left for or how London was because they won’t tell you) to the present, where Avery and Logan are in new committed relationships to new partners and heading to their partner’s family home for the holidays. With a little bit of Christmas and a lot of bad luck, the two quickly discover that their awkward trip has become much more awkward as their new partners are brother & sister!
As they attempt to traverse the holidays without incident, drama, or unwanted attention, the pair make a pact not to tell anyone that they know each other, let alone date seriously. With a decision as obviously misguided as Logan not following Avery to London (DON’T ASK ABOUT LONDON, OK?!), the film is set on a wildly tone-shifting adventure that puts these two exes back in each other’s lives and questions the lives they are currently leading without each other.
But, hey, did this movie get Lindsay Lohan back in the positive after Irish Wish? Did the over saccharin-animated opening with a father’s emotional words set us up properly for a romantic story worthy of those sentiments? Not really…no.
While Our Little Secret is a very small step up from the head-shaking, eye-rolling travesty that was Irish Wish, it’s still a very messy, partially confounding, overstuffed movie that attempts comedy and romance with the same low average of success. The comedy part is hard to take as they have some of the funniest TV character actors around in SNL alums Tim Meadows & Chris Parnell, longtime “Scrubs” standout Judy Reyes, & Emmy winner/Broadway star Kristin Chenoworth hot off her “Wicked” weekend victory lap. At least Parnell & Chenoworth get their turn at bat with a few scenes of silliness; unfortunately, Meadows & Reyes are reduced to a more stoic couple that sours as the story progresses.
Our Little Secret. (L-R) Ian Harding as Logan, Lindsay Lohan as Avery and Jon Rudnitsky as Cameron in Our Little Secret. Cr. Bob Mahoney/Netflix © 2024
Of course, with many of these rom-com holiday films, the satisfaction largely derives on the chemistry of the two leads. In this case, Lohan is a little stiff next to the more charming & charismatic Pretty Little Liars star Ian Harding, but they do work well enough at times to get you through the story. Their relationship suffers more in the writing than they do in the performance. We only get to observe their prior relationship through a short animated jaunt through their history and a public fight and subsequent break-up following Logan’s marriage proposal attempt, so how are we, as an audience, supposed to care whether they get back together? It’s simply not enough and stunts the emotional impact of anything in the film to follow.
Overall, Our Little Secret seems destined to be an also-ran in the streaming holiday rom-com game despite the level of talent in the cast and a director in Stephen Herek who’s early career (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Critters, The Mighty Ducks) brought so much joy to my childhood and millions of others. Lohan & Harding attempt to keep the film’s goal on the tracks, but the wayward script, flip-flopping tone, and far too “extra” secrets & plotlines make this one a skip on any future holiday film playlists in the coming years. Lohan will endure and move on to Freakier Friday next year, but we’re left to wonder if mediocre streaming rom-coms are her real future beyond 2025. I hope for the best for her, but let’s hope her scripts match her talents very soon.
Watch Our Little Secret If You Liked
- Irish Wish
- Falling For Christmas
- Love Hard
- A Castle For Christmas
MVP of Our Little Secret
Ian Harding as Logan
As a person who has not consumed one episode of the 7 season run of “Pretty Little Liars”, I had not encountered actor Ian Harding until this film. But it became abundantly clear from the first time he is on screen with Lohan that he has the chops to match her star power and charm his way into anyone’s good graces. With his boyish good looks that seem straight from a catalog and a smile that could light up a room, Harding was a perfect fit to carry this movie. The movie thinks so too as it gravitates to him more and more as the story moves on. Avery leaves Logan for a dream job in London (I TOLD YOU NOT TO ASK!), but the film never really captures what her job is or what the dream version of it looks like; meanwhile, we know Logan has skills in architectural design and has a whole side plot of winning a gig that would get his career to where he wants to be. He also helps Avery gain favor with Kristin Chenoworth’s Erica character after he seems to have won them over already, which makes sense because … well … he’s him. I hope to see more from him in the Netflix slate in the coming years.
Another Lindsay Lohan movie that doesn’t utilize her talents as an actress – especially a capable comedic one – but at least this isn’t offensively bad and has a cast of enjoyable people. Happy Holidays!
