Upon reading the movie description on Netflix, I was intrigued - "After meeting her perfect match on a dating app, an LA writer learns she's been catfished when she flies 3,000 miles to surprise him for Christmas. " Okay... that's a whole lot to take in, and sounds like a disaster.
Fortunately, this movie was anything but disastrous. Albeit there were a few moments I had to pause the movie and walk out because they were so cringe-worthy, but they made the rest of three experience so much more enjoyable.
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| LoveHard is now streaming on Netflix |
Josh (played by Jimmy O. Yang) is the youngest son of Chinese-American family that's obsessed with Christmas. After his dating profile fails to attract any notable love-interests, Josh decides to swap his pictures with pictures of his childhood friend. The swap works a little too well when love/relationship story writer Natalie (played by Nina Dobrev) discovers his profile and the whirlwind long-distance relationship blasts off! The sparks fly and eventually Natalie (in need of another relationship scoop) decides to take off and fly across the country to surprise Josh for Christmas.
The differences between these two characters are so obvious, but it only makes them all the more endearing as a couple. Natalie is a big-city girl who dates guys and writes about the relationships for a living. Josh is a small-town guy who still lives at home with his parents and works at the family business. Together they fake a relationship, hoping to make Josh's family proud of him (like they are of his older brother).
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| Josh (Jimmy O. Yang) & Natalie (Nina Dobrev) enjoy an awkward meal. |
My favorite parts of this movie are the little sprinkles of humor found throughout. From a very blunt grandma with her mind in the gutter, to the mentions of the local Mormons coming to convert the family, and the references to Christmas classics like Die Hard and Love Actually (and yes, they're Christmas movies), there are quite a few laughable moments that break up the drama.
And as enjoyable as this movie is, can we just talk about how refreshing it was to see an Asian-American male lead actor who wasn't portraying any stereotypes, and wasn't afraid to be down-to-earth and somewhat sensitive? Seriously! I watch my share of Korean dramas where the male leads are sensitive and portray realistic characters. This is the first time I've seen an Asian-American male lead (that I can remember) that wasn't action-focused or overly nerdy.
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| Tag (Darren Barnet) and Josh (Jimmy O. Yang) |
I highly recommend getting cozy in your fave pajamas and grabbing some ice cream before watching this feel-good holiday rom-com. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. This is definitely my new favorite Christmas movie!
