[PREVIEW] We Want A Little More For Christmas Than Freddie Prinze Jr.

Another week, another Netflix holiday movie with two dead moms, a daughter who desperately longs for her hot dad to find her a new mom, a privileged princess who learns to be domestic stepmother goddess material… and a former teen idol playing a starring role.In “Falling for Christmas,” Lindsay Lohan swept us off our feet, reminding us why she was a star to begin with. In “Christmas With You,” ex-heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. steps into the crimson glow of the Netflix spotlight. And it’s… fine. It’s really fine. But he’s not really the star. Instead, it’s Aimee Garcia, playing the glamorous (but lonely) pop icon Angelina Costa, who grabs the eye whenever she’s onscreen.Angelina, a J.Lo-esque diva who hasn’t had a hit — or much inspiration — in a few years, is stunned when her label director Barry insists that she produce a Christmas single in a matter of days. At a creative standstill and humiliated by her rapid fall from grace at the label, Angelina decides she needs to connect with her fans. So she and her manager spontaneously visit a young fan, Christina, who made a video tribute to Angelina and her own late mother. And, believe it or not, they get snowed in! Forced to spend the night with Christina and her adorable music teacher father Miguel (Freddie Prinze Jr.), she quickly connects with Miguel over songwriting and asks him to collaborate on her Christmas track. And maybe… fall in love? Only her PR fauxmance with a hot telenovela star and the demands of her fast-paced entertainment career could possibly stand in the way!In this episode, we recap every beat of this holiday flick, assess Freddie Prinze Jr.’s hot dad energy (final ruling: let him be dapper before the big gala scene! you’re leaving way too much dapperness on the shelf here!), review Angelina’s music, contemplate how hard it would be to write a pop hit ourselves, and rate the movie out of 10 original holiday bops. Hope you enjoy! Stay tuned: Next week we will be watching and recapping the Hulu flick “Menorah in the Middle.”Give a gift subscriptionWe’ve been reading…It has been a truly fallow period in my reading life. I have to admit the thing I’ve spent the most time reading lately is the Sister Wives subreddit, because Kody (the most prominent polygamist follower of the Curly Girl Method) is such a consummate reality TV villain this season that I have succumbed to the troubling urge to read endless threads of people ripping him a new one. Also, the holidays are not a calm time when you have a toddler who was born in December and who celebrates both Hanukkah AND Christmas. Please send me enough focus to read literally five pages of a book this week. -ClaireI just started my bud Kase Wickman’s new book about the history and cultural impact of “Bring It On,” and it is truly so much fun! The title gives you a hint at the upbeat, cheeky and sharp tone of the book: “Bring It On: The Complete Story of the Cheerleading Movie That Changed, Like, Everything (No, Seriously).” -EmmaWe’ve been watching…Now that the election is (mostly) over, my husband and I are occasionally able to squeeze in some TV over dinner. We’ve been alternating “White Lotus” and “Fleishman Is In Trouble,” one of which I feel has grown almost alarmingly lurid (and very impressed with its own freshman-seminar-level insights on gender) and the other of which I find weirdly boring, and yet both of which I absolutely love devouring with a sleeve of cookies. -ClaireIt will come as a surprise likely to no one that my boyfriend and I are also watching these same two shows. I am thoroughly enjoying both. I also watched Hallmark’s “Ghosts of Christmas Always,” at the suggestion of Davita in our Substack subscriber chat. It was, as she said it would be, “bewilderingly delightful.” -EmmaWe’ve been listening to…“Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle,” a podcast by a journalist who began investigating after he heard that his high school friend was the main suspect in a brutal murder. The crime took place in a stretch of rural Northern California where massive amounts of marijuana are produced, and the victim and suspects were all involved in the as-yet illegal industry. It’s packed with true crime pod tropes — the purple descriptions, folksy needle drops, even wishful references to being like Hunter S. Thompson — but I have found myself sucked in despite it. -ClaireThe “If Books Could Kill” episode about Neil Strauss’ The Game, the book that permanently made “neg” a part of our mainstream vernacular. I continue to love Peter and Michael’s wry observations, and though I would not have immediately thought of The Game as a classic airport book, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. -EmmaWe’ve been buying…The Black Friday sales really did me in… so many purchases, and now so many returns of things that didn’t work. But two pant-set purchases (formal and bedroom casual) made the cut: The posy navy pant and buttondown set from Hill House, and these patterned waffle-knit PJs from Madewell. (Per reviews, I sized up one, and I’m glad I did.) It’s pants season, and I’m ready to have all my limbs covered and cozy. -ClaireI too have been in a frenzy of sorting through deliveries and inevitable returns from my Black Friday blackout. But I did buy two beauty tools that I feel very excited about and will *not* be returning. First, the Shark FlexStyle has truly changed my life. If you haven’t heard about this magical hair tool, it is essentially just the Shark version of the Dyson Airwrap, except instead of $600, it’s between $250 and $280, depending on how many attachments you need. I went with the pick 3 option and got the paddle brush, round brush and curling attachments and holy shit this thing works so well! My hair takes forever to dry and curl, and doesn’t hold a curl well, and this product solves for both of those issues. Of course there’s still a bit of a learning curve involved, and it’s not a 5-minute process, but it dries my hair way faster than other hair dryers and allows me to add some really salon-worthy waves if I want to without using any product.My second rec for the week is the Solawave. My skin is super reactive, and I have long struggled with adult cystic acne, especially around my periods, so I am always up to try anything that might help me calm that shit down. I got the red light therapy wand which is supposed to target minor wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles, blemishes, and dark spots, and the Bye Acne tool which lets you target small areas on your face where you get frequent breakouts. I have only been using them for about a week, and skin stuff is so hard to review because everyone’s skin is different / I am not an expert, but I do think it’s made a difference. I’ve seen my cystic bumps recede more quickly, and I have also just enjoyed adding something quick and relaxing to my skincare routine. -EmmaShare Rich Text