Watch or Pass? The Merry Gentlemen Movie Review
I’m pretty much obsessed with Christmas movies, so I was excited to see what new holiday films Netflix would be coming out with this year. The Merry Gentlemen is the most recent movie I’ve watched. It stars Britt Robertson and Chad Michael Murray who play an unlikely pair who must work together in order to save her parents bar, The Rhythm Room. Keep reading for my full The Merry Gentlemen movie review.
What is The Merry Gentlemen About?
The Merry Gentlemen is a new Netflix Christmas movie starring Britt Robertson and Chad Michael Murray.
Ashley (Robertson) is a professional dancer who finds herself at a bit of a crossroads when her dance troupe lets her go. Although she’s been loyal to them for years, they decide to hire someone younger to bring some freshness to the show. That leaves Ashley without a job just in time for Christmas. It’s been years since she’s been home, so she decides to go back to the small town she grew up in to visit her parents and sister.
The first place she stops is her parents’ small-town nightclub, The Rhythm Room. But things aren’t exactly how she remembered them growing up. The place is in disrepair and her parents are 6 months behind on rent. The once popular bar is now extremely close to being shut down.
That gives Ashley an idea. With the help of handyman Luke, she stages an all-male Christmas-themed revue that they call The Merry Gentlemen. Will Ashley and Luke be able to make enough money to help save The Rhythm Room from being shut down? The family business is counting on them.
The Cast
I’m actually a big fan of both of the main actors in this movie! First, let’s talk Chad Michael Murray. I know he’s most known for One Tree Hill but I never actually watched that. lol. To me, he’ll always be the starring man in A Cinderella story. As well as a bunch of other things like Freaky Friday and Gilmore Girls. And I know Britt Robertson from the show Life Unexpected on The CW and The Longest Ride (which is based off a Nicholas Sparks book). As well as a bunch of other things! So when I found out that the two of them would be leading this movie, I had high hopes.
The additional cast members include Beth Broderick, Marla Sokoloff, Colt Prattes, Maxwell Caulfield, Michael Gross, Marc Anthony Samuel, Hector David Jr., Maria Canals-Barrera, and Meredith Thomas.
The Plot
In the opening scene to this movie, we meet Ashley who is a broadway dancer. Her troupe is called the Jingle Bells and it’s similar to The Rockettes. Their Christmas show in New York City is filled with dance numbers full of high kicks and smiles. It’s clear that Ashley is a seasoned dancer and so it’s surprising when her company let’s her go. She’s shocked by the decision but decides that with her newfound free time, she’ll go back home to see her family for Christmas.
The small town where she grew up is very cute. Her parents still live there, along with her sister and brother in law. Ashley isn’t sure what to do now that she’s been let go from her dream job, but she jumps into action when she finds out how far behind in bills her parents are. If she doesn’t help them come up with a plan, they could lose their business.
I thought this was an interesting premise for a movie. I really did. But in execution, it didn’t exactly live up to my expectations. Keep reading my The Merry Gentlemen movie review for more details.
Something Just Didn’t Feel Right
So I liked the cast. I liked the movie plot. But as the movie went on, something just didn’t feel right. I don’t expect Oscar Worthy performances in a holiday rom-com, but this felt like a bad movie, and not just because it’s a predictable love story.
First of all, there was so much clumsiness. And I am not a fan of that. Lol. When Ashley’s character gets out of the cab at The Rhythm Room, she literally runs into Luke and gets tangled in the garland that he’s hanging, and then falls flat on her back. It was very cheesy, but I tried to go into the movie with an open mind. But there were so many other moments where she was awkward or clumsy and it just didn’t make sense. I mean, she’s a broadway dancer. Shouldn’t she be more coordinated than that?
The Male Dance Revue was Kind of Random
While it was a fun plot point, the dance show that Ashley decides to put on at her parents bar is incredibly random. Ashley just randomly recruits Luke, her Brother in Law, and a bartender from The Rhythm Room and decides to make them dance. I mean, they agreed to it. It was consensual. But it just felt very out of nowhere.
But with that being said, let’s suspend our disbelief. The dance show goes on and the women of the town love it. Fine. But like, it was a very PG dance show. It felt like they were trying to go for a Magic Mike kind of thing but didn’t want to actually be too sexy so they just had the men dance shirtless. It just felt bizarre.
There Wasn’t Really Any Depth
I never really felt that connected to the characters. Normally in a romantic holiday romp, there are scenes where the main characters reveal things to each other about themselves. But we never really got that from Ashley and Luke. They’re both beautiful people and they’re both nice, but we never really got to know that much about them. Besides the fact that Ashley was trying to save her parents business, and Luke was still getting over his ex
I like these actors a lot, so I don’t think it was them. I think it was the writing. There was just so much focus on dancing and saving The Rhythm Room that the romance kind of fell flat for me. That was Disappointing.
Watch or Pass?
I would recommend passing on this movie. It was cute, but longtime fans of holiday romance movies will not be impressed. It was an interesting premise but it just didn’t follow through in execution.
Ok, Ok. I Don’t Want to be Too Harsh
If I was going to recommend this movie to anyone, it would be to fans of Murray and Robertson. As well as people who aren’t too critical when it comes to a predictable plot in a Christmas film. Settle yourself down in front of the TV and light up the Christmas tree to watch this new Christmas film.
Oh, and if you like shirtless men? Yes. If you enjoy shirtless men in your romantic comedies then this film is for you.
In Conclusion
Thank you for reading my The Merry Gentlemen movie review today. I’m disappointed that I didn’t like this one more, but I appreciate the fact that Netflix is trying to create interesting new Christmas content for their streaming platform. I guess the general shirtlessness of the men makes up for the lack of depth in this movie. Lol.
