Tonight's Movie: Merry Textmas (2022)

There have been some definite winners this Christmas movie season, and the latest I've enjoyed is MERRY TEXTMAS (2022).

MERRY TEXTMAS aired on the Lifetime Channel. I don't watch Lifetime Christmas films with the same frequency as Hallmark's movies, but an enthusiastic Twitter review from my friend Rachel sold me that this was one of the titles I needed to make a priority. I'm happy to say I found it delightful.

Gaby (Ariana Ron Pedrique), a computer programmer living in Austin, Texas, is part of a group text chat with her family planning their upcoming Christmas gathering at her grandmother's house in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Gaby inputs a relative's new phone number incorrectly when she adds it to the chat, and the family accidentally starts chatting with Alex (Rodrigo Massa), an app designer who coincidentally also lives in Austin. Gaby and Alex then chance to meet when getting coffee and he recognizes her photo from the texts.

Things get really wild when Gaby's father invites Alex to join the family in Mexico for Christmas; Alex's parents and brother all have other plans for the holidays and he impulsively accepts the invitation. This might seem completely improbable but for the well-known story of the woman who accidentally invited a young man to Thanksgiving dinner; he accepted, and they've now been friends for years. There's just a bit more travel involved in this particular story!

Though Gaby is initially stunned and uncomfortable when Alex shows up on her grandmother's doorstep, the two of them quickly hit it off and discover they have a great deal in common. Alex rediscovers his own mostly forgotten Mexican roots while getting to know Gaby and her family and learning about Oaxacan Christmas traditions. 

MERRY TEXTMAS is a delightful film for many reasons. The screenplay by Timothy Kuryak plays out very realistically, and the dialogue and situations are pitch perfect. Who among us these days has not quickly searched their phone for a photo to make sure of someone's identity before saying hello?

The well-written and performed relationship between Alex and Gaby develops naturally, as they become bantering pals before they realize they may be feeling something more.

There's a lot of creativity in the film's presentation, with the texts and later a Christmas app appearing onscreen alongside the characters; the dual presentation of what the characters are seeing and their reactions works quite well, keeping the story moving along briskly.

One of the movie's most unique aspects is that a great deal of the dialogue is in Spanish, such as in the scenes when Gaby is alone with her family. My only complaint is some of the small white English-language captioning washes out against the other colors on screen; the captioning should have been bigger and bolder. (Side note: Having studied Spanish via Duolingo for the last few months, I was pleased to understand a small amount of the Spanish dialogue.)

I'm not sure if the actors actually did location shooting in Mexico -- perhaps I'll find out when I watch the interview Rachel did with the lead actors -- but regardless, the film is an interesting primer on Oaxacan holiday traditions. For those who might wonder, "Night of the Radishes" is a real thing!

I love that the filmmakers did something quite different with this film in terms of both presentation and story; it's not simply a romance but also a wonderful family story and a love letter to a city. This is one I can definitely envision rewatching during future holiday seasons, and I recommend it.

MERRY TEXTMAS was directed by Alba Gil and filmed by Antonio Mata.

A music video/trailer is on YouTube.

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