A Christmas Number One – Feel Good Festive Film
Director: Chris Cottam
Writer: Robet Chandler, Giles New, Keiron Self (Screenplay)
Starring: Iwan Rheon, Freida Pinto, Debi Mazar, Helena Zengel, Richard Fleeshman, Georgia Small, Alfie Boe, Rhianna Merralls
Plot: A young woman desperately wants her uncle to find love and for his song to hit the number one spot by Christmas day.
Runtime: 1 Hour 52 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: A Christmas Number One starts as music manager Meghna Rai (Pinto) looks to escape her latest artist and break up in New York, moving to London to manage a popular boyband 5-together. As Meghna needs to find a new song for a Christmas number one, she learns about a song for a teenage girl Nina (Zengel) written to her by her uncle Blake (Rheon).
As Blake reluctantly agrees to give the band the song, he wants the money to go to charity, as he learns how the corruption in the music world works, as the sparks start to fly between him and Meghna.
Thoughts on A Christmas Number One
Characters & Performances – Meghna Rai is the big-time music manager who has broken up with America’s biggest popstar, looking to start over in the UK with a new upstart boyband. She is under pressure to make the next big song, being assigned to get a Christmas number one, needing to get the song from an unknown artist who is involved with heavy metal band. Freida Pinto is excellent in her role here, the career driven woman needing to deal with a childish boyband. Blake Cutter is the aspiring singer song writer who is part of a heavy metal band, not wanting to fall into the system that he believes traps musicians. He is assigned to write a song by his ill niece, one that will become the battle for Christmas number one, he will get the push he needs to make more from his life with this experience. Iwan Rheon has done an amazing job to turn himself from one of the most hated characters in TV to be a character you want to see in this film. Nina is the teenage niece of Blake, she is terminally ill, but filled with positive attitude and enthusiasm supporting her favourite boyband and wanting her uncle to write her a Christmas song, with all the essential themes. Helena Zengel brings all the positive side to this film, despite what her character is going through, she is the ray of sunshine in what could be a darker side to. In the supporting cast we will the greedy music producers who hates everyone, the dumb boyband figures who are truly clueless to the world they are entering and everyone else who wants to make the Christmas miracle happen.
Story – The story here follows a music manager that is looking to revive her career in London, when she gets assigned to find a Christmas song for a Christmas Number One race, finding the perfect song from a small unknown musician who doesn’t believe in the system. This is a Christmas movie that will use the happiness of Christmas with the brutal music world, along with a more tragic side that is pushed through with the positive side. This will have plenty going on, with the romantic side of things and slowly having the feel good feeling, despite not having the heavy ending involved.
Themes – A Christmas Number One is a romantic comedy that will bring the Christmas spirit to the story that will give us a comedy about the music world, with the romance being around the will they won’t they. The music involved will be mostly pop filled style, along with heavy metal involved.
Final Thoughts – A Christmas Number One is a lovely feel-good Christmas movie, despite having a tragic side to everything going on.
