Like clockwork, just as Halloween hoves into view and the biggest and best streaming services, from Prime Video to Apple TV, ready their horror fare for the spookiest time of year, they also start to get ready even earlier for the inevitable onset of Christmas. It's never too early to start trailing movies, after all.
In Netflix's case, it's decided that mid-October is the perfect time to take the wrapping off at least one present it's giving subscribers this holiday season – a fairly silly and innocent-looking little movie called Jingle Bell Heist. It looks like a fun enough way to ring in the holidays, and has a surprising trans-Atlantic lead pairing.
The movie stars Olivia Holt as Sophia, an American living and working in retail in London and struggling to make ends meet easily – not least because of her fairly terrible boss, a multi-millionaire played by comedy icon Peter Serafinowicz. She's not the only one under that boss' thumb, either. Conor Swindells (best known for his star-making turn in Sex Education, also on Netflix) is Nick, a repairmen stiffed out of money he's due by the same notorious client.
They meet when they're both down on their luck, and realise their unlikely common ground gives them an opportunity – strike while Serafinowicz's character is distracted and pull off a heist right under his nose, taking his store's cash for themselves. If that sounds like it might be all a bit criminal, don't let the description fool you: this looks like a fun and silly romcom, not a serious heist movie.
Sophia and Nick will have to navigate a growing sense of romantic tension between themselves as they get further into their planning, and when the time comes to actually execute the Christmas heist, who knows whether they'll be able to pull it off. All this will have holiday theming in the background, though, from Santa costumes to fairy lights and trees.
So, while it might feel a little early to be getting your Christmas movie playlist ready ahead of the holidays, perhaps this is one to add to your watchlist for a cosy night in December sometime. The movie will be out on Netflix on 26 November, so you'll have the whole month to choose from.
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