A new British Christmas film has landed in cinemas, but 3 Wishes for Christmas is unlikely to be on anyone's wish list this festive season. The romantic comedy, starring Christine During, has been met with a scathing critical reception, described as possessing all the charm of a last-minute supermarket gift.
A Festive Fable That Fails to Deliver
The review paints a bleak picture of the film's creative merits. It compares the experience of watching it to receiving the most uninspired Christmas present imaginable, such as a pair of cheap socks or overpowering talcum powder. The movie is labelled as an unimaginative British fable that drips with a profound dullness, its only redeeming feature being the sufficiently competent performance of its lead, Christine During.
During plays Tessa, a magazine agony aunt, a character detail the review notes is largely irrelevant. The script is criticised as a compilation of pointless plot points and stale tropes borrowed from other Christmas movies.
A Predictable Plot and Painful Performances
The narrative follows a well-trodden path. Tessa breaks up with her boring boyfriend, decides to spend the holidays with her perky best friend Fiona, played by Katie Sheridan, and has a 'meet-cute' with a handsome but rude stranger. This man, Sam (Jacob Anderton), unsurprisingly turns out to be Fiona's brother, setting the stage for a predictable cycle of love, arguments, and reconciliation.
While During manages to make the insipid, sub-large language model dialogue sound somewhat credible, the rest of the cast are not so fortunate. The review suggests they are left floundering by incompetent direction, sometimes appearing to thrash around as if in distress.
Final Verdict on the Festive Flop
Ultimately, the film is positioned as a harmless but boring offering, perhaps suitable for romance-loving pre-adolescents not yet ready for more mature fare like Bridget Jones. It is deemed non-offensive but entirely forgettable.
The key factual detail for cinema-goers is the release date: 3 Wishes for Christmas is in UK cinemas from 21 November.
