Jingle Bell Heist Review

Billed a romantic comedy, there is far more drama than expected with "Jingle Bell Heist," debuting on Netflix. Subplots about cancer and divorce seldom setup good punchlines, unless the humor takes a dark turn, which isn't what happens here. But buoyed by a good cast with good chemistry, this breezy fable about robbing a rich store owner on Christmas Eve is an easily digestible time on your couch, your very own Christmas lights twinkling just out of sight.

The plot is this: Sophie (Olivia Holt) is a struggling employee of Sterlings department stores in London, who also works shifts at the local tavern to support mom suffering from cancer. The doctor recommends a new treatment, but the wait-list is too long for her mother to survive, so she'd need to take care of expenses herself. See, even in the UK, heath insurance is a pain.

She's a petty thief too- early on we see her steal the wallet of a grumpy man on the sidewalk, who kicks off peddlers from the block. She gives the money she swiped to them, so we're hardly ten minutes in and we already know she's got a "heart of gold." One day she sneaks a peak at diamond jewelry in the basement of the store (while stealing some quids, I might add), and the next day she is approached by Nick (Connor Swindells), a man who's hacked the security cameras, her mild burglary on record. He fixes phones at a repair shop, fresh out of prison from the alleged heist of the very same store she now works at. He's looking to rob them again to pay for a better apartment for his daughter, his ex-wife suspicious of him, rightly worried he'll slip into his old habits. Some great protagonists, I know.

The two decided to pool their resources and talents to pull off the caper, her on the inside with the knowledge that only staff members have, him on the outside controlling cameras and such. Only nothing goes as planned. We see far-fetched activities like crashing a gala for him to try and seduce Cynthia (Lucy Punch), the wife of the place's owner Maxwell (Peter Serafinowicz) to a security guard distraction ploy involving Run-D.M.C's classic "Christmas In Hollis." It's all very silly, but there is a sense of fun here as our modern-day Robin Hood's find themselves in increasingly ridiculous situations that are far above their skill level.

Olivia and Connor are good here together, and Peter makes for a terrific villain even with his limited screen time. Director Michael Fimognari moves things along I suppose, but it's Abby McDonald's script that wisely keeps the action grounded, even if the climax wraps this up a bit too cleanly and is filled with one too many moments of sudden conveniences to truly buy the whole thing. (Such as Sophie being able to pick locks, because her grandfather was a magician, or the safe company completely divulging the details on the exact same model Maxwell has. And don't get me started on the big "reveal" at the end. Grumble grumble.)

"Jingle Bell Heist" isn't good, but it's not bad either, occupying this watchable middle-ground where only the most familiar and conventional of movies reside in. It's "ho ho humdrum."