• Release year: 2024
• Director: Sam Wrench.
• Producer: Anthony Anchelowitz.
• Screenplay by: Megan Amram, Jimmy Fowlie, and Fran Gillespie.
• Cinematography by: Nyk Allen.
• Costume design by: Jeanie Cheek.

Shotgun Commentary: the perfect content to play on TV as a background during the holidays’ family gatherings.

Review

A Nonsense Christmas is the definition of light entertainment. It has easy jokes, a gagging amount of double entendres, and all the red, white and green your Christmas-loving heart can take. Plus, if you happen to be born after the 2000, you’ll probably recognise, and hopefully like, most of the people featured in it.

The youth test

This Christmas special does as promised in its title, over an hour of Sabrina Carpenter content that will make your holidays a lot more bearable if you happen to be under twenty. If you are over that age… you might have a harder time relating, to be honest.

As a person in her mid-twenties, this critic is in that particular time of one’s life when you realise you don’t understand teenagers any more. Not in that ridiculous “I don’t understand why you behave that way”, that’s just a cheap excuse to pretend you’ve never had a cringy phase in your life. In this case, it is more of a “who’s that?” and “is that supposed to be a reference?”. As the special goes on, you’ll slowly realise you’ve become the very thing you swore to destroy: that one person who won’t stop asking questions during a screening.

Empty words

Huge generational gap aside, the special is quite fun in a very safe and innocuous way. The most controversial thing about it is the Sabrina-coded double entendres that star in all her work. How many times can one repeat the ho-ho-ho joke before it gets tiring? Well, the answer is very much subjective, but it is safe to say that you will find your limit in here.

Double entendres are fun, but making a special solely based on that is lazy as hell, no matter how many songs or celebrities you add to distract the audience. The bar is not really high in terms of Christmas content, especially variety shows, but one still expects a respectful amount of talent in terms of writing.

Luckily, Sabrina is not a comedian but a singer, and she slays the gingerbread out of her profession, even on Christmas. Her beautiful voice adds that extra pizazz that every holiday special needs. Well, that and the glitter. So. Much. Glitter.

Shine on, girl

Speaking of which, how many outfits can one wear on a one-hour special? Well, about nine seems to be the correct answer. It might just be because of how extra and gorgeous they all are, but are specials always like this? Wouldn’t it be better to get some of that sequins budget and use it to get good writers?

This is a recurring Netflix error. Lots of shine, gloss and lights, but not that much substance. Knowing superficial entertainment is their brand, you can’t really expect much else, but it is still disappointing to see half written sketches that bring up no new themes or interesting prompts. Despite how charismatic Carpenter is, there are only so many veiled dirty jokes you can take before getting bored. Then again, she makes it quite clear at the beginning that the programme is targeted to people who will watch while on their phone, so maybe that’s why it feels so void and repetitive.

All in all, A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter is a somewhat entertaining Christmas special that will put you in a good mood… maybe. As long as you don’t expect anything more than numbing content with well-sang songs, you’ll be fine.

Advice to take from this movie:

• You don’t need more than one outfit for an hour-long special, but it is fun to play dress up.
• Good singing can’t hide plainness.
• Netflix might want to chill on the specials, or maybe get better writers for them…

What’s your take? Have you watched A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀