‘I Hate Christmas’ Review: A Classic Lonely Girl Story for Christmas

Another Christmas story arrives on Netflix right on time for the holidays. This time the story comes straight from Italy in the form of a short TV series dealing with family, love, and friendship. Netflix has really put a lot of effort into increasing its offering of Christmas content this year, it has been quite an undertaking, but it seems that it was worth it as the numbers on these projects seem very solid. I Hate Christmas comes back to bring more of the same ideas but executed in a very charming way, thanks to a cast of charming actors.

I Hate Christmas is a TV series developed by Netflix in Italy and stars Pilar Fogliati, Beatrice Arnera, Cecilia Bertozzi, Fiorenza Pieri, and Massimo Rigo. The series tells the story of Gianna, a hard-working nurse who has reached the age of thirty without a romantic partner. Gianna’s family is preoccupied with the throughout that she will just end up being alone forever. So under the pressure, Gianna lies about having a boyfriend, and she promises she will bring him to the family’s Christmas dinner. Now Gianna has less than a month to find the ideal man.

I Hate Christmas is one of those shows that knows exactly what it is doing. The writers here have no intention of reinventing the wheel in any way, shape, or form. They utilize the tropes and conventions of countless other romantic comedies that we have seen countless times. So, is there something that makes I Hate Christmas worth watching? Is there something that makes the series stand out from among the avalanche of Christmas content that Netflix got ready for us this year?

The answer is that yes, there are a couple of elements that make this show worth watching. First is the setting. I Hate Christmas is set in Venice, and just like that, the series has an unfair advantage against all other Christmas content that Netflix has been pushing out in the last couple of months. Those shows and movies are often shot inside a studio, and the artificiality of the lighting makes it look like everything in the show is happening inside a department store. Here, in I Hate Christmas, the legendary city on the water looks beautiful and like a place you want to visit.

In most movies and TV shows, Venice is often portrayed as a city you go for a visit, which is true as the city is a strong tourist location. However, it is easy to forget that the city is also the place many people call home. It is nice to see the city from this point of view, as people live, enjoy, and suffer on its streets just like in any other city. Even when the series puts the city back on Earth, the beauty of the settings never falls down, and it remain attractive throughout the entire show.

Other elements that make the show just fun to watch are the characters and the actors behind them. The main core of characters, represented by Gianna and her friends and the many men she meets along the way, are all charming and beautiful in their own way. Fogliati is an excellent protagonist; she is absolutely beautiful, but she never comes off as superior, or someone people cannot relate to. In fact, she makes her character very relatable by the way she talks, moves, and reacts to her surroundings.

The rest of the cast receives much less screen time, but they are all charming and fun to watch. Most of the characters can be labeled as archetypes, which could make them shallow, but there is enough characterization that none of them come off as annoying or too shallow. The show’s pacing also moves at a frantic pace, so you can feel that there is always something happening to these characters. Most of the plotlines are quite cliché, there is no way around it, but they are fun.

Visually, the show is very standard. The director isn’t really trying to come up with an amazing visual spectacle. The characters are the main focus, which explains why everyone feels so attractive. The city looks great; some interiors do look a bit flat and feel very much like stages, but in the end, these small issues are in no way enough to detract from the series. The bigger issue is that the story feels like nothing special, and the way the season ends feels very much like a cop-out. Are they expecting to create another season for next year? It all seems pretty much solved.

I Hate Christmas is a charming romantic comedy set in the beautiful city of Venice. Because of that, many people will enjoy their time with the show. The series is so short that it feels very much like there is no commitment at all in terms of time. The story is quite cliché, and we have seen it play out many times before. Thankfully, the actors are quite charming, and Pilar Fogliati carries the bulk of the show by herself with ease. As a way to discover new talents coming from Italy and get those comfy vibes you want from Christmas stories, this show achieves its goal.

SCORE: 7/10