Freddie Prinze Jr. returns to the rom-com in Netflix’s Christmas With You trailer

There’s been much fanfare over Lindsay Lohan’s cinematic resurrection in her new low-budget Netflix romantic comedy, Falling For Christmas. But her triumphant return to the movies has seemingly overshadowed someone else’s rom-com comeback. That’s right, folks, Freddie Prinze Jr. is a romantic leading man again in the trailer for Christmas With You, premiering November 17, 2022.

Now, adjust your expectations accordingly, because Christmas With You appears to fall solidly in the lower tier of Netflix’s genre offerings (much like Lohan’s flick, or camp classics like A Christmas Prince, The Princess Switch, etc.). While every rom-com is a delicate mix of familiar tropes and happy endings, this trailer feels particularly calculated by the algorithm. Christmas With You is what you get when you combine one early aughts rom-com king, Music And Lyrics, a small-town Hallmark movie setting, Christmas, and the Jennifer Lopez film Marry Me.

Seriously, Marry Me is the obvious blueprint here: like Owen Wilson’s character, Miguel (Prinze) is an irresistibly normal school teacher whose daughter is a big fan of a certain pop star. Angelina (Amiee Garcia) is not quite Jennifer Lopez, but she’s longing to “connect with [her] fans right now.” So she decides to grant Prinze’s daughter’s “Christmas birthday wish” and drop in on their small town.

Of course, a blizzard strands Angelina at Miguel’s house, where she discovers that he’s also a musician, conveniently able to help her craft the Christmas track that her label demands. (Where are Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant when you need them?) Angelina, obviously, will get more than just a new song out of this partnership. She’ll also get to teach some dance moves to locals, which, by the way, also happens in Marry Me. Ah, well, nothing new under the sun.