God Jul! Joyeux Noël! Glædelig Jul! Jabulela Ukhisimusi! 

This week on Geek Girl Girl, we celebrated Christmas Around the World! We watched an “old” favorite “Hjem til Jul”/“Home for Christmas” and three new favorites: “Christmas Flow,” “Elves,” and “How to Ruin Christmas”—all on Netflix.

“Home for Christmas” is an old favorite because we watched it last year and will definitely watch it again next year when season 3 comes out. It’s a Norwegian series starring the fabulous Ida Elisa Broch. She plays a nurse in her early 30s who is the only single person in her tight-knit family. Three years after a breakup that she can’t get over, her family is pushing her to get a boyfriend. Sick of all the pressure, she lies and tells them she has one and that she’s bringing him to Christmas dinner. Oh, no pressure there, with only four weeks to come up with a beau! And that’s just episode 1!

The rest of season 1 finds Johanne (that’s Jo-ha-nuh, not Jo-ha-nah) dating any breathing dude she encounters. This series is so heartfelt and funny. Both seasons are excellent. We’re glad we hadn’t discovered season 1 when it aired in 2019 because it ends on a major cliffhanger. Season 2 ends in a satisfying yet mild cliffhanger-y way. Season 3 is set to air in December 2022. The first two seasons consist of six half-hour episodes. So, six hours total for two seasons. Easy! Go watch it!

“Christmas Flow” is a wonderful French limited series that consists of three 50-minute episodes. It follows Lila, a journalist for an online publication—Les Simones, named after Simone de Beauvoir—that she and two of her buddies founded. They are feminist activists and take their jobs very seriously. Marcus is the other major player. He is a French rapper who is under public scrutiny for a song that has some pretty abhorrent misogynistic lyrics. When Les Simones become aware of him and his lyrics, Marcus becomes a target of their investigation. 

Now, this being a Christmas rom-com, you can expect what happens…. That’s right, sparks fly between Lila and Marcus. But, since this is a French series, it’s not all Hallmark-y. We really get to know Lila and Marcus. We understand why they like each other. And we get to know the other characters, too. No one is “just the friend of the main character” or even “just the boyfriend.” We really love this one. Alors, allez le regarder toute de suite!

“Elves” is a Danish (limited?) series that follows a family’s visiting a creepy island for the Christmas holiday. They’ve rented a house and get into trouble before they even arrive. The locals warn them right away—in mysterious ways, as in, giving no explanations—to keep to the coastal road and not go into the forest. But, do they listen? Of course not. Daughter Josefine is the naïve trouble maker who upsets the precarious balance of the island. That is, she brings an injured baby elf to the rental house. Literal hell ensues. Our favorite part has to do with a moment in which a non-Karen Karen says, “This is your fault.” Mom says, “No, this isn’t your fault.” Oh, please, lady. Of course it’s her fault!

“Elves” is a horror Christmas fable that consists of six half-hour episodes. We highly recommend it. 

“How to Ruin Christmas” is a South African series that follows Tumi who goes home for her sister’s Christmastime wedding. Tumi has a difficult relationship with her family and ends up, well, ruining her sister’s wedding. Cort and I (Kelly) didn’t finish this one, even though we were digging it. So, I can’t give any more details. Susan loves it and highly recommends it. It’s two seasons, seven episodes total, about half an hour each. Easy binge!

Next week it’s “traditional Christmas”! The two homework assignments are “Die Hard” 1 and 2 (both on Peacock with ads) and “Elf” (Apple TV+). Then watch any other Christmas movie you like! 

Follow Cort’s podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

Check out Susan’s movie stats on Letterboxd https://letterboxd.com/barbisu/stats/

Listen to Kelly’s podcast at Brand + Design Scoop

Original music by Garrett Thompson

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