A Merry Little Ex-Mas Movie Review (2025)

A sweet rom-com that grows on you, A Merry Little Ex-Mas, about a still-friendly married couple getting divorced during the holiday season, is the breezy little movie you need right now.

I am not a big Christmas movie person. I have my favorites, of course (I love Elf and if you consider Love Actually a Christmas movie, it’s my favorite of them), but I don’t often find myself looking for new Hallmark channel-type films or the new Lifetime holiday movie. No shade to anyone who loves them, it’s just not generally my thing. But this one stuck out to me, and I’m glad it did.

A Merry Little Ex-Mas is about Kate and Everett, a married couple living in small-town Winterlight, Vermont, who are just concluding their divorce. They are still friendly, share two kids – one graduating high-school and the other in college – and each have a wonderful relationship with Everett’s two fathers. During this season, where Kate wants to continue the standard daily family traditions, new love interests come into the picture and things don’t go as she was hoping.

First and foremost, is this movie predictable? Absolutely, from the very first minute. You know what will happen and the film never tries to sway you otherwise. So, for me, the question was really, how are we going to get there and will it be an interesting ride?

I think this is a really cute film. It is light and silly, with some actual laugh-out-loud moments and nutty characters. And maybe I was in the exact right mood to appreciate it, but I did.

The beginning is a little choppy. Kate was going to be an architect, but feels like her dreams were crushed when she moved to Everett’s town where he became the resident doctor. Instead, she became a handywoman extraordinaire with a penchant for green living. And also, their nicknames for each other are Betty and Al.

Alicia Silverstone, Oliver Hudson, and the rest of the cast are good, but Pierson Fode (who I first became aware of as the heartthrob in The Wrong Paris) is an absolute scene stealer. He is over the top, very funny, and the most entertaining moment in the film – where a small fire is accidentally set – is all his. He’s one to watch.

There are a lot of clichés in A Merry Little Ex-Mas, but that’s to be expected. The sledding adventure with the family, the oops accident where two people fall and end up on top of each other, the jealous partners, the misunderstandings, the realizing how one could do better – all of it is present in this film. But there is enough levity and heart that it all works. You know that it will happen from the beginning, and it does.

A cute Christmas film that gave me a laugh and (shockingly) made me choke up in one scene, A Merry Little Ex-Mas is an unserious and easy movie to enjoy. Give up your expectations of a deep cinematic experience and go with the goofiness, it’s worth it.

Runtime: 91 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: PG-13

Languages Spoken In The Film: English

Should You Watch It? Yes

Did I Cry? I got choked up

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Available: Free on Netflix