Released in 2024, Our Little Secret showcases the story of two exes who haven’t seen each other for ten years and reunite at a Christmas party after finding out their significant others are siblings. 

This film has received widespread criticism from movie buffs for being too simple and an unoriginal take on a classic story with poor execution. I personally think it’s like every other Christmas movie, but slightly more disappointing because of the lack of emotional provocation, bland storylines, and lack of chemistry between the main characters. 

To preface this review, I am a huge Lindsay Lohan fan and always will be, so a return of one of the 2000s it-girls to romcoms was right up my alley. I also have a profound appreciation for the acting talent and personality of Ian Harding due to my years of obsessively rewatching Pretty Little Liars. Naturally, going into this movie, I had high hopes of a new generation twist on a classic Christmas story with two incredible actors, but I was left disappointed. 

To start, the storyline presented was interesting in theory but was underutilized in countless ways throughout the movie. The fact they were exes barely impacted them as they continued to stay with their significant others and lacked romantic chemistry throughout the movie. At one point, I was rooting for both of them to stay with their original partners because their relationship was so boring. The movie also doesn’t spend nearly enough time establishing the strong relationship Lohan and Harding’s characters had prior to their disaster proposal, which makes it very hard to root for them throughout the movie. Furthermore, when they got caught by Callum, they faced no repercussions and their unrequited love seemed more like a fizzled-out friendship. 

The dialogue throughout this movie was also very stale and felt like a caricature of colloquial talk. Harding’s character especially would often deliver super cheesy lines that had little to do with what was happening and made him seem like a very two-dimensional character. Lohan’s character, on the other hand, was just really lucky and never really faced the consequences of her actions or had true character development. I wish the writers also would’ve expanded on her work in London and the impact that had on her. 

The movie was also way longer than it needed to be. Some scenes like the high mass speech and Christmas tree farm were way too long and started to get uncomfortable to watch after a while. Even the holiday blowup scene has weird dialogue and was rushed over too quickly but also felt like it took forever to get through simultaneously. 

But there were some gems in this movie that made it somewhat worth watching. Kristin Chenoweth’s portrayal of Erica was spot-on and had the potential to become an iconic Christmas villain. I really liked the way she stayed true to herself no matter what and Chenoweth was cast perfectly in the role. I also liked the return of Tim Meadows from Mean Girls as Stan and the fact Erica and Stan ended up together after both being cheated on was my ultimate happy ending. Also, Lohan’s dad and Harding’s grandma in this movie were sweethearts and added a comedic touch to the movie that made it more bearable to watch. 

Overall, this movie is a typical holiday movie but definitely not a must-watch. It falls into the clichés of most holiday movies but often lacks the charm. It’s a good movie to watch for a Lohan/Chenoweth return but is worth missing out on this season.

On this blog, members of the Carmel High School chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists (and the occasional guest writer) produce curations of all facets of popular culture, from TV shows to music to novels to technology. We hope our readers always leave with something new to muse over. Click here to read more from the MUSE Winter Collection.