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The Christmas Contract

Name: The Christmas Contract
Director: Monika Mitchell
Released: 2018
Duration: 88 min

Representation Score

1.4/10

Minimal

2018

TV-PG

Director

Monika Mitchell

Runtime

88 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Christmas Contract is a typical holiday romantic comedy that prioritizes familiar narrative structures and traditional social norms. It adheres closely to the 'fake dating' cliché, focusing on personal emotional resolution. While the film highlights the professional roles of its female characters, it does not explore diverse lived experiences or intersecting identities. The narrative remains within a conventional, homogeneous framework that upholds established cultural patterns. Overall, the film reinforces traditional cultural norms rather than challenging them.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Christmas Contract have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses solely on heterosexual relationships and does not include any characters with non-traditional gender identities or same-sex relationships.

How does The Christmas Contract portray gender?

Fair

Female characters such as Jolie and Naomi have professional roles as a web designer and a lawyer, respectively. However, the story follows traditional gender roles and does not challenge these norms.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Christmas Contract?

Limited

The film is set in a small town in Louisiana and features a predominantly white cast with no significant minority representation or diverse ethnic perspectives.

How does The Christmas Contract represent religion and culture?

Limited

The story emphasizes traditional Western holiday traditions and the nuclear family structure. It celebrates the stability of small-town life during the holiday season.

Does The Christmas Contract include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no characters with visible or invisible disabilities in the film. The plot centers on emotional recovery after a breakup, rather than addressing the challenges faced by those with disabilities.

Present on Screen

Female characters have professional roles as a web designer and a lawyer.
The film offers a comforting narrative focused on emotional reconciliation.

Limited or Absent

The cast lacks racial and ethnic diversity, appearing largely homogeneous.
There is no representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-conforming gender characters.
The narrative does not include characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

Official Synopsis

It’s Jolie’s first time going back home to Louisiana since her devastating break-up with Foster Burke. Seeing him is inevitable as their parents run the town’s annual Christmas Market together, but when she discovers Foster is bringing home a new girlfriend, Jolie cannot bear the thought of going home alone and seeing them together. Her best friend Naomi suggests that Jolie bring her flaky brother, Jack, home for Christmas as he has no plans this year. Jolie, a professional web designer, is hesitant; so, Naomi, a lawyer, creates a Christmas contract to give them both something they want—a buffer for those awkward moments around Jolie’s ex and a website to help sell Jack’s upcoming novel. Unbeknownst to them, the Christmas contract proves to be so much more than what they signed up for.

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