So I decided to do a February romcom/romance movie thing. I turned on Netflix and went to their romance movies and found Daniel Levy’s new movie, Good Grief. Since I generally enjoy his work, I popped it on. I don’t think this is how I wanted to start the month of romance.

Marc (Daniel Levy) is living the good life with his husband, Oliver (Luke Evans). A year after Oliver died in a car accident, Marc opens a card from him confessing that he found someone else in Paris, where Marc discovered that Oliver had secretly been renting an apartment. Determined to find out more, Marc travels to Paris with his best friends, Thomas (Himesh Patel) and Sophie (Ruth Negga). The three of them come to terms with the difficulties each of them have faced in their personal lives.

This was a really sad movie. I mean, I should have known it from the title but I didn’t expect it to be this sad. It is entirely about Marc’s transition through the stages of grief and accepting that, while he loved Oliver and Oliver loved him, his husband was not the person Marc thought he was. At the same time, we have secondary plots with Sophie having commitment (and maybe alcoholism) issues and Thomas being afraid of not being enough for his boyfriends (and maybe still being in love with Marc since they previously dated).

Don’t get me wrong. Good Grief isn’t a bad movie. It is very well done. But if you aren’t in the right mindset to watch three very broken people learn how to better themselves, it might not be for you. I’m glad I watched it, I’m just not sure it should have been the first movie of February.

Rating: B

To anyone in the United States, British comedies can be a tough act to swallow. Brits sometimes have a “go big or go home” rule when it comes to humor. Christmas On Mistletoe Farm is not an exception to that rule.

Matt Cunningham (Scott Garnham) has been recently widowed. Left alone to raise his five children, his life has been rough. When he gets a notice stating that he was recently willed a farm, Matt decides to take the kids to the small village to get away from London so he can focus on work. However, when the family meets the farmhand, Beano (Scott Paige), life as they know it will change forever.

A lot of times British comedies will take their characters to extremes. Think of Mr. Bean or Benny Hill or The Goes Wrong Show. If you aren’t used to loud or brash characters, they can definitely be upsetting. Reading some other reviews of Christmas On Mistletoe Farm, I don’t think anyone was expecting a British comedy.

Personally, I found the movie quite enjoyable. Beano made me laugh every time he was on screen. The townspeople…I mean, the village people…were a lovable group of weirdos that come together to help each other. Even the kids, who came to the village with the trauma of losing their mother and then getting teased at their London school for being different, were a delight. I firmly believe that children should be allowed to be whoever they want. That is how you figure out your personality. You try different things until you find YOU. Seeing these kids be adored by the villagers for being themselves was lovely. Too often do we see kids shoved into boxes of who adults want them to be.

While I loved this movie, I understand that it’s not for everyone. Christmas On Mistletoe Farm is for the people who like odd characters that maybe talk to farm animals as if they are also people. People who maybe crochet ugly Christmas sweaters for baby goats. And definitely for people who don’t quite fit into the box society wants you to live in. Just remember to bring your sparkly sweater with you to the farm.