Single All the Way
NETFLIXChristmas, according to Netflix, is the most wonderful, lonely time of the year. Rightly so. They have been wrong many times in their past, but this time they have hit the nail on the head. With their six-pack clad gentlemen and the horrific rendition of some vaguely passable Christmas tune to open the film with, Single All the Way nails its target audience almost immediately. Bored housewives, film critics slammed with deadlines looking for an easy write-up and passive audiences fond of the holiday and spirit of the times. They are the integral trio captured by Single All the Way – a title whose pun is the funniest part of the narrative.
Bleak that may sound, the spirit of Christmas is a hard beast to cage up. Even in the direst of features (The Knight Before Christmas and The Princess Switch spring to mind), there is some feeble token of gentility. A real desire to preach the good word of Christmas and all the gifts that come with it. No matter how tough the going gets for these festive caricatures, they are bound to meet with a happy, satisfying ending. That safety is why audiences may find Single All the Way, at the very least, vaguely charming. Michael Urie has worked the coalface of acting for years, but this year, along with Swan Song, appears to be a year for him to leave his mark. To truly plant his flag in the field of leading men. He does so with confidence, and it is a fine performance.
Fine performances are the bread and butter of Single All the Way. Philemon Chambers and a supporting role from Jennifer Coolidge make for some acceptable moments of light and breezy comedy. That is what this feature is: light and breezy. Don’t expect anything more. To expect Single All the Way to set the world on fire is a tad harsh and irresponsible. It will work as a vaguely passable Christmas filler, like a stocking present or last-minute, panicked purchase for some relative only met once or twice a year. Single All the Way is malleable. Influenced one way or another, this Michael Mayer feature can be stretched and crushed in any way that appeases the narrative and those consuming it. That is not a bad quality to have for a Christmas feature, and it is reassuring to see that Single All the Way understands its purpose and does nothing more than that.
Single All the Way has the benefit of pushing the boundaries of the typical audience gaze, but the quality behind it all is a tad grim. A script that desperately needs an intervention sees actors give good performances, but these are performances that should be beyond just the usual humdrum Christmas affair. Compared to the other, modern outputs of the festive period, Single All the Way is leagues ahead of them. But it is no league to compete in. The Christmas films of the modern era have coughed up Noelle and Last Christmas, and the playing field is full of Hallmark tragedies. Single All the Way may be ahead of the rest, but that is no grand achievement.