My Norwegian Holidayis one of several hit Hallmark Christmas movies released in 2023 - and it manages to stand out even though it was an incredibly strong year for the network’s festive films. As the title suggests,My Norwegian Holidaytakes place in Norway. The story follows JJ (Rhiannon Fish) who travels to the Nordic country to uncover the mystery behind a troll statue she inherited from her grandmother.
However, once she reaches the snowy European country, she discovers much more than the meaning of the mysterious heirloom. She meets and soon falls for Henrik (David Elsendoorn), and their textbook Hallmark love story soon unfolds. However,My Norwegian Holidayhas much more going for it than the traditionalHallmark Christmas romance tropes, as it offers a surprisingly deep and incredibly unique viewing experience that sets it apart.
My Norwegian Holiday Is Worth Watching
The 2023 Christmas Film Has A Lot Of Thematic Depth For A Hallmark Movie
If there’s one word that sums up whyMy Norwegian Holidaystands out from other Hallmark Christmas movies, it’s maturity.This doesn’t mean that it contains adult content (it is rated TV-G, after all). Rather, it explores several themes and topics with much more depth and balance than the majority of Hallmark’s festive season releases. This is a key reason thatMy Norwegian Holidayis worth watching - though it’s also far from its only noteworthy strength.
There aremany Hallmark Christmas moviesthat feel like jigsaw collages of the network’s many tried-and-tested storytelling tropes wrapped up in a holiday season aesthetic. While this is, of course, a winning recipe for heartwarming Christmas movies fans of Hallmark know and love,My Norwegian Holidaydefinitely isn’t one of these titles (though it still has plenty of the staple Hallmark wholesomeness that viewers have come to expect).
Specifically,My Norwegian Holidaytakes a lot of time to explore what love and fear mean to those experiencing the emotions, and how they play into one another.While it is a love story filled with tender romantic moments like many of thebest Hallmark Christmas movies, it doesn’t simply throw its central couple together without the characters stopping for introspection to figure out what they’re feeling and why.
This also ties into two other strengths ofMy Norwegian Holiday -the script and the supporting characters.Screenwriter Betsy Morris did a fantastic job at creating incredibly natural dialogue that managed to be both thematically deep (and quite philosophically heavy in places) without anything coming across like heavy-handed exposition.This is a credit both to Morris as a writer andMy Norwegian Holidayas a movie, because there have been many romance films whose attempts to explore the concept of love end up with the central couple simply monologuing at one-another.
JJ and Henrik’s love story is a textbook Hallmark Christmas film romance, but it’s comfortably
nestled within a surprisingly cerebral viewing experience.
My Norwegian Holidaydoesn’t explore the complexity of Rhiannon Fish’s JJ or David Eisendoorn’s Henrik’s feelings for one another by having the pair spew long tangents of uninterrupted talking. Instead,the pair learn, explore, and navigate their growing love for one another (and the fear that comes with) through conversations with the rich tapestry of supporting characters- or, just as often, JJ and Henrik pick up some unexpected 2nd hand insight or wisdom by listening to these same characters talk to each other too.
Characters like Deirdre Monaghan’s Astrid or Conor Mullen’s Anders are incredibly effective vehicles forMy Norwegian Holiday’sexploration of what love actually means.What’s more, the above-average thematic depth never gets in the way ofMy Norwegian Holidaybeing a Hallmark movies. There’s still plenty of room for all the heartwarming and borderline-cliche romantic moments that fans of the network expect. JJ and Henrik’s love story is atextbook Hallmark Christmas filmromance, but it’s comfortably nestled within a surprisingly cerebral viewing experience.
The other reasonMy Norwegian Holidayis worth watching is given away by the title. This is, of course, the setting.No other Hallmark Christmas movies have been set in Norway, which gives the film a unique charm.Not only does it feature some breathtaking shots of the Norwegian landscape, but it also showcases several unique Christmas customs and traditions. These makeMy Norwegian Holidaytruly stand out, and only add to it being much more intellectually stimulating than the average Hallmark movie.
My Norwegian Holiday Is Available To Stream On Hallmark TV Now
The Additional Subscription For Amazon Prime Video And Apple TV+ Is Required
If viewers want to watchMy Norwegian Holidaywithout taking up an additional streaming subscription, the 2023 Hallmark Christmas movie is also available for purchase on both Apple TV and Amazon Video. It’s priced at $9.99 on both platforms and currently isn’t offered for rental.
