A RISK-FREE ROMCOM

My Secret Santa is a Christmas gift that doesn't surprise

- STORY: TATAT BUNNAG

Alexander Breckenridge, the familiar face of so many TV romcoms, returns to Netflix in My Secret Santa, the platform's newest addition to the holiday romance assembly line. It's a movie that leans into the warm, predictable comfort of the genre, even if that comes at the cost of depth or surprises.

Breckenridge plays Taylor Jacobson, a vivacious single mother who desperately needs a job and ends up disguising herself as a man to land the seasonal Santa role at a luxury ski resort.

Naturally, her plan spirals into chaos when she begins falling for Matthew (Ryan Eggold), the resort manager. It’s a setup that has shades of Mrs. Doubtfire — not in tone, but in that familiar “I'm pretending to be someone else to get by” disguise-driven premise.

Just as Mrs Doubtfire used a chaotic ruse to keep a family together, My Secret Santa uses Taylor's deception to launch her into a situation she would never have chosen but now must navigate, all to secure a better life for her daughter.

Breckenridge leans into the charm most viewers already expect from her Netflix roles. She channels some of the same emotional warmth and intuition that made her popular in Virgin River, but here she adds a little more spice — liveliness, humour and a slightly snarky edge. As Taylor, she has a sweetness that never feels cloying, and she carries herself with a cautious optimism.