Silverstone, Jonas Brothers spread festive cheer in new movies

Christmas movies, especially in our modern streaming era, exist on a different plane than other forms of filmed entertainment.

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We look to these movies not for innovation, but for comfort. They're background entertainment stuffed with holiday cheer and puffy coats, the more cliches they pack in before the final lessons are learned about the true spirit of the holiday season, the better.

They're often vehicles for stars who aren't headlining mainstream movies anymore, or are on their way back from a career hiatus - see Lindsay Lohan in 2022's “Falling for Christmas” — and in that vein, we have Netflix’s “A Merry Little Ex-Mas,” which gives Alicia Silverstone her most high-profile screen role in years. The “Clueless” star remains a steady presence in movies, notably appearing in small roles in several Yorgos Lanthimos films (including 2017's “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and this year’s “Bugonia”). But she hasn't been allowed to sparkle in years, the way she does in “Ex-Mas.”