Directed by Mark Alazraki, “A Not So Merry Christmas” is a Netflix Spanish film that teaches us the value of our family. The movie follows a middle-aged man who is fed up with his mundane life and despises Christmas. The reason he hates Christmas is that it is also the day he was born, and his family tends to forget that. After a family dinner on Christmas Eve, he meets a strange man who puts a spell on him.
Spoilers Ahead
‘A Not So Merry Christmas’ Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Movie?
The movie opens up with Chuy, the protagonist, on a bed. It is Christmas Eve, and he is asked to bring Christmas presents for his family. His wife, Daniela, is a homemaker who dreams of opening a pet salon. She asks Chuy for advice and shows him her vision board, but he seems uninterested in it; he says being a business woman and a homemaker would not go well together. Chuy is a man who is grumpy all the time and has a long face every Christmas. He has a big family that he does not seem to like. Chuy’s sister asks him to pick up their parents from their home, and since he has to do all the work on his birthday, he starts hating Christmas. He thinks all the good things said about Christmas are nonsensical, and everyone is a hypocrite for celebrating a day with family when in reality, they are just saying sweet things for the sake of it. Chuy also owns a shop in a mall, where his employee asks him to hire a cleaner to clean the windows since he can’t do it all the time, but Chuy declines. Chuy does not believe in spending money; he believes in saving more than spending, so he is always making up excuses not to do his work properly. When he buys the Christmas presents and is done running errands for the family dinner, he goes to pick up his parents. On the way home, he is rude to his parents and looks irritated by their presence. During the family dinner, where each member of his family seems happy, Chuy is the only one with a long face. He is so self-obsessed that he stops caring about his family and never listens to them. From the very beginning, we see Chuy being ungrateful for having it all; he has a beautiful family that he does not value, and his family starts noticing his behavior.
Who Puts A Spell On Chuy?
During family dinner, Chuy gets upset and leaves the dinner table. He goes to a bar and meets a strange man there. This man calls himself Chuy’s Diva Godmother. He tells Chuy that every year Santa makes a list of people who behave well and those who behave badly, and Chuy is on the bad behavior list. He later tells Chuy that he is putting a spell on him for his bad behavior, and Chuy does not buy anything that is told to him. The next morning, when he wakes up, it is Christmas Eve again! Chuy gets stuck in a loop where he wakes up every day, and it’s Christmas Eve all over again. This spell becomes a curse for him. Irritated by his situation, he goes to the Diva Godmother for help. He asks the Diva Godmother to remove the spell; however, the spell can only be removed if he starts smiling and spends one Christmas dinner happily with his family. Chuy starts running errands again and spends Christmas dinner with his family. But the spell is still on. He wakes up doing the same things all over again, and years pass by. He sees his children growing up and his business falling over the years. His daughter becomes a replica of him and starts behaving grumpily too. When Chuy meets the Diva Godmother again, he is dressed as a priest. He tells Chuy about the story of Santa Claus and how he was a nobleman who was kind to the poor. Learning from the story of Santa Claus, Chuy goes to Burger King and donates money to an organization that gives food to poor children. He later goes to an orphanage and gives food to a nun there. Thinking he broke the spell after being generous, he wakes up to find out he is far from breaking the spell. He sees his wife starting a new business, and she gets very busy with her life. Nobody comes to his room, and he is now left alone with a family that is busy and seems distant from one another. When he goes out to meet Diva Godmother, he is dressed as a monk and teaches him about Buddhism. Next, he is dressed as a rabbi and teaches Chuy about prayers. Chuy does everything he can to break the spell; however, all his efforts go in vain. He is confused and frustrated and has no answers left. He goes to the Diva Godmother and begs for the spell to be broken. Diva Godmother warns him about the consequences of breaking the spell, but Chuy stands his ground; he demands that the spell be taken back. Diva Godmother takes the spell back.
‘A Not So Merry Christmas’ Ending Explained – What Happens To Chuy After The Spell Is Broken?
After his spell is broken, he wakes up happily. Finally, he is free from the spell. However, his family is now shattered. All these years, while he was under a spell, he missed out on being with his family. He has no memory of what he did over the years, and his life just went by. We get to know that his son is upset with him because he reacted badly when his son told him he was gay. His reaction made his son shift to a different apartment. Meanwhile, Chuy’s wife files for a divorce. Everyone still has the same opinion of Chuy, and he finally sees his mistake. He never valued the family and friends who loved him when he had the life everyone desired. He learns his lesson and tries to make amends. He puts in a lot of effort to get his wife back, but she refuses to even talk to him. Chuy goes to his parents’ place and finds out that his mother has died. He starts missing his mother and regrets saying mean things. He goes to his brother next and hugs him. He later asks his wife to have a Christmas dinner with him. Even though it is not Christmas, he puts all his efforts into bringing his family together. He also apologizes to his son and daughter. They have a happy family dinner together.
We later see that the Godmother pushes a button, and he wakes up young the next day. He goes back in time and brings his family back together. This time, he starts valuing his family and spends his birthday with them peacefully and happily. We hear him say that Christmas is about family and cherishing each moment with them. All the characters in the movie play an important role in teaching Chuy a lesson: life is short, and family is one’s backbone. One should always cherish the little moments and be grateful for life. Each second is important, and festivals are celebrated to bring families closer. It is a holiday where one can spend quality time with their family without having to worry about anything else. This movie teaches us that all religions preach kindness and that in this world, the need of the hour is being kind to one another. There is no doubt that this movie is made for children; however, it is a heartwarming Christmas movie that one can watch with their family.