The bait-y allure of a real Lindsay Lohan comeback has been tied more to the headline than the small print, the troubled star’s first lead role in more than a decade mattering more than what it’s actually in. Because for many of us of a certain age and a certain pop culture investment, the enthusiastically publicised ups and mostly downs of her life have given us a deep-rooted desire to see her succeed, working against a negative tabloid and industry-at-large perception and also working against her worst self.
The textbook descent from precocious pre-pubescent to twentysomething tearaway inevitably overshadowed the undeniable fact that Lohan was, at her height, a winning presence, a natural who held her own at a young age against some of the greats. Her return to the screen is both minor and major; minor in that it’s in a rote Hallmark-adjacent Christmas movie and major because it will be available on Netflix, where it will probably be a substantial hit for an audience eager for a) festive fluff and b) festive fluff starring Lindsay Lohan.
