Halloween is over and Christmas is here—at least, according to Netflix, it is. Meet Me Next Christmas, which began streaming today, is the first of many Netflix original holiday movies coming to the streamer in 2024. And it comes with plenty of Christmas cheer—like former pop star Christina Milian and former professional football player Devale Ellis performing a “Santa Baby” lip sync, and absolutely crushing it.
Directed by Rusty Cundieff, with a screenplay by Molly Haldeman and Camilla Rubis, Meet Me Next Christmas stars Milian as as Layla, a woman who has a picture-perfect airport meet-cute with a handsome guy named James (Kofi Siriboe). The only problem? Layla already has a boyfriend. James makes her a deal: If, for some reason, they are both single next Christmas, they will meet at the Pentatonix concert at Radio City.
When Layla and her boyfriend break-up right before the next Christmas Eve, she figures it’s meant to be with James. But she doesn’t have a ticket to the sold-out Pentatonix show. She hires a concierge named Teddy (Devale Ellis) to find her a ticket. The stakes are high for Teddy, too—his customer reviews aren’t great, and his boss tells him his job is on the line. But apparently, in this universe, Pentatonix tickets are more difficult to obtain than a Taylor Swift concert. Let the wild goose chase begin.
After a long day of shenanigans, Layla and Teddy finally have a lead on a ticket, thanks to Teddy’s cousin Jordy (played by Kalen Allen), who performs as a local drag queen. All Layla and Teddy have to do is a win a Christmas-themed lip sync battle, and the ticket is theirs! Easy, right? Of course not! But Jordy trains his protégées and gets them up to speed on the choreography as best he can.
The hard work pays off: Layla and Teddy slay (sleigh?) their sensual lip sync performance of Eartha Kitt’s hit single, “Santa Baby,” which, as we all know, is the sexiest Christmas song. First, Milian sashays on stage in a sparkly, skin-tight jumpsuit, followed by Teddy in a full-on Santa costume. Milian takes a seat in Santa’s lap, gives him just the hint of a lap dance, and then yanks off his beard and hat.
At this point, Ellis hops out of his sleigh and starts spitting bars. Well, lip-syncing bars, at least. Then he and Milian perform the rest of their routine with an appropriate amount of sass and sparkle. Milian’s years of pop star trying no doubt came in handy. And Ellis—who had a short stint in the NFL with the Lions and Browns in the 2000s—definitely has some moves, too.
Even though they don’t win the tickets in the end, they are winners in my heart. They certainly hurried down that chimney, alright!
