Jack in Time for Christmas Review: Oddly Silly and Confusing

In this Prime Video Christmas special, Jack Whitehall makes a desperate attempt to travel from the US to the UK just a few days prior to Christmas. He tries to take the help of well-known faces along this insane adventure who sometimes help and hinder his journey and make it memorable.

The film, with a runtime of around 65 minutes, is part-scripted and part-travelogue.

Jack in Time for Christmas Review

Prime Video’s Christmas unscripted/travelogue film is an oddball. A little confusing and based on a flimsy premise, the film, following Jack Whitehall as he runs around the USA trying to get back to his family in the UK in time for Christmas, gets extremely unfunny soon after it starts and somehow feels dated and bloated around 20 minutes in. Filled with callbacks from past popular movies and shows that have dealt with Christmas, the film somehow feels both desperate and not trying hard enough and makes you question the point of it all after you finally reach the end.

And don’t get me wrong, Jack in Time for Christmas does get a few chuckles out of me. But in retrospect, it’s only during the times when the film was referencing other popular and well-loved pieces of media from the past. Every other time, there were crickets from my end, including the insane situations Whitehall somehow finds himself in and the cheeky conversations he has with other comedians and actors.

The premise of the show, I feel, is a bit too confusing for this to truly hit the spot. Personally, it’s best if a show commits to being one thing instead of going every other way trying to make something stick. This is clearly scripted and so the travel shenanigans feel rather stupid and the jokes that are exchanged in conversation are just so mid-tier that it’s difficult to find the urge to laugh. Also, this might be a personal gripe, but the fact that Whitehall HAS TO go out and watch a hockey game while his partner takes care of Christmas decorations and a baby doesn’t make me laugh – don’t even get me started on that can of worms!

The participants in this mishmash of genres seem to also lack a lot of chemistry and sometimes feel like they are being held at gunpoint to push out some lame joke. The whole premise that these well-known celebrities who apparently live for Christmas are actually grinches who can murder carollers has also run its course. It’s a little boring at this point and overdone.

That being said, I think the film is overall harmless. The celebrity sightings can be quite fun for some people, and there are some genuine moments that will make you giggle. The absurdity can get under one’s skin, and although it gets quite boring sometimes and is not unique, there’s ultimately no harm here that will make your blood boil—just some bad jokes. Whitehall seems to have taken the assignment quite seriously, which is always great to watch and if nothing else, he tries his hardest to make this entertaining. I think the film would’ve been funnier if it cut down some of its segments.

I did genuinely laugh at some moments but then the film ruined it by taking it too far and losing the charm. The light-hearted, silly nature is endearing but Jack in Time for Christmas overdoes it and ruins the joke in the end, making you skip to the next segment.

Final Thoughts

Prime Video’s Christmas special could’ve been entertaining but turns out to consist of some random insane situations and hoping for the best. The absurdity of it all is what makes it so confusing and the mishmash of genres just doesn’t work. And although it does get some laughs out of viewers, overall, it’s just a mid-tier comedy that tries too hard until it doesn’t.

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