No Sleep ‘Til Christmas, a holiday romantic comedy initially aired on Freeform in 2018 and has since made its way to Netflix. This charming film stars real-life couple Odette Annable and Dave Annable, portraying two disparate individuals from Chicago who are united by their mutual battle with insomnia. What begins as a quirky encounter evolves into a complicated love triangle since Odette’s character, Lizzie, is already engaged to another man, played by Charles Michael Davis. The ensemble cast includes Alphonso McAuley, Jess Salgueiro, and a pre-Abbott Elementary Sheryl Lee Ralph, contributing to this peculiar tale where audiences may find it challenging to root for the central romance.

The Gist: Lizzie Hinnel (Odette Annable) is an event planner in Chicago, seemingly living the dream. However, insomnia has taken a toll on her meticulous nature. Struggling to finalize wedding plans with her charming fiancé, Josh (Charles Michael Davis), and his somewhat domineering mother, Mrs. Wright (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Lizzie finds herself too exhausted to engage in discussions. Her erratic sleep schedule spirals out of control, leading to a bizarre incident where she misses a bridal fitting, mistakenly threatens a peculiarly British bus driver, and ends up in jail, needing her future mother-in-law to bail her out. Clearly, Lizzie’s life is in disarray.

Bartender Billy Wilson (Dave Annable) isn’t faring much better. Stuck in a rut after a long battle with insomnia and a recent breakup, Billy dreams of opening his own bar but lacks the resources. One restless night, he decides to go for a run at 3 a.m., coincidentally when Lizzie decides to take a drive—sunglasses on, inexplicably—to pass the time. The two collide, quite literally, when Lizzie accidentally hits Billy with her car.

Instead of heading inside the hospital, Lizzie and Billy unexpectedly fall asleep in the car, waking up refreshed after a rare full night of sleep. However, once they part ways, the insomnia creeps back in. Desperate to regain her life, Lizzie devises a wild plan to sleep beside Billy until she can sort out her work and wedding arrangements. Though initially hesitant, Billy agrees when Lizzie offers to invest in his dream bar. Thus begins their unconventional relationship, fraught with its own challenges and uncertainties.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Watching No Sleep ‘Til Christmas might evoke memories of Materialists, as both films feature a female protagonist who leaves a seemingly ideal partner for a rugged man with whom she shares little apparent compatibility.

Performance Worth Watching: Charles Michael Davis plays Josh Wright with so much genuine compassion and sweetness, you almost want to shed a tear as you witness what Lizzie is putting him through over the course of the movie. Justice for Josh!

And even in a smaller role, Sheryl Lee Ralph shines with her terrific talent, line readings, and displays of genuine emotion that make it easy to sympathize more with her supposedly difficult mother-in-law, Mrs. Wright, than you ever do with Lizzie.

Memorable Dialogue: Sheryl Lee Ralph’s perfectly delivered, “I really wish I’d left you in jail,” from Mrs. Wright to Lizzie, genuinely made me cackle.

Sex and Skin: There are a lot of allusions to sex, from joking about “sleeping together” and “quickies,” to Billy waking up to an unwelcome morning erection while next to Lizzie, but you never see any actual sex or skin. Just good ol’ fashioned emotional infidelity.

Our Take: No Sleep ‘Til Christmas has one of the weirdest premises I’ve ever seen in a holiday movie (and trust me, that’s saying something). Why would a woman choose to sleep in a car in an empty parking lot in the middle of the night with a strange man? And then why would she be tempted to leave her lovely, accomplished doctor fiancé for said man? Why would a guy feel safe enough to fall asleep next to a woman who hit him with her car and didn’t even seem very sorry about it? Why would the two of them keep referring to their arrangement with sexual innuendos while talking about it in public?

However, my biggest question of all is perhaps what Billy and Josh even see in Lizzie, because she spends almost the entire movie being negative, passive-aggressive, and selfish. She makes unhinged, poor choices again and again with no regard for how her actions and words will affect others, and it just makes you not want to root for her or watch her story. She and Billy have nothing in common besides insomnia, so it’s just hard to imagine that they could really be happy together, and it’s more unsettling than entertaining as you watch them make bad decisions together in the name of love and slumber.

But hey, it wasn’t all bad! I liked how the movie was clearly filmed on location in Chicago, which makes the world of No Sleep ‘Til Christmas feel a little more lived in. I appreciated the movie’s efforts to depict characters on a spectrum of different races and sexualities. I also thought that supporting characters like Josh, Mrs. Wright, Andy (Alphonso McAuley), Gemma (Jess Salgueiro), Vivian (Tina Jung), and Kristina (Stacey McGunnigle) were all more likable and natural in their limited screentime than Lizzie was in all of hers. Sorry, not sorry, Lizzie.

Our Call: Nothing about No Sleep ‘Til Christmas really makes sense, most of all the budding romance between Lizzie and Billy. It’s not charming; it’s toeing the line with cheating, and it’s just not fun to watch. SKIP IT!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (At least, that’s what Andy Williams promised.) The holidays are a time to celebrate with family, friends, food, and, let’s not forget, fun things to watch. Whether you’re huddled up with the whole family in your living room or cozying up under the covers with your tablet, let Decider be your guide to all things festive this holiday season.

Maddy Casale is a Chicago-based writer and comedian who covers everything from animated series to Hallmark movies. Follow her on Duolingo @MCasale.