No Sleep ‘Til Christmas

Directed by Phil Traill, No Sleep ‘Til Christmas follows two insomniac strangers (Dave Annable’s Billy and Odette Annable’s Lizzie) as they discover that they’re only able to sleep while in each other’s company – which inevitably causes problems for Lizzie and her engagement to Charles Michael Davis’ Josh. It’s a romcom-friendly premise that’s initially employed to forgettable yet affable effect by Traill, as the filmmaker, armed with his and Steve Smith’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced and mostly watchable endeavor that benefits from its agreeable performances – with the Annables’ personable efforts generally ensuring that the picture is, in its early stages, basically entertaining. (This is despite a setup that couldn’t possibly be sillier or less convincing.) There’s little doubt, then, that No Sleep ‘Til Christmas‘ downfall is triggered by a wheel-spinning second half that throws in one needless complication after another, presumably in an effort to keep Billy and Lizzie apart until the finale, and it is, as such, difficult to work up much interest in or enthusiasm for the upbeat happenings that close out the proceedings – which effectively cements the film’s place as a mindless romantic comedy that’s admittedly not as awful as it could’ve been.

** out of ****