Movie Review: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (Disney+)

By John Corrado

The Jonas Brothers are back in A Very Jonas Christmas Movie, the Disney Plus Original that finds the boyband brothers trying to get back home for Christmas.

The film opens with brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas finishing up their tour in London just days before Christmas, and looking forward to getting home in time for the holidays. They all want to get back to their kids, but also, secretly, away from each other.

But they end up stranded in the city when their private plane mysteriously blows up on the runway. This sends them on a comic misadventure scrambling to find an alternate route back to New York, with enough time for some musical numbers along the way, of course!

Directed by Jessica Yu (Quiz Lady), A Very Jonas Christmas Movie has the vibe of an old school Disney flick. The brothers are playing versions of themselves, and their dynamic is what underpins the film. Nick is tired of feeling like the responsible one, having to arrange all the set lists and schedules and make decisions for the band. Joe is tired of being seen as a player, while Kevin can’t find the right time to have an important conversation with his two brothers.

The cast is rounded out by many familiar faces, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Santa Claus, who is presented as a mysterious gentleman with a white beard who wants to see the brothers getting along again. We also get appearances from Billie Lourd as a travel agent, Chloe Bennet as a love interest, and Andrea Martin as an Uber driver, among other cameos. Andrew Barth Feldman appears in one of the most amusing scenes as a Broadway diva who has beef with Nick.

It’s all a little cheesy, and the story isn’t exactly brilliant, leaning heavily into getting home for the holidays tropes, with a magical fantasy element to it. But the brothers themselves have an enjoyable dynamic together, and there are enough fun cameos, amusing comic bits, and toe-tapping musical numbers sprinkled throughout the short and sweet 78 minutes to keep it entertaining. It’s the sort of thing that is made to be watched on a snowy winter afternoon with a cup of hot chocolate, and it delivers just that.