‘Tis the season for Christmas movies, but Something From Tiffany’s has the makings of a classic romantic film that just so happens to take place around the holidays. 

In fact, it shouldn’t even fall under the category of Christmas movies as the protagonist, Rachel (Zoey Deutch,  is Jewish, and thus, the film falls under the Chrismukkah genre. 

And that’s just one of the things that makes it stand out from the holiday herd. 

*** SPOILERS AHEAD — Stop reading now if you haven’t watched the movie ***

It’s rare to find a film with so much heart amongst the manufactured and overly cheesy offerings that come out of this season but leave it to Reese Witherspoon to make it happen.

Witherspoon takes her wealth of knowledge about what it takes to create a successful romantic movie behind the scenes, letting a new generation shine on the screen and dazzle audiences… and they don’t let her—or us—down.

The plot of the film is fairly simple and straightforward—a switcheroo at Tiffany’s throws two relationships into turmoil—but what makes it stand out is the believable acting and chemistry between the leads, Deutch’s Rachel and Kendrick Sampson’s Ethan.

From their first meet-cute at the hospital, it’s clear that there’s an unspoken chemistry between Rachel and Ethan. You can feel that connection getting stronger with every line and every personal anecdote they share with each other, like Ethan opening up about his late wife or his idea for a novel, which he didn’t even disclose to his girlfriend Vanessa (Shay Mitchell).

Credit: Amazon/ Something From Tiffany’s

But though they definitely acknowledge the attraction—how could they not?—they remain in denial, convincing themselves that they’re in the right relationships when everyone around them, particularly Rachel’s BFF and business partner Terri (Jojo T. Gibbs), knows that couldn’t be further from the truth. Terri serves as the film’s comical relief, though she doesn’t have to try hard at it, she just is with her witty one-liners and glaring distaste for Gary (Ray Nicholson), which is deserved. 

Daisy, Ethan’s daughter, on the other hand, is the whip-smart preteen who knows that Vanessa is not the right woman for the job, but she’s going to let her dad figure that out on her own. 

The whole gift from Tiffany’s mixup is a good excuse for Ethan not to look at the facts right away, as he’s so motivated to get the ring back. And he’s thrown a loop when he tries to Gary, the man hit by the car when they accidentally switched bags, and realizes that he used the ring to propose.

In Gary’s defense, he didn’t have any memory of what happened from his time shopping at Tiffany’s, so when Rachel opened the box, he assumed it was the purchase he made. However, that defense is short-lived as he definitely knew something was up when he found the receipt and saw that he bought a pair of earrings instead. And when Ethan finally came to confront him, Gary proved that he’s a self-centered jerk by pretending that he didn’t know what he was talking about and refusing to cop to his part in the messy situation. 

The plot unfolds in a rather unpredictable way, which only adds to the enjoyment of viewers. Rachel doesn’t find out about the mixup through Gary or Ethan, who chose not to say anything because he didn’t want to hurt her. Instead, she learns the truth from the sales lady at Tiffany’s who remembered the ring and told her she sold it to the man and his daughter, Daisy. From there, Rachel realizes that Gary’s whole proposal felt like it was too good to be true because it was. 

Nothing feels forced or contrived like in some formulaic holiday films—from the organic way Ethan and Rachel establish a relationship to Rachel’s decision to break up with Gary for reasons not associated with Ethan. 

Ethan and Rachel are drawn to each other through sheer circumstance, and the more they spent around each other, their connection makes more and more sense. Their lives fit into each other as they have similar likes, interests, and outlooks, but it becomes clearer that his road is divulging from Vanessa’s, who has never been overly supportive of his career and didn’t want to move back to NYC. A common characteristic of the “other woman” in rom-coms is that she’s a bad person, but that’s not the case here. Vanessa is brilliant and accomplished, but at the end of the day, she’s just not Ethan’s person… and that’s okay.

Credit: Amazon/ Something From Tiffany’s

The location could’ve easily shifted to a small town, but that’s also what distinguishes it from all the subpar and cheesy films churned out yearly—it embraces New York City. The leading lady isn’t some heartless, overworked and underappreciated career woman who needs to escape to find herself.  A warmth radiates from Rachel, a self-assured boss babe who runs a bustling bakery/restaurant. Though she’s had her share of failures, she’s used them as motivation. So what if she eats too many pastries? And so what if I spend half the film wondering how she stays so lean after eating several cornettos a day? The point is, it’s possible for NYC not to be painted as the villain, but rather, the perfect backdrop for a holiday film with its bright twinkling lights, crisp snowflakes, and pristine decor that sets a magical mood.

It wasn’t the city inspiring Ethan to write, it was Rachel, and for someone who just got engaged, she couldn’t stop thinking about another man. And if someone you just met takes up permanent residence in your brain, it’s safe to say you should probably heed the warning.

As mentioned, I liked that Rachel’s feelings for Ethan didn’t lead to her split with Gary. There’s no doubt that they likely played a part, but Rachel could no longer avoid the unavoidable; she was at her wits end and made the move that was a long time coming, which gave her a clean slate to finally take the risk and follow her heart. 

Ethan got a little push from his daughter, who informed him that he needed to get the girl through a big romantic gesture. It wasn’t a boombox, but a flower delivery asking Rachel to meet him at “their spot”—because yes, they already have one of those so early on which is how you know it’s right—if she feels the same way about him.

The film didn’t challenge the rom-com status quo because the formula already works (otherwise, we wouldn’t have all these films shoved down our throats each year), but it did gave it a bit of a facelift to keep it fresh and fun, which was enough to give the film some staying power.

And they addressed my one gripe with holiday flicks that end so abruptly once the lovers get together, leaving the audience hanging after they’ve just invested nearly two hours into this journey.

We deserve to know what happens after that first kiss, and when Something From Tiffany’s jumps one year forward, it’s clear the difference a year can make. Instead of a broken engagement, Ethan is getting down on one knee to pop the question with the something from Tiffany’s—the ring that was meant to be Rachel’s all along.

And all it took was one innocent mix-up.

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