Let it bro, let it bro, let it bro.

If the title A Very Jonas Christmas Movie hadn’t sold me, the previous sentence punctuating the teaser trailer did its due diligence. I’m not typically a trailer fan (hello, spoilers), but I viewed this one anticipating the plot, and came away satisfied that I was right. I have three words for you: cliché, camp, classic.

Will the bros make it home in time for the holidays? What obstacles will complicate their journey? These predictable questions are what make a comfort film. Move over, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987), The Jonas Brothers are tackling their hurdles through song.

The film immediately sets its tone with Christmas movie icon and comedic legend Will Ferrell playing a Jo Bros superfan version of himself. Star-studded is an understatement here: Andrea Martin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Laverne Cox, and Randall Park are just a few from the constellation of big-shot names in the cast. 

Condragulations, Rupaul’s Drag Race fans—choreographer Jamal Sims knocks every number out of the park, including a dance move that led me (and likely other viewers across the world) to yell at my TV: “THAT’S A CAMP ROCK EASTER EGG!” The man is no Disney rookie; I was unsurprised to see Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) and Encanto (2021) on his extensive IMDB page. The “Hoedown Throwdown” energy is palpable in A Very Jonas Christmas.

Although they aren’t playing fictional characters, the bros satirize themselves: Joe as a messy womanizer, Nick as an anal control freak, and Kevin as a whimsical underdog. Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Santa casts a spell on the trio: they cannot make it home for Christmas until they reconcile their relationships with one another. I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say that some fellas learn their lesson.

Early on, we watch Nick and Kevin FaceTime their wives to express their anticipation and excitement about being with family for the holidays. Following these scenes, it cuts to Joe alone at a bar. I was impressed when the movie addressed the Sansa Stark-shaped elephant in the room: Sophie Turner’s absence. Joe and Sophie split in 2023 with a messy legal battle punctuated by shady headlines and rumors. As a lover of the Morticia-Gomez romance the pair had cultivated years prior, I flew my 2000s Jo Bros purse at half-mast upon hearing the news. 

However, the writers saw an opportunity and they took it. What’s a Christmas movie without a romantic storyline? Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. enthusiasts will recognize Chloe Bennet as she takes center stage playing Lucy in the childhood-best-friends-reconnecting trope opposite Joe. As the two walk alongside the Amsterdam canals, Joe says, “I’ve got a few bad break-ups under my belt as well.” Lucy admits she’s not sure what to do, asking, “Do people pretend not to know literally everything about your personal life? And then, do you pretend not to know that they’re pretending not to know?” It’s more of a conversation with us, as audience members, than between the two characters. 

The whole film made me ponder the legal team conversations that must have taken place to make a movie with a central love story for freshly divorced Joe, while maintaining that light Disney Channel brand. I never thought that he’d catch this lovebug again.

The film and its timing come across wisely, given Disney’s recent controversy regarding the politically reactionary cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September. Although A Very Jonas Christmas was announced in January, the mouse must truly pull the universe’s strings because it’s a redemptive work to arrive as folks hesitantly resubscribe to Disney+ and forgive and forget Joe’s scandals.

My favorite scene had to be the horrendous lyricism and fabulous melodrama of Ethan’s (Andrew Barth Feldman) duet with Nick. The bros seek Ethan out in pursuit of his private jet, despite Nick’s warning that Ethan hated him while the pair worked on Home Alone: The Musical. They decide to perform the titular Home Alone (1990) song from this fictional musical for Ethan’s guests. It’s an instant classic, opening with: “Being home alone is like being home with no, with no people. I was alone, ‘cause there were no people.” This scene felt like a delectable combination of Bob’s Burgers and Glee, reminiscent of Matthew Morrison and Neil Patrick Harris’s “Dream On” tenor-off. I wouldn’t change a thing.

We enjoy A Very Jonas Christmas Movie because the brothers, among other celebrities, let us in on the joke and make fun of themselves. They’re aware of who they are, and the movie itself is aware of what it is. It achieves everything it sets out to achieve. It’s the same way that Charli XCX plays a rude diva version of herself in Overcompensating (2025-), or Woody Harrelson’s ultra hippie self-caricature in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2004). Our boys—nay, our grown men—don’t shy away from some self-deprecation.

In lieu of DVD special features, one can find A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Yule Log on Disney+ if one seeks an hour of Jo Bro fireplace ambiance. Both specials lend to the evergreen genius of holiday work, inviting folks to revisit them with each passing year. 

Although nothing can compete with Die Hard (1988), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), or whatever classic you and yours snuggle up to watch every December, I must admit: I’m a sucker for you, A Very Jonas Christmas Movie.

Review Courtesy of Risa Bolash

Feature Image Credit to Disney via CNET