Celebrating the Holidays with Netflix's The Merry Gentlemen!

It’s Christmas! It may have been the end of a long work day or midway through a hectic work week. Stress levels are high all around. Whatever the reason it is, it’s time to just tune it all out and enjoy some holiday cheer with some abs.

““To save her parents’ small-town performing venue, a former big-city dancer decides to stage an all-male, Christmas-themed revue.””

— Synopsis - "The Merry Gentlemen"

Netflix has add to the tradition of saccharine holiday movies with some good ‘ol strip teasing with “The Merry Gentlemen”.

As with all holiday movies, it starts off with some bad news. For years, Ashley (play by Britt Robertson) has devoted her body and energy into being a main dancer for the “Jingles Belle’s”, a show similar to to the high stepping Rockettes. Despite her skills and youthful looks, Ashley is “aged” out of the group and is forced to go back home.

For a holiday movie, this scenario already hits so many sensitive topics. Many films have covered how brutally difficult it is to start a career as a dancer, actor, or any performance art. Few have mentioned the brittle longevity of these careers. So to see a holiday movie cite selective ageism as the reason for going home for the holidays is pretty realistic. It’s not mentioned at all, but the other reason for going home was that she couldn’t afford stay in the city. It’s unknown if Ashley had another dancing job to sustain herself throughout the year but it must not have been enough to survive. The economics of Ashley’s city life in the beginning is the only true dose of realism as she returns to her whimsical hometown.

Now enter the ailing family business: The Rhythm Bar. The Rhythm Bar has historically been the towns hotspot for entertainment and talent. Now, modern times have changed the landscape of live entertainment so the bar has taken a nosedive into debt. Small fi, this is the other dose of realism into the story. Scorching steep ticket fees, gas prices, and live-streaming have greatly impacted small businesses that feature live entertainment. Even mega cities like Los Angeles have lost many iconic venues due to exorbitant rent prices or low attendance. So it would come as no surprise that a small business like the Rhythm Room would also suffer.

Although, the parents should have checked into their local city business bureau for some help or resources. A bookkeeper may have helped. For to go on that long in the red is just beyond alarming. Not to mention, how long were they going to keep their daughter in the dark about their situation?

What a homecoming the broke daughter comes home too. Parents have no money and the bar is littered with hazards. Thankfully, the parents were able to (somehow) afford the general handyman services of Luke (played by Chad Michael Murray) to keep the place afloat. With perfect timing, the real estate lady comes by with the the option to sell the venue to a chain restaurant or pay back the $30,000 of debt. The mission is clear: save the The Rhythm Bar!

Everything Ashley needs to save the business is conveniently all around her. A random comment inspires her to organize a Christmas themed male revue show at the The Rhythm Bar. It just so happens she is surrounded by ab-tastic men ready and somewhat willing to be shirtless and roll their hips. What makes this new business venture so fantastic is that this idea can extended beyond the ailing businesses during the holidays. Shows that feature dancing men is an obtainable feat beyond the magical boundaries of nondescript holiday towns. This is a win-win business plan: support family businesses and the performance art of the tease.

Ashley is able to draw upon her years of dancing experience into choreography. She spends time coaching the shy town boys and random cab driver to gyrate onstage. She’s incredibly talented as she’s able to choreograph a whole show around such a tiny stage and inexperienced dancers! As for the routine itself, there is a lot of acrobatics and ab shots but nothing really too risqué happens. It’s more a wink than a full on strip tease. It’s a show that verges on cute rather than breathtakingly hot.

To the surprise of no one in the viewership, the show is a fantastic hit and it’s success grows by exponential leaps. There’s even a budding romance happening, much to the happiness of the town (why is everyone so obsessed with matchmaking here?!). That is until Ashley approaches another milestone decision in her life: does she continue down the path that she building or go back to her original dreams?

This was a very cute movie where nothing bad really happens. There are no high stakes, severely dramatic plot points, or even anything remotely serious. I’m pretty sure those bill envelopes were stamped “past due” just for fun. It’s a happy little story in a dream world. Sometimes, it’s nice to just to escape into one of those.

A key ingredient to a holiday movie is a dose of nostalgia. “The Merry Gentlemen” delivered that nostalgia some of the cast members. For those who enjoyed entertainment from the 90’s and 2000’s, it was a pleasant surprise to see these blasts from the past.

Ashley’s mom is played by Beth Broderick, known as Aunt Zelda on both Sabrina The Teenage Witch (1996-2002) and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2020). Ashley’s day is played by Michael Gross who is forever cemented as the iconic protector in the Tremor franchise.

For those who celebrate the day in April, Rex Manning himself appears and dances onstage keeping all of those hearts a-fluttering. In “The Merry Gentlemen”, Maxwell Caulfield plays Danny, a long time Rhythm Room bartender and snazzy teaser of the suspenders.

Of course, the ultimate blast from the past is the teen heartthrob, Chad Michael Murray. Throughout the 2000’s Murray has been the lead male actor for many iconic films and shows of that decade. He has in One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, Dawson’s Creek, Riverdale, and so much more. His smoldering looks have aged as well as his very fine-tuned abs as he “awkwardly” dances away onstage.

As a special promo and nod to Murray’s appeal, Netflix has provided calendar images of Murray. For what’s another way that the Rhythm Bar can raise funds? A hot calendar of course!