Did you enjoy watching Love Actually (2003)? Or did you, as I did, roll your eyes at the saccharine-sweet plots involving Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, or Colin Firth (yes, I’m that cold), cringing at the pervy guy who goes to America to hit on stereotypically dumb blondes, and feeling overly upset at the Laura Linney and/or Emma Thompson storylines? Either way, you are sure to love the Russian version, Yolki 3, which is actually the third in a series of New Years films involving multiple, interconnected storylines focused on the sharing of holiday spirit. The English title for the first film was Six Degrees of Celebration. With none of the cringiness or downers from Love Actually, Yolki 3 is perfectly charming and hilarious with a very likeable cast of characters, from an adorable girl and her equally adorable and lovelorn mutt to a couple of dads who both married women named Olga and named their infant sons Boris. The film also relies heavily on social media as a form of unification in the vast country of Russia and it is also used to great effect in impacting the lives of the characters and connecting them to each other. Honestly, if you are sick of watching Love Actually every Christmas, give this film a try. Don’t forget to put on English subtitles if you don’t speak Russian!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 heroic mutts.