The March Sisters at Christmas

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is done no favours in this flimsy and charmless update of the literary classic. Peppered with sexual references and with the siblings' virtues almost lost amid their booze-swilling and exaggeratedly modern behaviour, the throwaway TV movie sees the quartet out to prevent the selling of their family home in the run-up to Christmas, while also handling various personal and romantic challenges. Naturally, there are lots of simplistic lessons in the montage-heavy events, as things go wrong and youngest sister Amy (Molly Kunz) provokes antagonism thanks to her annoying immaturity. Quick-fire and easy resolutions compound the comedy's slightness, and the result is a contrived, Christmas Eve finale that brings predictable happy endings but none of the warmth associated with Alcott's beloved original story.