Our Little Secret (film)

Our Little Secret
Official release poster
Directed by	Stephen Herek
Written by	Hailey DeDominicis
Produced by	Lisa Gooding Mike Elliott
Starring	Lindsay Lohan Ian Harding Tim Meadows Jon Rudnitsky Henry Czerny Judy Reyes Chris Parnell Kristin Chenoweth
Cinematography	Graham Robbins
Edited by	Heath Ryan
Music by	Emily Bear
Production companies	Capital Arts Entertainment Good Entertainment Inc.
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	November 27, 2024 (2024-11-27)
Running time	101 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English

Our Little Secret is a 2024 American romantic comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Hailey DeDominicis. It stars Lindsay Lohan alongside an ensemble cast, featuring Ian Harding, Tim Meadows, Jon Rudnitsky, Judy Reyes, Henry Czerny, Chris Parnell and Kristin Chenoweth. The film was a part of Lohan's creative partnership with Netflix under which she also executive produced the project.

Our Little Secret follows Avery (Lohan) who is spending her first Christmas with her boyfriend's family but discovers her ex is also part of the holiday festivities and decides to hide their romantic history. Production began in Atlanta in January 2024 and concluded late in the following month. It was released on the streaming service on November 27, 2024. The film received mixed reviews.^[2]

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Connected from childhood, Avery and Logan transitioned from close friends into a couple over their 18 years. When she readily accepts an opportunity to work in England, Logan almost proposes at her farewell party, fearing he might lose her. Avery breaks up with him, uncomfortable with the pressure.

Ten years later, Avery and Logan inadvertently see each other next as they each are meeting their significant other's family at Christmas, as their partners, Cam and Cassie Morgan, are siblings. Mortified, Avery convinces Logan to keep their past secret, fearing awkwardness, especially with the hostile matriarch Erica.

As the Morgans sit for their annual family portrait, Avery and Logan seek the tree. Knowing her expertise with business proposals, he requests her help with a architecture proposal due shortly. In exchange, Logan will help her connect with the Morgans.

On their return, the hungry Avery unknowingly eats THC gummy bears from the youngest Morgan Callum's coat pocket. When Logan realizes, he tries to cancel the reading Avery volunteered for to impress the Morgans at 4 p.m. mass.

Although the edibles effects kick in just as Avery is called to the altar so she cannot focus, she improvises. Hallucinating that the Mary statue is encouraging her, she tries to tell the Bethlehem story by reciting Kool & the Gang's Celebration. Initially met with silence, someone chimes in with the next line, and everyone joins in.

The priest thanks Avery for motivating the congregation, as some of the children want to return soon. That evening, due to munchies, Avery wolfs down Erica’s prized cookies then falls asleep on the counter. Upon waking, she has Logan distract Erica so she can frame the dog. The panicked Erica insists on rushing the mini dog to the vet, as chocolate is poisonous for them.

Avery takes them to the vet. Feigning concern for her, Avery offers to aid the doctor. Once alone, Avery admits her guilt to the vet, begging him to keep her secret. When the fake procedure is done, she pays the over $1,000 bill for his silence.

Returning to the house, they describe the vet "ordeal", so Avery comes across as a hero. Logan privately scolds her for risking their secret by lying about the cookies, Callum follows and hears everything. He takes her number, promising to contact her.

In the evening, the two couples go out together and soon, Cam's ex Sophie joins them. Avery is called by her dad's real estate agent, seeking the house key. When she tells everyone, the sober Logan offers to take her on the long drive.

In her childhood home, Avery commiserates how much she misses her mother, so Logan gives her support. On their drive back, Callum's second blackmail call reroutes them to pick up the teen, drunk from the alcohol they had bought for him. Back at the house, Logan throws himself into the project proposal. Working into the night, he sees Cam's 5 a.m. arrival, then is asked to lie about the arrival time, presumedly because he was with Sophie.

At Christmas Eve dinner, there are multiple revelations. Just as Avery and Logan are revealed to be from the same small town, Sophie announces she is moving back. Logan accidentally finds Stan's wife, Marge, and Erica's husband, Leonard, in a closet, so is asked to not divulge their affair.

As Secret Santa gifts are opened, gifts get switched. Then, as Avery and Logan are scolding Callum in another room, Logan's mom and grandmother show up by surprise. He warns his mother to pretend to not know Avery, but the senior quickly exposes the exes. Soon Callum exposes Avery's lies, then Margaret and Leonard's affair is revealed, a surprise to everyone except Erica.

Avery's father, Mitchell, returns from his trip. He surprises her with the house key, providing she really buys it, as Logan told him she wanted it. Avery, in turn, pushes Erica to give Stan Logan's proposal. He hires Logan upon recognizing they share a vision.

At Avery's house-warming, Logan asks her for another try, as he believes they could make it. They say they love each other and kiss. A year later, they are planning their wedding while living together. Logan's boss, Stan, drops off a tin of cookies before meeting with the Morgan's kids with his new love, Erica. It is revealed Avery and Logan get married sometime later on.

On January 22, 2024, Netflix revealed that Lindsay Lohan would be starring in Our Little Secret with principal photography underway in Atlanta and ran through late February.^[3][4] Kristin Chenoweth, Ian Harding, Jon Rudnitsky, Chris Parnell, Tim Meadows, Dan Bucatinsky, Henry Czerny, Katie Baker, Ash Santos, Jake Brennan and Brian Unger were also announced to star.^[5] Stephen Herek was set to direct from a script written by Hailey DeDominicis in her first produced screenplay credit.^[6] Mike Elliott and Lisa Gooding served as producers, with Joseph P. Genier executive producing the film.^[7] The project is a part of Lohan's two-picture partnership with Netflix she entered in March 2022 and marked her third consecutive romantic comedy for the streaming service, following Falling for Christmas (2022) and Irish Wish (2024).^[8]

Lohan described the film as more grounded and relatable compared to her previous Netflix projects, stating: "I love that because my character goes through a very real-life, kind of romantic struggle where she revisits someone from her past that she had a relationship with prior, and it's kind of a tug-of-war situation where she doesn't know what to do."^[9] Lohan and Harding revealed they filmed the more vulnerable moments between their characters first which allowed them to understand their connection and how close they were before shooting the "awkward" scenes.^[10] Harding said that the opportunity to star alongside Lohan drew him to the project.^[11] Chenoweth stated her love for playing a "villain" drew her to the character and compared it to The Real Housewives of Atlanta,^[12] adding that comedians like Teri Garr and Carol Burnett inspired her performance.^[13] They disclosed "a lot" of the movie was shot on a sound stage.^[14][15] Dan Bucatinsky was hesitant at first about taking on the role due to his character's age and lack of screen time, but was able to contribute with ad libs and suggestions to the script which expanded his role and ended up considered it one of the most "enriching" experiences of his career.^[16]

The film was originally titled "Merry Exmas", but Lohan suggested changing it to avoid the project being associated solely with Christmas, explaining: "That was a big part of me choosing to do this movie [it's] the story of a girl that's going through a real life situation and it just happens to be at Christmastime [...] it's not Christmas overload."^[17][18][19] Lohan appreciated Netflix giving her a producing credit allowing her to have more control: "I got to really be a full-on producer, not just an executive. They trusted me with holding the reins and took my ideas and thoughts on board whether it came down to casting or costuming, and even some of the edits in the film."^[20]

Emily Bear composed the original score for Our Little Secret.^[21] Netflix Music released a soundtrack album featuring the movie's score and the song "Happiest Christmas Tree" performed by Aliana Lohan on November 27, 2024.^[22][23]

Our Little Secret was released by Netflix on November 27, 2024.^[24] The film received screenings at the Bay Theater in Los Angeles starting on the same day.^[25] It debuted at number one on Netflix's most watched films list the day after its release.^[2]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 42% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10.^[26] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 42 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[27]

Emily Zemler of the Observer stated that the film "doesn't quite give [Lohan] her due" as Harding is a "solid romantic leading man" and the story would have "benefited from more of their history" and that their "big secret depletes the story of tension, especially since other characters are keeping actual, somewhat revelatory secrets."^[28] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian compared the film to Meet the Parents and Four Christmases, calling it a "perfectly adequate Christmas comedy that could do with a boost."^[29] Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote: "You watch Our Little Secret, seeing through the paper-thin contrivances, tittering at the imbecilities, and somehow that all becomes part of the experience. It's mainstream fodder as downgraded camp. It’s pablum so numbing it makes you feel good."^[30] Writing for RogerEbert.com, Marya E. Gates describes Lohan as a "sharp screwball comedienne" who "crafts an easy chemistry with Harding," also praising Chenoweth as a "fantastic [...] bless-your-heart Southern Queen Bee," concluding that the film makes the case that "if studios would back these kinds of mid-budget films for theatrical release, maybe we'd have movie stars again."^[31] Randy Myers of The Mercury News called the film "one of the better holiday confections to drop down the chimney this year."^[32]

• Our Little Secret on Netflix
• Our Little Secret at IMDb