Our Little Secret is a 2024 American Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Hailey DeDominicis. The movie stars Lindsay Lohan, along with a group of actors including Ian Harding, Tim Meadows, Jon Rudnitsky, Judy Reyes, Henry Czerny, Chris Parnell, and Kristin Chenoweth. The film was part of Lindsay Lohan's collaboration with Netflix, where she also helped produce the project.

The story follows Avery (played by Lohan), who is spending her first Christmas with her boyfriend's family. She finds out her ex is also there and tries to keep their past a secret. Production began in Atlanta in January 2024 and ended later that month. The film was released on Netflix on November 27, 2024. Critics had mixed opinions about the movie, and it became the most watched film on Netflix for two weeks after its release.

Plot

Avery and Logan have been close since childhood. They started as friends and later became a couple. In 2014, Avery accepted a job in London and tried to propose to Logan at her farewell party. Logan felt uncomfortable with the pressure and ended their relationship.

Ten years later, Avery and Logan met again by chance at Christmas. Both were dating siblings named Cameron and Cassie Morgan. Avery asked Logan to keep their past relationship a secret because of the Morgans’ mother, Erica, who was very controlling. During the Morgan family’s annual portrait, Avery and Logan were sent to pick up a Christmas tree.

Logan asked Avery, who knew about business proposals, to help with an architectural project. In return, Avery agreed to help Logan impress the Morgans. Later, Avery accidentally ate THC gummies from the youngest Morgan, Callum’s, coat pocket.

Logan discovered the mistake and tried to cancel a reading Avery had volunteered for to impress the Morgans at a 4 p.m. church service. As the effects of the gummies took hold, Avery improvised and told the story of Bethlehem by singing lyrics from Kool & the Gang’s song “Celebration.” The congregation joined in, and the priest praised her performance.

That evening, Avery ate Erica’s favorite chocolate chip cookies. She blamed the cookies on Erica’s dog, which caused Erica to panic because chocolate is dangerous for dogs. Avery went to the vet with the dog and paid for the treatment to keep the secret. She later claimed the situation was heroic, but Logan scolded her for risking their cover. Callum overheard and promised to keep their secret but hinted it would cost them.

During a night out, Cameron’s ex-girlfriend, Sophie, joined the group. When Avery was called by her father’s real estate agent to retrieve a house key, Logan drove her. At Avery’s childhood home, she shared how much she missed her late mother, and Logan comforted her. On the way back, they picked up an intoxicated Callum, whom they had earlier given alcohol to.

At Christmas Eve dinner, several secrets were revealed. Avery and Logan’s shared small-town background was exposed, and Sophie announced she was returning to town. Logan accidentally discovered Erica’s husband, Leonard, having an affair with Sophie’s mother and Stan’s wife, Marge.

During Secret Santa, gifts were switched, causing more awkwardness. Avery and Logan scolded Callum in private, but Logan’s mother and grandmother unexpectedly arrived. Logan warned his mother to pretend she didn’t know Avery, but his grandmother revealed their past relationship. More secrets emerged, including Callum exposing Avery’s lies and Leonard’s affair. Avery left the Morgan house.

Avery’s father returned from a trip and gave her the key to her childhood home, as Logan had told him she wanted it. Avery then encouraged Erica to give Logan a job opportunity with Stan, which eventually happened.

At Avery’s housewarming, Logan asked for another chance. They confessed their love and kissed. A year later, they were planning their wedding and living together. Logan’s boss, Stan, delivered a tin of cookies before meeting the Morgan children with his new partner, Erica. Later, Avery and Logan married.

Production

On January 22, 2024, Netflix announced that Lindsay Lohan would star in Our Little Secret. The main filming for the movie took place in Atlanta and continued through late February. Other actors joining Lohan include Kristin Chenoweth, Ian Harding, Jon Rudnitsky, Chris Parnell, Tim Meadows, Dan Bucatinsky, Henry Czerny, Katie Baker, Ash Santos, Jake Brennan, and Brian Unger. Stephen Herek was chosen to direct the film, which was written by Hailey DeDominicis for her first screenplay credit. Mike Elliott and Lisa Gooding were producers, and Joseph P. Genier was the executive producer. This project is part of Lohan’s two-film agreement with Netflix, signed in March 2022. It is her third romantic comedy for the streaming service, following Falling for Christmas (2022) and Irish Wish (2024).

Lohan described the film as more realistic and relatable than her previous Netflix projects. She said, "I love that my character faces a real-life romantic challenge where she reconnects with someone from her past, creating a difficult situation where she is unsure what to do." Lohan and Harding filmed the more emotional scenes between their characters first, which helped them understand their characters’ relationship before shooting the more awkward moments. Harding mentioned that working with Lohan was a key reason he joined the project. Chenoweth said she was drawn to her role because it allowed her to play a "villain," similar to characters in The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She also said comedians like Teri Garr and Carol Burnett influenced her performance. The cast shared that much of the movie was filmed on a sound stage. Dan Bucatinsky was initially unsure about his role due to his character’s limited screen time and age, but he contributed ideas and ad-libs that expanded his part. He later called the experience one of the most "enriching" of his career.

The film was originally called Merry Exmas, but Lohan suggested changing the title to avoid linking it only to Christmas. She explained, "I wanted to avoid making the movie seem like it was only about Christmas. The story is about a woman dealing with a real-life situation that happens to occur during the holiday season." Lohan appreciated Netflix giving her a producing role, which allowed her more control over the project. She said, "I was able to act as a full producer, not just an executive. Netflix trusted my ideas, whether they involved casting, costumes, or editing the film."

Music

Emily Bear created the music for the movie Our Little Secret. On November 27, 2024, Netflix Music made a music album available. The album includes the movie's score and the song "Happiest Christmas Tree," sung by Aliana Lohan.

• Happiest Christmas Tree (Aliana Lohan)
• The First Morning
• 10 Years Later
• Avery Leaves
• Gummies
• The Introduction
• Driving to the Parents
• You Were Running Away
• Secret Santa
• Bathroom Talk
• A Deal
• The Prospectus
• Cookie Caper
• Our Little Secret
• Dad’s Toast
• Avery Delivers Prospectu
• Followed
• Best Christmas Ever
• Are You Done?

Release

Our Little Secret was released by Netflix on November 27, 2024. The film was shown at the Bay Theater in Los Angeles on the same day. It was the most watched film on Netflix’s list the day after its release. For the week of November 23–29, it was the top-streamed title worldwide on Netflix with 32.4 million views. It stayed the top-streamed Netflix title globally for the following week, December 2–8. In the United States, it was the most-streamed original film for the week of November 29–December 5, with 1 billion minutes watched, according to data from Luminate. It was also the top film on Nielsen’s most-streamed movies list for the week of November 25–December 1, with 1.04 billion minutes watched. As of December 17, 2024, Our Little Secret was the most-watched holiday movie released in 2024 by U.S. households that season, based on smart TV data collected by Samba TV.

Reception

On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 35 critics gave positive reviews, with an average score of 4.7 out of 10. The website’s summary states: "Lindsay Lohan and Ian Harding try to improve a weak script, but Our Little Secret is too awkward for its comedic style to work." Metacritic, which calculates scores using a special method, gave the film a score of 41 out of 100 based on eight critics, showing "mixed or average" opinions.

Emily Zemler of the Observer wrote that the film "does not fully show Lohan’s strengths," calling Harding a "strong romantic lead" and saying the story would have been better with more background about their relationship. She also noted that the film’s "big secret" reduces tension, as other characters keep more meaningful secrets. Benjamin Lee of The Guardian compared the film to Meet the Parents and Four Christmases, calling it a "good enough Christmas comedy that needs more energy." Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote: "Watching Our Little Secret, you notice weak and forced situations, and laugh at silly moments. It feels like a simple, unoriginal movie that somehow still makes you feel good." Marya E. Gates of RogerEbert.com described Lohan as a "clever comedy actress" who has good chemistry with Harding and praised Chenoweth as a "great Southern character actress." She concluded that the film suggests "if studios supported more mid-budget films, we might see more movie stars." Randy Myers of The Mercury News called the film "one of the better holiday movies released this year." Robert Levin of Newsday noted that Lohan’s return to acting is positive, as her talent is still strong, but she needs better projects. He also said Lohan might be partly responsible as an executive producer, since the film is "uninspired."