Holiday movies are their own little tradition for me, and they start earlier than you think. In fact, they’ve already started and some of them are already here like Lost and Found in Cleveland. This may not sound like a holiday film, but it definitely is a great “holiday” bridge film for watching between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

When it comes to holiday films, some of them end up surprising you in good ways, and some just blend into the background like holiday noise. You never really know what you’re going to get until you watch. So, let’s figure out if this new comedy Lost and Found in Cleveland is an “antique” in the making or if it’s just another cheap holiday knockoff.

You can read the review below or watch the video review on YouTube:

Based on a fictionalized version of The Antiques Roadshow, the movie kicks off with the country’s most popular antiques show “Lost and Found,” coming to Cleveland, Ohio during the Christmas season. We get a look at the behind-the-scenes drama of the show as well as a peek into the lives of a few hopeful antique owners who decide to bring their treasures in for an appraisal, hoping for a big score. The film weaves together several story lines from characters who don’t know each other, but they all intersect in surprising ways at the show. It’s a film structure that we’ve seen before (so nothing new there), but they bring it all together in a warm and fuzzy way at the end.

First Impressions
From the moment it begins, Lost & Found in Cleveland has the air of light holiday warmth that is actually perfect for streaming. If you’re able to just sit back with a mug of hot chocolate and popcorn, it delivers on that cozy vibe. As someone who enjoys quirky antiques (if you have watched any of my review videos you know what I mean), I found that angle especially appealing because there are some really … unique … people in the antiques world.

The film doesn’t shy away from the odd stories and personalities in the antiques community, and it enjoys a meandering build toward the live broadcast of the appraisals without any high-stakes action. So, no car chases or exploding buildings. Instead, the narrative structure is predictable but that’s part of the charm. While you know exactly what you’re getting with Lost and Found in Cleveland, at least it tries to deliver on its promise in unexpected ways. However, some of the conflicts feel a bit overplayed from time to time, but it’s the cast that makes it fun because everyone in the movie feels like a good fit for the story. There are moments of comedy and drama that nail the somewhat goofy antics within the story, making some of the odd moments feel intentionally designed to still deliver a holiday movie that is extremely family-friendly and unobtrusive.

Cast & Characters
Lost and Found in Cleveland features a huge ensemble cast that looks like a bunch of people getting together to make a fun film with their best friends. The cast list is long but some of the highlights are Martin Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, June Squibb, Liza Weil, Jon Lovitz, and so many other recognizable faces in big and small parts.

What works is that every character has a distinct thread and a story that makes sense. In other words, every character has a purpose, which is something you don’t always see with an ensemble cast. The mother and son story line has emotional weight that is softly funny and charming, though it borders on becoming melodramatic. Another thread focuses on the struggles of a wife whose husband is suffering from dementia as his confusion pulls him back into memories of his time in the war. There is also a very Karen-like socialite mother who brings in some sharp, comic relief with her snark. We also have a young married white couple, where the professor husband is freaking out about the boxes of Aunt Jemima memorabilia he inherited from his mother. Finally, there is the mailman with a dream. He is kind and wonderful, and he is the best thing about the film other than Martin Sheen, who appears in only a few scenes yet brings a sense of seriousness that keeps the movie from slipping into forgettable holiday fare.

Holiday Setting
So, nothing that I have said feels very holiday-like. That’s because the story isn’t centered on the Christmas holiday, it just takes place in December. You see some Christmas trees. There’s some holiday cheer and decorations. It’s even snowing in the film, which adds to the holiday season feel. These things are all there, but if you are not a holiday person, you won’t feel like you just got hit over the head with a Christmas tree when you sit down with your family to watch it.

Recommendation
So is Lost and Found in Cleveland ticket-worthy or not? I need to take myself out of this equation because this film was clearly mad for me.

But is it for you? I think this film will absolutely find a core audience of people who enjoy quirky films with an independent feel. It’s also, like I said, a safe film for a family and friends outing that will give you a laugh or two while you spend time together. It’s also a great inter-generational film for viewing with your parents, grandparents, and kids.

For my crew of holiday film lovers, this is honestly better than most of the sappy Hallmark holiday films that come out every year, and it doesn’t feel like every other holiday movie that you have ever seen. So, there are some benefits for sure!

However, if none of this sounds interesting to you, this isn’t your film. You should just move along and find something else to watch because you’re not going to be satisfied with this cutesy holiday antiques film.

Final Thoughts
So, Lost & Found in Cleveland, have you seen it? Are antiques something you enjoy? What about holiday films? Or does shoveling 10 feet of snow during a blizzard sound like a better use of your time? I definitely want to know because not every film is for every person, but I’ll admit that I enjoyed this one as the kickoff to my holiday movie season.

If you enjoyed this review, please give it a like and subscribe for more. You can also visit my YouTube channel at @ErinUnderwood for more videos.

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Regarding my Amazon Associate links:

PERSONAL NOTE: One of the things that I like doing is sharing Amazon links in case you want to go buy a video or read a book related to the review that I posted. It’s the kind of thing that I like doing, which is why I thought it might be a nice idea to provide this kind of information for you.

Today, when I went to Amazon to see if there was a streaming or DVD link for Lost & Found in Cleveland I saw TWO, not one but TWO, books and I had to pause for a moment. I knew there wasn’t a book associated with this film. So, I took a closer look and these two books are REVIEWS!!! of this film being sold in paperback and hardcover. The covers don’t use the movie poster, but one of them does use Martin Sheen’s face. I can’t even imagine how this is possible!

I looked at the length of the “reviews” and they are both hundreds of pages to make it look like a book. Since the first few pages of the text was available, I looked at that as well and the first thing that I noticed was that the front matter had all kinds of weird legalese text that you never seen in a normal book. Then, I read the 4 pages of text in the introduction, and it’s painfully obvious that while the writing is grammatically correct, it’s likely AI generated with very little human editing. It also reuses the same words and phrases multiple times, it fails to add actual examples of anything, and it makes lots of broad/universal statements that are generally empty of meaning.

Please be careful when buying books like this online. If you want to read AI generated content, just go to ChatGPT type in a prompt and read its commentary for free. Don’t pay anyone $8.00-20.00 for something like this. It’s just awful and won’t help you.

Sorry for the rant. I just had to get that off my chest. 🙂