“Surviving Christmas” has a great concept and a fun cast. Sadly, the writing and directing make it nearly unwatchable.
Directed by Mike Mitchell, the movie stars Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara and Christina Applegate. Gandolfini was amidst the heyday of ‘The Sopranos’ success, and putting him in a comical Christmas film was a great idea. Affleck was riding his new found Hollywood A-tier status. In 2004, he was three years away from his directorial debut, and I wonder if “Surviving Christmas” would have been better served had Affleck stepped behind the camera. Alas, we’ll never know.
Drew Latham (Affleck) is a rich, yuppie playboy who doesn’t want to be alone for Christmas. So he goes to his childhood home and pays the current occupants, the Valco family of Tom and Christine (Gandolfini and O’Hara) to let him stay and be a child again.
I tend to like Ben Affleck more than some. He can be funny in an everyman sort of way. As a smug rich guy who wants to be a kid again, Affleck can pull it off.
Likewise, James Gandolfini and Catherine O’Hara do their best. Both are excellent actors and funny when need be. At the promise of receiving $250,000 from Drew, they are typically willing. We’ve been faking it anyway.” Christine says of the family love. “We might as well get paid.”
Christina Applegate was one of my first crushes as a youth. I had a poster in my bedroom that I still remember vividly. Here, Applegate plays Alicia – the potential love interest. I think Applegate is a perfect actress for a cute Christmas movie, but sadly, is given little to work with here.
Which brings us the problems with the movie.
The characters are unlikeable. The emotions are unbelievable. The dialogue often makes no sense at all. It’s not a wonder the film was a box office flop. There’s no holiday merriment with the Valco’s, who are potentially getting a divorce. Alicia goes from hating Drew the second she meets him to loving him, hating him, loving him etc. in literal hours of time.
The best interactions are between Affleck and Gandolfini but even those get tired after a while. I wanted to like the movie because I liked the people in it. Nope!
“Surviving Christmas” is like opening up a pair of socks from Grandma when you wanted a bike. You expect so much more from its cast, but its forgettable and, by the end, just another bad movie. It’s December 1 – find a better option.
“Surviving Christmas” is currently available to stream on Amazon
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