Review: Nothing Like The Holidays

The Info Bit

Genre: Comedy
Starring: John Leguizamo, Alfred Molina, Debra Messing, Freddy Rodriguez
Director: Alfredo De Villa
Run Time: 94 mins
Rating: PG
Year: 2008
Extras On DVD: Trailer

I started off my Christmas Seasonal Film fest with a film touted on the box (and on various sites I’ve since looked at) as a comedy, drama. This film is called Nothing Like The Holidays, and let me say I’m glad I started with it because this film was nothing like a comedy, drama. It was just……Nothing Special.

Harsh criticism you may think but I’m sorry to say true. Let me set the scene for you, the story revolves around a slightly dysfunctional Puerto Rican family getting together at Christmas, seems like a laugh doesn’t it? No?? Well you’d be right! I expected a middle of the road comedy here, what the film delivered was two chuckles (I counted them) a lot of confusion and at times just plain boredom. The characters were average, the sets and general setting was okay, the acting was average, the directing was functional but nothing special….and I could go on and on in the same vein. it’s a shame because it has got some great actors/actresses in it, two of which I absolutely adore (Alfred and John see above) but whether it was just a poor script , whether it was poor directing or both none of them really show us in this film what they can do.

I feel like I should give an example about why this film for me doesn’t work. (WARNING SPOILER ALERT) There is a scene not to far into the film where the mother (Elizabeth Pena) announces at the dinner table that she is divorcing the father (Alfred Molina). This causes a big argument and in succession everyone leaves the table in anger with each other. Quite the dramatic moment (well it should have been but I wasn’t feeling the drama), about 2 short scenes on they are all together laughing and joking as if this incident had never happened! I’m sorry but that’s just poor, I mean about an hour ago they were all yelling at each other now they’re in a bar all laughing and joking IT JUST DOESN’T HAPPEN! This theme continues throughout the film where we get a dramatic moment then a comedy moment so on so on, and for me its too disjointed. If I’m supposed to feel sad or shocked or amused then give me time to feel it before changing it around.

I could pick holes in this film until I’m blue in the face but to be honest there’s no point. It does what many ‘seasonal’ films do which is miss the mark completely. If it had just been a comedy and played just for laughs it could have been something better, likewise if it had been only a drama, but the hodgepodge of messages (everything from the war in Iraq, divorce , cancer and just plain wackiness that families have when they get together) it seems to contain just don’t work well and in the end that is why I think it’s a poor film.

For me one to avoid, enough said..