In this Love, Actually-wanna-be, we understand the film’s intention…Bring four generations of family and all their quirky issues under one roof at Christmas. Could be anyone’s family, and it is!
In a kaleidoscope of vignettes, Charlotte and Sam (Diane Keaton and John Goodman) are the patriarchs, married over 40 years, and now in late-life crisis. They want a divorce. But in the meantime, they’ll do the Martha Stewart thing, in the big snowy Currier & Ives- style house, and decorate with boughs of holly. Fa la la la la….nauseating.
Emma (Marisa Tomei) is the unwed and middle-aged sister, while Eleanor (Olivia Wilde) us the unwed and permanently hopeless daughter. Hank (Ed Helms) is going through a divorce, and then there’s Ruby (Amanda Seyfried) the local waitress who has bonded with Uncle Bucky (Alan Arkin) a regular at the diner. Throw in the old Aunt Fishy (June Squibb) and you have a dysfunctional family, narrated by Steve Martin (the family dog.)
But ginger man cookies and neatly tied packages aren’t enough here. The story hinges on being honest with yourself and those around you, so your heart may be open to Christmas joy. It clearly touches on the holiday angst we might all feel, and delivers a clear message of don’t behave as you were, but rather as you are (today.) But it’s done so with overcooked predictability, clichés and worse, preaching. Every scene segues to even more preaching. And the family didn’t even attend midnight Mass!
The dialog is strong, the acting is fine, but in the end, the last time I was this disappointed, was the day I learned there was no such thing as Santa. ♚ ♛