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D- |
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| Story: |
D- |
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| Acting: |
D- |
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| Direction: |
D- |
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D- |
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This is a dump job worthy of Tony Soprano
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
Mar 21, 2007
124
of
174 people found this review helpful
It's hard to think of a good reason to release a movie called Surviving Christmas in October.
Actually, one does come to mind. This is a dump job worthy of Tony Soprano.
The drab affair is not, however, worthy of the guy who plays Soprano. James Gandolfini seems chagrined to stand in the same frame as puppy-dog peppy Ben Affleck, who plays nutty millionaire Drew Latham with a combination of mania and desperation reminiscent of a deranged bobble-head doll, only less lifelike.
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Affleck's suffering from a post-Gigli, post-Paycheck, post-Jersey Girl hangover, and Surviving Christmas isn't going to ease that pounding headache. It's a predictable affair with an out-of-whack sensibility that alternates between blubbering sentimentality and plain old bad taste.
The movie juxtaposes scenes of a character lamenting sad, present-free Christmases to an old coot (Bill Macy) looking at an Internet porn site with a teenager, who's suddenly confronted by a disturbing picture.
"Some things cannot be unseen," laments the shocked youth.
I hear you, brother.
Somebody at DreamWorks must have seen the test screening results, because while we're all carving pumpkins, the studio is releasing a film that opens with a Christmas montage, complete with falling snow, present wrapping and a Salvation Army Santa.
I've seen almost everything Affleck's done (even Phantoms), and this ranks as one of his worst performances. In Gigli, he was just forgettable. In Surviving Christmas, he overacts to the point of throwing his back out of joint.
The plot probably stems from a one-line pitch that never developed into a screenplay. Drew, a rich guy with no friends, is dumped by his girlfriend, Missy, (Jennifer Morrison) right before Christmas and decides to spend the holiday in his childhood home.
This is a big adjustment for the strangers who live there now, including Tom Valco (Gandolfini), his wife, Christine, (Catherine O'Hara) and son Brian (Josh Zuckerman). But Drew smoothes it over by offering to pay the Valcos $250,000.
Drew's plans are upset when the Valco's daughter, Alicia (Christina Applegate), arrives for Christmas, but as soon as she walks in the door, we know she'll go from hating Drew to loving him in less than a day. If the movie were 10 minutes longer, they could have had a couple of kids.
There's some talent here (Gandolfini and O'Hara for starters) but the script is just dreadful.
When Drew builds up a present like it's an engagement ring to Missy, we know it can't be. When Drew takes Alicia and Brian out for a toboggan ride, just like in Christmas Vacation, you can almost hear Chevy Chase dialing his lawyers. When Missy's snooty mom visits the Valcos, we know she'll end up offended.
The movie is a collection of tired-out bits, with Affleck frantically trying to hold things together.
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