Customer Reviews

Nothing Like The Holidays (2 disc set)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a fun movie - lots of hilarious moments with a great ensemble cast. You get the feeling that the actors had a lot of fun when they did this film.
Beside being funny it also makes some valuable statements about family life, forgiveness, healing and accepting our humanness.
An altogether warm viewing experience - something there for every generation!

Films with the same premise as "Nothing Like The Holidays" are abundant--in fact, I've seen more family homecoming stories centered around the holidays than I care to admit. Generally amiable and predictable, you can count on a few laughs at the typical dysfunction, a bit of tension at the long held grudges, and finally some warmth as mutual understanding and the meaning of "family" send us to the finale. But I'm no Scrooge, just because I know where we're headed doesn't mean it can't be an enjoyable ride! And I was pleasantly entertained by "Nothing Like The Holidays." It may not be a new Yuletide classic but a colorful and committed cast breathe fresh life into rather familiar situations. Alternately touching and humorous, the film ultimately won me over with its heart.

Set in Chicago, "Nothing Like The Holidays" presents Christmas from a Puerto Rican family's vantage point. The nominal star of this ensemble picture is Freddy Rodriguez ("Six Feet Under"), a son returning from overseas service. He's solid here providing a center for the movie. But he's surrounded by many familiar faces such as Elizabeth Pena and Alfred Molina as the parents, John Leguizamo as his brother, Debra Messing as Leguizamo's non-Puerto Rican wife, and Luiz Guzman and Jay Hernandez as his cousin and friend respectively. Everyone does a nice job, but to single two people out--I'd have to look to the ladies. Debra Messing is certainly NOT a favorite of mine in general, but she manages to pull a lot of dignity out of what could have been the film's most thankless role. It is Elizabeth Pena, however, that I most appreciated--a talented actress who finally has a meaty role to showcase her abilities.

Well executed and well acted, "Nothing Like The Holidays" certainly plays as a comedy first and foremost. I think that's where it is on its firmest footing with many scenes being laugh out loud funny. The humor comes from identifiable situations that anyone who has been a part of family gatherings can appreciate. The more serious bits work as well, but only because the comedy has drawn you into the family dynamic. Ultimately I was rooting for this group. And that's really all you can hope for, in the end. I cared for the family and wanted to see where their journey led me. So how can I not recommend "Nothing Like The Holidays?" It's a modest film, and if you approach it with modest expectations--you might just be pleasantly surprised. KGHarris, 11/09.

This is an amazing movie. It is filled with such family spirit that you almost forget that you are watching a movie. What makes it so great is that they are so close. The producers really picked some great actors. Like I said doesnt seem like a movie at all. I could watch this over and over again and will be. A great movie to watch every holiday!

Nothing Like the Holidays is an urban drama-comedy about a family get-together in the Puerto Rican part of Chicago: it was entertaining, it was funny, it was boring, it was good, it was so-so, it was warm-hearted, it was lively, it was dull, it was clear, it was confusing...this movie was just ALL OVER the place! While I enjoyed being introduced to each character and their own storyline, and then watching them all come together for a Puerto Rican family Christmas, there was just too many of the multiple plot lines all over the place, making it an enjoyable movie because of the humor, but unenjoyable because it took a lot of 'work' (i.e. brain power) to enjoy the movie! I think Christmas movies should be fun, entertaining & meaningful!

For those of you who are concerned about content, I would not call this a family friendly film: it's PG-13, and it earns its rating: there is quite a bit of language, and plenty of references to drugs and sex...not kid friendly.

I enjoyed this holiday film, but I doubt I would ever watch it again: I tend to watch Christmas movies over and over again, but this one just doesn't make the cut: it was good, but not great, a familiar story but not told well, with great acting performances and a 'bleh' storyline...enjoy if you must!

I really wanted to love this move... and while I think it has a great cast of Latinos/as, it just seemed like a drama one would find on tv. The script just wasn't all that great... and except for the music and the one scene where the neighborhood residents parade through the streets singing a latin-tinged holiday carol, it struck me that this movie wasn't all that latin in flavor. It just seemed to be a script which could have easily been cast with all African-Ameicans (perhaps because it was produced by the same folks who did 'Barbershop 1+2'?), or Asians or White folk! The script is not particularly Christmas-y either, it is basically a family 'dining room table' drama set against holidays... and that's been so repeated so much, that it really isn't very interesying. I'm not saying that I won't watch the move each year (I will), or that I hated the move (I don't), but just that it isn't up there in classic Christmas movies that future generations will want to see? I long for a Christmas movie with these actors which will be truly original and memorable, and which shows us something fascinating about Christmas for Latinos/as!

NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS

When watching this movie I noticed something crazy going on and it hit home with me a little, well more so than that. This movie more or less is actually happing to me right now, so that may affect how much I like or dislike this film. This may be a spoiler so you may want to turn away now if you don't want to know. But as of now during Christmas my family has come together up at my mom's in Maryland. Nextly and to add to the time period comparison is that this film about a Latin family is true with me as well since my brother, sister, and girl all are at least half Latin of some kind. And lastly much like the father in this film my mother has cancer; she will beat it no doubt as she has before [twice]. So I can relate with this film in many ways and thusly appreciate it a lot more.

The Rodriguez family is finally all going to be home together as all members from direct to family friends will all be coming back to Chicago. Of course some are still there like the parents and family friends, cousins and such. But one son and wife are coming away from their big jobs, the daughter is coming home from Hollywood, and another son is coming back from serving time in the military over in the war. Of course the parents could not be happier and the family business is going good but a lot of tension and jealousy is bubbling underneath the surface. For the parents the husband is getting mysterious phone calls that are putting a strain on the relationship, potentially leading to a divorce. The married son is having marital problems of his own since his career driven wife does not want kids like he does, and the famous movie star daughter is not as famous as she says. In fact she is still waiting on a call from her agent that could lead to her biggest role yet. And then there is the war hero son that is not so proud of what happened over seas that lead to his return home and the pressure put on him by his father to take over the family business is crushing him. Add in a bitter ex girlfriend who has moved on with someone else and you have the makings of the typical family Christmas.

We open with nothing more than good times as war hero son Jesse Rodriguez [Freddy Rodriguez] is being picked up by best friend Johnny [Luis Gusman] and Ozzy [Jay Hernandez]. Good times are had after as all of the family makes their way to the parent's house [Alfred Molina & Elizabeth Pena], son Mauricio [John Leguizamo] and his wife Sarah [Debra Messing] arrive as well. Their acting sister Roxanna [Vanessa Ferlito] shows as well of course and the family is all together once more for the first time in forever apparently. Still the good times role even after Jesse's ex and her new man show up, as the family gathers for a huge meal the fun kicks in. It is at this point that all is revealed and the family starts to fight like only a family can. We all know how that works out since your family can throw all kinds of personal hurtful stuff out there.

Of course the film not only deals with the family's problems but with the friends as well and Johnny wants to kill the man that killed his brother and is now free on the streets. That is explored as far as it could be and results in a good moment. Of course as mentioned before the father has cancer and is battling that through the holidays. This is the par that hits home with me the most as it is happening right now with my mama, I love my mama. This story arc got especially emotional for not only me, my brother, and sister but mostly for my grandparents [her parents]. My grandmother in particular has she cannot stand what is happing to her baby. But much like the father in this my mother is strong and will beat this without a doubt. She will be the three time defending champ against cancer after battling and beating brain cancer since that tumor was supposed to kill her. Then there was a separate non related cancer in her uterus, and now another different non related cancer that attacked many different parts of her.

Aside from my personal stuff going on there is also wonderful performances and such from all. Alfred Molina is brilliant as the father in this film giving a wonderful performance, his battle with cancer hits home. His wife played by Elizabeth Pena is very strong and should be noted that she steals scenes easily. Freddy Rodriguez is great as the son who returns home after being injured in the war, he also is scared in more ways than one. Luis Gusman and Jay Hernandez are great as well as the two friends that are there to pick him up, one is really funny and the other is a little more deep. Vanessa Ferlito is wonderful as always as the sister aspiring for an acting career. John Leguizamo and Debra Messing are absolutely perfect as a married couple who are having problems in deciding if they want a baby, add in Debra is white in an all Latin family and you have real fun then. Alexander Bautista, Melonie Diaz, Ramses Jimenez, and Manny Sosa all turn in great performances as well. Turns out to be very wonderfully acted, of course it is all in how much you relate.

To be honest I may have enjoyed this more so than the average viewer but I would still recommend this film. Check it out as a rental at least because it is a good movie regardless. Director Alfredo De Villa and writers Alison Swan, Rick Najera, Robert Teitel, and Rene M. Rigal all did a good job with this film. The film is funny at times and a little more dramatic at others, there is something for everybody in this. Does this film have problems, to be honest it probably does but I liked it. Maybe the situation affected my judgment but isn't that the point of a review.

"Nothing Like the Holidays," with quite a few great actors (Alfred Molina, Debra Messing, John Leguizamo), had me expecting something special. The back description promises that it is "touching and laugh out loud funny." Other reviews have described the premise in detail, so I won't rehash it here, but will just summarize it by saying that the core members of the Puerto Rican Rodriguez family, and some extended members, are all together for Christmas. There are many misunderstandings, old relationships, personal struggles, and troubled relationships, but all ends up (more or less) well in the end.

My biggest problem with the movie was that it tries to straddle the shaky ground of holiday movies between "touching" and "funny," but ends up being neither and just being mostly depressing. Rest assured, this is no "Love, Actually," which is both touching and laugh-out-loud funny, and also a movie that I look forward to watching every holiday season. Overall, the movie is fine. The acting is solid (with a couple of understated performances by Debra Messing and John Leguizamo), the movie is well done, but it just doesn't get off the ground. I found very little funny, and there is a lot of heavy material here. There's nothing wrong with that in a holiday movie, but there is so much of it (illnesses, loves lost, dead soldiers, philandering husbands) that none of it reaches very deeply, either in story line or in touching the audience.

Coming away from this movie, I knew that I wouldn't repeat the experience and wouldn't recommend it for others looking for a touching or funny holiday movie. Two things I did like: the nice, scenic views of Chicago that were scattered throughout the movie and the insight into Puerto Rican holiday traditions, although some of the scenes were a bit cheesy and cliched. I really expected more from such a cast.

This isn't a feel-good holiday movie. In fact, you kind of feel bad for this family - and the movie. It's a really odd and uncomfortable assortment of hoodlums, war vet, high-powered hedge-fund managers, and bickering parents. At points, the movie seems to gel and convey a poignant story - particular Debra Messing and her father-in-law. But at other times, it seems as if "Nothing like the Holidays" is torn between several themes and was emotionally confusing. At the end of the day, the movie just tried to include too much and be too many things. That's too bad, because if it had scaled back its ambitions, "Nothing like the Holidays" could have been pretty decent.

This is not your typical "father knows best" or "Hallmark-style" movie. One it should be noted for Language-the beginning has some profanity. There's some innuendos but one line points out that "children his age don't understand innuendo. It is a good story. The setting is urban and the lifestyle is more urban than not. It could be considered a Hispanic version of a Christmas story because it has some cultural traditions, some traditions just of the neighborhood. So, it's a cross of "The Preacher's Wife", "This Christmas" and a bit of the tv show, "Brothers & Sisters". It has a good message and deals with families, misunderstandings, lack of communication. One brother has just returned from war and the movie depicts some of the fallout of being away from loved ones, of making choices and dealing with the results of choices. It deals with some of the effects of war both on the veteran, their families at home and the perspectives of war and all it entails. Another brother is a progressively modern Professional who married a girl of different ethnicity and it shows the experiences and sometimes perspectives of subtle differences of education and changes that occur with exposure, varied socio-economic differences, acceptance and non-acceptance, emotions. It deals with love and family and some of the realities of the world as it is in 2009. Basically, the movie explores a number of emotions, lightly enough (and with some comedy) not to be boring but deep enough to make an impression. In the end, you'll still get a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Nothing different here than the last slew of films from the 2006-09 rush of adult family holiday films. A very recognizable cast vacantly filling roles that do not allow them to show off anything extraordinary. Alfred Molina has had some outstanding performances of late, especially in The Moon and the Stars and even lesser so in The Lodger (2009), but he carries the role as the family patriarch trying to hold the group together. Some light humor and family secrets/drama plague the story as they try to fit in ten character lines in 90 minutes.

The picture and sound are good, but the supplements give this 3-star film an extra star.

* Cast Reunion. Lasts 13 minutes and has six of the cast mates round-tabling their memories of making the film. Would only recommend it for those that like the scene at the dinner table of everyone talking at once.
* Bloopers. 13 minutes, funnier than the film - would recommend this for a few laughs.
* Commentary by cast and crew. Much more informative than the round table and gives a little insight into Freddy Rodriguez (one of my favorites from Six Feet Under).

Fun, light and decent for the holidays.