As the message boards and the limited reviews have been somewhat merciless on this good-but-not-great movie, I feel duty bound to write a few good words.
I decided to invest a small amount of money on the film, because I was curious how James Roday would do outside of 'Psych' (which I have generally liked). But I had a pretty good experience watching the movie. Critical and audience reaction doubtless has reflected the fact that it is not a comedy, nor is it particularly warm (!). The writer-director (I believe) wanted to discuss a number of large life issues. (The movie actually might have worked better on some ordinary day, as very few of the subplots actually resolve with reference to the holiday).
Some of these are successful, some not. I particularly enjoyed the musicians in the elevator, and also doctors and patient. The scene with the five millenials (flaky girls, know-it-all, docent, and body builder) worked. So did the duo of Jon Heder and Max Casella. The solo of Patrick Stewart and the James Roday (sigh) did not work so well.
All that said, however, the different reactions of the trapped groups was interesting and dramatic. The critics' views that they are all unlikable is Grinch stuff. The reveals of the interconnections among them (done with some subtlety) were the script at its best.
All in all, a sort of Ship of Fools movie that ultimately worked, maybe because the formula is so strong. The critics and some of our acerbic friends on this site are way too negative.
