The Christmas Break

Not expecting much from contemporary Christmas rom coms, this was a refreshing take on the genre and was full of genuine laugh out loud moments. There are of course some cringey moments which are part and parcel of the nature of Christmas movies. And some unrealistic ones too (such as the age cormac claims to be). The new pub also felt a bit like slapstick. But overall, the film has a lighthearted feel and doesn't try to do too much at once, it's a nice change from other streaming services overly engineered movies over recent years. The Irish humour is captured well and overall it's a nice storyline with many relatable elements.

Kid-friendly Jack Bradford (Justin Long) is happily married to Caroline (India Mullen) in Chicago. He suggests trying for a kid, but she maneuvers out of it by using his LARPing. They go back to her Irish home town for Christmas. Her father owns the century-old family pub, but it is being challenged by Caroline's hunky ex Cormac O'Leary and his karaoke machine. The clan is battling him in Gaelic football.

This is a little different than the normal basic TV rom-com movie. This one has Justin Long. He's too good. Maybe he did this for the Irish vacation. The bigger problem is the baby issue. The movie is trying to push Caroline into having a baby when she doesn't want it. I don't know if it could be made funny. At least, this movie doesn't achieve it. As much as Justin Long tries with the kids, the premise keeps pulling the movie down. It also makes Caroline into a wet blanket with a wondering eye. This really needs to rewrite her character.

I enjoyed this film! I will say I feel like it actually deserves an 8 or 9, but gave it a 10 because it's DEFINITELY better than a 4. But I really enjoyed this film. It's a light hearted christmas Rom Com and it was fun to watch on Christmas. I've always enjoyed Justin Long in films but it's nice to see him doing lower budget films that are not horror movies. I will say some of the reviews said it was "too american" but personally I don't get that feeling. But, as an American I may be a little biased. I will say, the closed captioning is a little off on phrasing, so if you watch with closed captioning on you might get a few random laughs where the words or phrasing is off. But if you are bored of the same christmas movies every year, this is also a great option! Also the same director as "Christmas is Canceled" which i also recomend!

I tried watching this and got through some of it, but it was so cloying and shallow that I had to stop watching it before wanting to throw things at the TV. I gave it 5 stars because the dialogue, pacing and filmography are adequate, but I never could really care for any of the characters. The peripheral characters that pop up once the couple arrives in Ireland seem so shallow, and their implied backstories have no emotional impact on the viewer. The premise of disagreeing on having children is a big yawn. Have them or don't--whatever. I tuned in because I hadn't been to Ireland, but frankly I could go to YouTube and find videos there if I want because the scenery is surely more interesting than the characters in the show.

Fun and light-hearted, but definitely what an American would think Ireland was like. After a while it became more amusing and less annoying to see Irish culture butchered again and again, but it was still so American it was slightly painful.

The humour was similarly American, which isn't a bad thing- it's just an acquired taste. Some parts were funny, others cringy. But overall it was a bit of fun.

The characters were not particularly likeable or believable, but this is not the sort of film for character development. However, they were not too irritating (most of the time) so it wasn't too bad.

The plot was wishy washy and predictable, as you would expect and it had an undertone of 'American saviour complex' to it, but it was light-hearted and fluffy.

Not a must see, but a way to kill time.