Nugget Is Dead? A Christmas Story

The dog gets sick, forcing Steph to deal with her family over Christmas. Except... she seems to have very little to do with the dog at all.

Instead we have a cast of diverse-for-the-sake of diversity characters, where their diversity is explicitly explained by everyone else to force people who normally wouldn't hang out together to hang out together. Oh, you're a lesbian? Come hang out with me because my boyfriend isn't talking to me. Blergh.

It's just one trope after another, with nothing original. Sure, it's another girl-returns-to-hometown-to-find-love Christmas movies, but without any of the heart you would expect to find. The whole film feels very forced, and no one seems to have enjoyed making the film.

Recommended for those brief scenes with the dog.

I suppose the first question on everyone's mind, given the title is "Does the dog die?" You'll have to watch to find out. What I can say is that Nugget (played by Reuben) steals every scene that he's in. Ed Oxenbould is as always a pleasure to watch and I find myself wanting to spend much more time with his character in this film. So nice to see Tiriel Mora in a smallish role too.

Yes, it's a Christmas film and yes it's a bit overdone, not unlike the sausages, at times but I woke up the next day wondering what this family might be up to, always a good sign I think. I'd recommend giving it a go.

That most American audiences don't quite get Australian humor is not surprising, but what is amazing is the fact that a major network put this on in the US in prime time. Gutsy move.

Fans of Upper Middle Bogan and A Very Moody Christmas/The Moodys (Aussie version) will enjoy this romp. Nobody does dysfunctional families quite like our Australian cousins. It's fairly formulaic, but most Christmas movies are. It is the wacky characterizations that make these shows memorable. I already mentioned A Very Moody Christmas ... this film is very similar to that series. An exuberant family guided by love despite their diverse personalities. I love the southern hemisphere Christmas aspects too ... it's full-on Summer there during Christmastime.

I'm an American enjoying this Aussie film. I loved that the characters looked and acted like regular people, not the heavily manicured characters you get in most American TV. People in this movie had wrinkles, thinning hair, unflattering clothing, emotional outbursts, and said inane things regular people would say. Only one character was super thin. Even the rich mother character had obvious wrinkles. In American TV, you see very little of this- everyone gets a glow up. The plot of this movie isn't revolutionary, but it's sweet as expected for a holiday movie. It's a nice contrast to Hallmark movies.

I thought it was a nice break from the cookie cutter, formulaic, predictable hallmark style movies. It's different, I'm liking Australian productions and this Christmas in Australia film is definitely that. I like all the characters in this dysfunctional, yet loyal and loving, family. The mom and Dad are great Infact I thought the casting was spot on all the way through. Shayla and Hassan were another bright spot. The scene in the car is hilarious. And nugget, the dog, is a treasure. I guess I don't really get the 1 star ratings. Are you serious? I've seen horrible movies that deserve a 1 star rating and this is definitely not one of those. Lighten up and merry Christmas!