darrell-hayward

Dreadful. Well, if the first five minutes is anything to go by. A Christmas Surprise" was a dreadful experience from the start. The slapstick comedy felt forced and cringe-worthy, relying on tired gags that fell flat rather than eliciting genuine laughter. It seemed the filmmakers believed that throwing in random pratfalls and exaggerated antics would suffice, but it only served to make the viewing experience unbearable. The main character, played with an over-the-top, irritating zeal, quickly became grating. Instead of charming us, they overwhelmed the screen with a relentless barrage of antics that lacked any depth or relatability. Overall, "A Christmas Surprise" is a holiday movie I wish I could forget.

I should have gone with my first thought ('don't bother with the film'), when seeing 'goofy' as a tag line for the film on Netflix, but I figured that maybe Adam Sandler had grown up a little, or was being directed better. Jennifer Aniston I have started to appreciate as a better actress since Friends (being brilliant in Horrible Bosses) tipped me to the side of 'give the film a try'. I wish I had not bothered. Adam Sandler was irritating as ever, perhaps though direction, but I will never even start to watch any film with him in it again. Made it to approximately 20 minutes before giving up, not caring what happened to the characters. Bad luck to the other good actors in the film, but I thought it was dreadful from the start.

When I read the review, I though, "I'll give it five minutes to see". When I saw the titles, I thought, "I think i'm right, I am not the intended audience". When the movie began, I couldn't make it past the first minute, seeing as it was going to be slapstick comedy, rather than educated humour.