En underbar jävla jul

The Swedish film En underbar jävla jul was shown in the U.S. with the title Holy Mess (2015). (If you go to Google Translate, you'll learn that the original Swedish title is quite a bit more colorful. "Jul" in this context means "Yule.") The movie was co-written and directed by Helena Bergström. Bergström also plays a supporting role.

This is an ensemble film, in which a dozen people gather together at the home of a gay couple for Christmas Eve. Once you know that, you can pretty much predict the plot-- homophobic parents, an aging grandmother, a surrogate mother, etc.

In a movie like this, success or failure depends on the quality of the acting. These actors are very talented and capable. In fact, they are so good that I won't try to single out any of them for special praise. Not only is each actor competent, but they play well in ensemble.

This film has a terrible 5.8 IMDb rating. It's not a great film, but it's much better than that.

We saw this movie at the excellent Little Theatre, as part of the wonderful ImageOut Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will also work well on the small screen.

A Holy Mess is one of 22 films that had their New York State premiere, or their East Coast premiere, at ImageOut. My compliments to the ImageOut Programming Committee for their great success in bringing these films to Rochester.

You can recognize a U. S. comedy by the fact that nothing is realistic, that the world we are presented with consists either of pubescent adult men who do some nonsense while drunk or under the influence of other drugs, or hysterical young women for whom everything revolves around the one, great guy, preferably quarterback. European comedies are not necessarily good. But when they are good, they are simply better. I see that some don't like this Swedish film here and can understand why. For one thing, there's a lot of talk about traditional Swedish Christmas - and breaking with it - and for another, the dialogue is fast-paced and witty, so you may well miss a thing or two. Slapstick is used sparingly, it's more of a psychogram about a society that is a kind of tightrope act, sometimes tilting to one side, then to the other. I had a great time with all the politically incorrect remarks and side-swipes, and the film leaves nothing to be desired in terms of acting.

I'm surprised I haven't seen this movie earlier, I absolutely loved it. Fun, chaotic and sweet. I would say this has all the characteristics of a typical Swedish Christmas! Well played by all involved and just brilliant. Thank you Helena

I think our two reviewers are a bit harsh. Yes, the film portrays some stereotypical attitudes. Yes, Ulf, is seemingly that stereotypical homophobic character. But, Ulf does have a point, as seen through the prism of his conservative upbringing and his legalistic training.

The performance of Maria Lundqvist is outstanding. Coming from Australia, and not Au fait with Scandinavian cinema and actors, I thought hers as Monica was superb.

Yes, it did get a bit schmaltzy, but, hey, this is Xmas time: how many Hollywood films cover this territory? It is a Universal sentiment, and, if it is encompassing of the "gay" community. why not? I did shed a tear. And in my book, any film that makes a 66 year old cry, has something going for it!!!!

I'm a christian and a big fan of Christmas so in November and December I watch a lot of Christmas movies. There aren't many Swedish Christmas movies except for Sagan om Karl-Bertil Jonssons julafton and Tomten är far till alla barnen (also known as In Bed With Santa), the last one being one of my favorites. When I heard of En underbar jävla jul I thought "Finally! Another Swedish Christmas movie! That was about time!" But after watching it, I got very disappointed! There is no Christmas spirit whatsoever in this movie, there's not even any humor. It's seems to me, the only purpose with En underbar jävla jul was to make a movie as politically correct as possible. I hate politically correctness and this is movie isn't even close to depicting the Swedish Christmas celebration.